So it has been a long time since I posted something new on here so thought I would write the next installment in my ‘university series’ on my second year experience so far. Click here to read an older post where I reflected on first year.
So it is nearly ‘reading week’ which means I should have the week off but I still have lectures and seminars (The joys of a joint honours degree, eh?). However, this also means that I am already half way through Term 1!
Things I have learnt from second year at university:
1. The older years were not exaggerating
Last year, anytime I complained about a particular assignment or the reading in front of my friends in older years they would always exchange these knowing looks and would assure me that the worst was yet to come. Well it has come and I do not like it. I do not like it at all. Just the very words “Contract Law” *shudders* inspires a feeling of fear in in me. So you are telling me there is essentially an exception to pretty much every rule? Yep, cool, that definitely all makes sense.
Second/Third/Fourth years whose warnings I shrugged off last year with a sigh and a roll of my eyes – here is my public and sincere apology.
2. “It’s only first year” is no longer a defense
Last year “But it’s only first year, it doesn’t even count” was always my go to defense to justify my laziness. 9am’s were the bane of my life and slowly became just a thing on my timetable. Luckily it all worked out in the end and I did well but that is not a risk any one is willing to take when your grades actually count towards your final degree.
Yes, every presentation, every essay, every exam counts…
3. You become the most patient person to ever grace this earth
I think this may be just a Warwick uni thing. In first year everyone lives on campus but in second year we all venture out of the bubble to live in mainly Leamington Spa or Coventry, Kenilworth or Canley. For the few weeks we are all loving life and joking with our friends questioning how we ever coped living on campus. I mean, we are now in the real world with a train station and everything.
Then term starts and you realise that not living on campus means you have to GET THE BUS IN EVERY DAY. Now, a 30 minute journey might not seem like much but it is when you have to get the dreaded U1. I live towards the edge of Leamington so 8/10 times at least two full buses will go past me before I can get on. This has meant that I have to strategically plan my day. I now leave my house at 7:30am every single day to guarantee a place on that elusive bus and I then have to stay there until about 8pm.
Thank you, Stagecoach Buses for single-handedly ruining my life.
4. Just because you are a little older does not mean you suddenly become wise and have your life together
I don’t know why I thought this would happen. I probably am wiser than I was but I still make lots of mistakes. This is not always a bad thing. I think it is good to accept and then work on your inadequacies and that getting your life together is more than an overnight process.
We are also now all applying for various internships which in itself is stressful.
5. Saying ‘No’ does not always make you a bad person
I am the sort of person who likes to do everything no matter how ridiculous the reality of doing it all actually is in practice. It is not like I have FOMO (fear of missing out) but more that I am super keen and like getting involved and hate letting people down.
NO. NO. NO. NO. NO. Yes, I said it – no
Second year has made me acutely aware of how much I do that does not actually make me happy or add any value to me. Even more importantly I have come to see that no-one is truly is indispensable. I think a lot of the people who are like me, the go to ‘Yes Person’, do it partly due to misguided arrogance. As much as I like to think I am fabulous, I can be replaced by someone else so it does not always have to be me. I am now trying to manage my time better.
6. It is never too late
There is so much to do at uni that it is nearly impossible to do it all. There were so many things that I wanted to do in first year that I just never had the time to do. One of my biggest regrets of was not getting involved in a sport. I’ve never been the most sporty person so thought university was the perfect time to start but I didn’t.
But now I have and I am loving it so far. So it’s never too late to do something you have always wanted to do.
Then at the end of your long day you come home to your friends and you realise how great your life is and how lucky your are to have them in your life. You get those moments in lectures when you finally get it and realise just why you chose your degree. On your all day stint in the library, you bump into someone you have not seen in a while and rekindle old friendships. You get to campus and finally get to use the new facilities they have been working on and you remember why you chose your university.
It may not quite be the ‘UNAYY’ experience I described first year to be but it’s SECOND year and I love it.
It’s just me, Dammy, no longer a fresher
xxx
itsmedammy.com 