A Year of University.

A year ago today I received my A level results, also meaning that University has been a part of my life for an entire year. It's absolutely flown by, it feels like I've been at uni for years though! 

I thought it would be a good time to do a massive look back at all of the major parts of this year. I stopped blogging in January after hitting a major creative block and therefore you guys have missed out on hearing about the last 6 and a half months of my uni experience (basically 2/3 of the academic year...) 

Got a room for second year, February. 

I was originally going to go into a flat with my old roommate Lucy but I wasn't given a place so I decided to go into a private halls and try out a completely new group of people! I'm quite glad that I'm going into halls again as I don't need to worry about paying bills due to it being an all inclusive contract! I just hope that my flatmates are nice and I get on with them better this year (it ended up that I was only truly friends with Lucy, the others were bearable to live with but I wouldn't have out of choice again). Me and some of my course mates have already decided to live together in third year so I'm excited to see what that will be like! 

Went to Athens, March. 

This trip was incredible. Athens was always on my list of places to go so I jumped at the opportunity to go with the Archaeology society in the Easter holiday! I became closer with people in my year and the years above as well as making some new friends which is always a good thing! I got to see so many of the famous sites such as the Parthenon, Hephestaion, the Agora and some of the many museums dotted around the city. As I studied the Greeks in A level and 5th Century Athens this year, being able to see these places and things in person was almost surreal. The statues in the museums were far more beautiful in person than on paper and I throughly recommend a visit if you can afford it! If not, the British Museum houses some good examples of Greek sculpture which begins to scratch the surface of their beauty. 

A picture post of this trip will be posted soon as it's such a gorgeous place!

Passed first year, June. 

I ended up with 2 modules in the 50s and 4 in the 60s, giving me an overall mark of a 2:1 which I'm incredibly pleased with. I could have tried harder this year but as its a year for learning and understanding how university works, I'm happy I got to see what learning methods work for me, the best ways I write essays and how I revise the most efficiently. I've been given a reading list this year for some of my Autumn term modules so I'm trying to do as much of that as possible whilst writing notes down that I can look back on whilst I'm working during the year. 

Last September I was unsure whether I was good enough for uni and if I really deserved to be there so it's refreshing to know that the work I put in has proved that I am capable! It's a relief to know that I do suit University and academic life!

Boyfriend, June. 

You guys have seen how useless I am at keeping relationships and the one I was in when I was last writing fizzled out sometime around February. Before we were official, my current guy and I dated for a month and a half or so before to get to know each other and get comfortable around each other. It seemed to have worked well as we've been together about a month and a half (roughly since May overall!) and I'm joining his family out in Portugal for a few days of relaxation between work shifts at the end of the month which is exciting! This is going really well and I'm really happy with him so fingers crossed it stays this way!

Dug for 3 weeks in the Vale of Pewsey, June/July. 

The dig is a second year module but is also open to the public to volunteer and join. For the last 4 years I volunteered at the old Reading University field school which closed in 2014. This year was a new dig which obviously brought excitement and nerves as it was unfamiliar to me. Luckily it was equally as fun as the previous year's and I've gained several close friendships with people in my year from it which I'm grateful for. I love my friends in other years but expanding my friends in my own year is always good as I'm with them for the next two years! A Neolithic human burial was also found in one of the trenches which was incredible to see and just highlights the reason I love my degree - the thrill of not knowing what will be found is the best feeling when it comes to digging! The BBC also covered it and you can read more about it here.

This academic year has been challenging and at some points difficult, but I've really enjoyed myself and it's obviously paid off! I'm excited to see what next year brings for me and I hope it goes as well as this year!

Also, congratulations to everyone who received their results yesterday! I hope you all got what you wanted and are successful in doing what you want come September! 

Jess xx

A Good Monday

Monday marked the first day back at University for me which meant the first day of doing something that didn't involve tv and pjs in a month. 

Most people seem to hate mondays because it's the start of the week and it means getting back to work but mine was surprisingly good this week! 

I thought it would be good to actually say why incase any of you think you can incorporate any of these points into your lives too and make your days better!

1. I gave myself time to get ready.

I usually find myself rushing in the mornings but I found that I had loads of time by waking up half an hour earlier than I usually would and just taking my time over everything. It made a great change and I started the day off happy and not already tired from having to walk fast to my lecture!

2. I only had one lecture.

This obviously helped, but it was also really interesting (beginning of my Augustan Rome module - yay!) so it was exciting to relearn A level content and new material as well! The lecture was held in a theatre room as well so there weren't any desks to lean on which made it feel quite informal which helped with the relaxed feel from the morning!

3. I got extra work done.

I decided to write up my notes from last semester's modules on my laptop so I have them saved somewhere else and it's helpful going over the work I did again with the handouts. I managed to get through about 4 lectures which was great!

4. I took a break when I got too tired

Instead of pushing myself to exhaustion, I had a nap or watched a bit of a film when I got too tired or distracted, meaning that when I worked, I was paying my full attention and the work got done faster and went in better than it would if I was falling asleep.

5. I snacked healthily

I'm usually the one who goes for the sweets and chocolate but as I'm actually trying to stick to my goals this year, I decided to have a healthier lunch and snacks. I ended up having a small handful of pistachios, garden peas and an apple, then some grapes later on when I got peckish again. I actually didn't feel as sluggish and my blood sugar was better controlled so it's good all round! 

6. I dressed comfily

I find it easier to work if I'm comfortable with my outfit - it was comfy but not lazy which is perfect! It was also warm which is good seeing as it's still freezing and wet at the moment! If I'm dressed up like I sometimes decide to, I find it harder to work well as I'm not as comfortable physically so I don't sit around a lot. 

7. I had good conversations with people

I have a tendency to just sit in my room and work constantly but I made sure I went into the kitchen and spoke to whoever was in there and it made me feel better in general!

8. I didn't work right up until I went to bed

Usually I go to bed straight after turning the laptop off which means my brain is still fired up when I'm trying to sleep - I found it helpful to read a bit before as it made me feel a bit more tired.

I hope I can continue some of these every day as it really made a big improvement to my usual routine! What do you guys do to make your days better?
Jess xx

Moving on

This year I'm trying to, and have to, move on in lots of aspects in life.
One thing is that I'm having to start looking at universities and open days and courses which is so exciting but scary at the same time! I've also been trying to get on to summer schools and taster days for ancient history/classics so they look good on applications and to see if it's truly something I want to continue with at Uni. It's quite scary because the summer schools and taster days need what is essentially a personal statement which I shouldn't really have to write until next year so that's quite hard! Moving on in my school life is difficult and scary but it's also really fun! Moving from GCSE at secondary school to A levels at college was a big move but it was so worth it, hopefully moving on from college to Uni will be just as good!

On an awesome note, I'm improving my confidence with talking to people! I've been talking more to the people around me that either hang around with the friendship group I'm sometimes with, or people I don't usually talk to in classes and it's really good because I've met some really nice people!

Sorry my posts have been so short recently, I don't have much time and I don't have many ideas which is a bit annoying! Any ideas would be appreciated! :P
Jess xx