Day 10. meh
had a terrible day rewriting an article i did for a student magazine as it was 'too personal' guh.
so theres no photo today as i've not had time, instead there is my article.
Applying to university is daunting, where do you start? There are 114 institutions in the UK alone, that’s just too many to visit, so we turn to the Internet. Many of their websites are not the easiest things to navigate but they outline their courses pretty well and give you an idea of what to expect. I applied to Huddersfield, Ravensbourne and Reaseheath, my first choice Ravensbourne didn’t want me so I went to Huddersfield and I’m glad I did, the treacherous journey through London and up the gigantic hill to the “Rave” leaves a lot to be desired.
Unpacking my belongings that would mysteriously multiply in the coming weeks, I said goodbye to my parents as they prepared for the six-hour trip back down to Brighton, my reason for going so far up North was my boyfriend. University can be hard on relationships, some of my friends had found it difficult and broke up before the year began to save heartache. There was even speculation with Prince William and Kate Middleton and whether their romance at St Andrews would survive, with the right balance of course work, jobs and love life it can be done.
Another perk to being at uni is accommodation, you meet so many people from all walks of life. It turned out that all my 14 housemates were of male variety; they’re so much better to live with than girls! There’s always the odd person who will annoy and won’t pull their weight, we had one in our house and it’s an art trying to tell them strategically that they’re becoming a waste of space.
My first day on campus was a blur, my course mates also didn’t understand me, I’m not “posh” but apart from trips to Manchester the North is unknown territory so it came as a massive shock to learn how different things are up there. For one thing alcohol is so much cheaper, in Brighton it can be up to £4.00 a pint + VAT, tax and congestion charge, so when it came to a night on the town in Barnsley I could take out £20, get leathered and still have enough money to pop in and see George our pizza guy.
There are websites named “things UCAS didn’t tell you about university” and the majority of them are true although slightly exaggerated; it does give the impression that students are smelly alcohol and drug induced clones that scrounge money, we aren’t like that. The best way I can describe student life is like living in a bubble, your eating and sleeping habits change dramatically, I’m often still up at four in the morning discussing films with the guys over a can of Strongbow. You can also get away with a lot more than you would in ‘real life’, walking through town in my bright pink coat, leg warmers and Dunlop’s looking like a Fame extra, the locals roll their eyes and mutter ‘bloody students’ under their breathes. It’s like being given the ultimate Community Chest card in Monopoly.
You learn so much living away from home, mainly appreciating home cooked meals, there are only so many times you can go for Thursday curry night at Wetherspoons. Also, clean plates and cutlery are important, mould grows very quickly.
It’s easy to go to university thinking it’s going to be a complete booze fest for three years, that you’ll do a bit of work and come out with a degree, in debt and 2 dress sizes skinnier (I wish), that’s really not the case. From my experience so far I’ve never done so much work in my life, by Christmas I was stressed and had run out of money, but its all a learning curve.
So apart from deadlines and a cash flow problem, I’ve never been happier in my life, I’ve made some amazing friends and had memorable experiences.
So until I get that dreaded letter saying I have to start paying back my loan, I’m going to stay the stereotypical student and live for cheap nights out and Hollyoaks.
END
My Auntie is retireing from teaching this year but I cant remember the name of the School she teaches in at all!
