Hi guys and girls, welcome back!

I hope everyone is having a nice start to the month and enjoying all the autumnal colours.

This week will be an eventful one for me. Tomorrow I have another dissertation meeting, and although I am around 2000 words in, I’m starting to feel the pressure; particularly the pressure of expectations considering that the topic I have chosen is quite obscure. Week 5 is around the time in which to start thinking about essay plans, and because I am taking two specialist subjects, this means I have two mini-dissertations of 5000 words each on top of my 10,000 word dissertation to pursue and plan for this week. The questions for these two extended essays are expected to be formulated independently, so I have a lot of work to do. This is just the work side of my life right now!

In other news, Thursday morning I am heading back home to Jersey. Although it really isn’t the best timing, the motivation is definitely a good one. I have been asked to give a speech on the Thursday evening to potential International Baccalaureate students and their parents at an open evening at my old high school. This opportunity was particularly important to me, because, despite the fact that I hate public speaking, I feel that I owe the fantastic teachers from my old school for putting me on this path, and leading me to where I am today. In fact, if it wasn’t for the leap of faith I took in moving sixth form and pursuing a diploma pretty unheard of (and massively underrated, might I say) against the will of my parents, I would never have taken Philosophy as a class, and I doubt I’d have gone to university at all. The IB set me up for university in ways that I could never have predicted, and despite how hard it was, it instilled in me a work ethic which I probably wouldn’t have gained elsewhere. More than this, it prompted me to appreciate the importance of a holistic education, which as I mentioned in my last blog, was a motivating factor in my choosing Lancaster as my place of further study.

I think going home will be a nice relief for me, and hopefully it will help me get through the mid-term slump I am currently experiencing; this is normal, by the way. I am also having trouble with student finance which isn’t great, but I’m trying to be positive; a positive mindset is important when you have a lot of work on your plate. Anyway, it just so happens that the Thursday I return falls on one of my friend’s birthday’s, and I haven’t seen her since early September, so it will be nice to spend some time with her, and share our term’s experiences so far. Living so far away I tend not to go home until the uni breaks, so I’m feeling it might break up my term a little and push me to work harder when I come back.

Sunday evening we’re making a flat meal – there are 6 of us in my flat and we try to do this every now and then. It will be a curry night, and honestly, I’m already excited for it! One of my flatmates is directing me on how to make an authentic red lentil Dahl (from a recipe passed down from his grandmother), pretty cool, right?! I return on Saturday evening, so it will definitely be something to look forward to.

See, I’ll only be gone for a few days, but I’m already looking forward to coming back despite any setbacks or slumps. Lancaster is home.

I’ll check in with you all soon and let you know how the speech went, (please cross your fingers and toes for me.) I think I’ve decided that these blogs will be best if I do them bi-weekly, so that I have more to report on, unless something particularly worth writing about comes along. I’ll try my best to keep you engaged!

Take Care,

Ellie