This may seem like a bit of a strange title for a post, seeing as we’re coming up to the end of term (Aaaaah!), however, at uni things don’t cease as soon as exam period hits in and, to be honest, it’s nice to have other tasks alongside of revision!

Well, I will actually start this post with an ending! I have handed in my last official essays of first year! Aah! (I have a Gobbet exercise left to do, which is similar to source analysis, but that’s not the same as an essay!) I think that that’s absolutely terrifying! Where on Earth has the time gone? It seems so strange to think that I’ve done a decent majority of my course now and that there’s only the exams left to go! This week has been a challenge, because I knew that this was one of my last opportunities to write an essay as a first year and get some really decent feedback to prepare me for second year – I just hope I’ve done some justice to it! Now that my coursework essays are handed in, I am starting a final module for History on the American West (and this is the subject I have to write the Gobbet for!) I really enjoyed the lecture at the beginning of this week on the topic; I studied the American West at GCSE and it’s cool to be taking what I learnt then forward into my uni studies. Now that my essays are done I have to keep my head in the books for revision – so that’s the plan for the next month and a bit!

The people I know in third year have been talking a lot about their new beginnings this week. It’s been really cool listening to what they have in story for next year and after that for when they’ve completed their exams. Some are going into Grad Schemes, some are going on to do their masters and others have had job interviews already! It’s so exciting for them and it made me think that, in all honesty, that that time will come around for my year soon enough. So, this week I attended another careers meeting which aims to engage you in a mentoring scheme with somebody employed in the sector you’re interested in. I figured it was a good beginning step to search for what I really want to do and having some first-hand advice will be invaluable. In the presentation we listened to some reviews from previous students and it sounds like they’ve taken a lot away from the programme – some have contacts in the police force, others with advertising agencies and one girl even has contacts in Chicago! The application process opens next week, so I think I’ll give it a go! It seems like it is worth getting involved in and hopefully I can gain a little bit of experience in journalism and publishing!

So beyond work and careers, as of Saturday evening, I am now the official treasurer for Ballet Society! We had our handover meal at Oscar’s after a long week and it was wonderful! It was so lovely to see people all dolled up and stress free sitting around the table just laughing and chatting about everything. Emily, our new president and former treasurer, presented me with the pink folder to end all pink folders, complete with pretty notes and labelled dividers! I’m really looking forward to taking on the role for this upcoming term and into next year. I really can’t iterate this enough, but, I love my society – everyone is so friendly and we get on so well! Before we went to Oscar’s we met at our (now former) president’s house to share the winnings of the Harry Potter Quiz that I ran last term! The ballet girls had two teams and won first and second prize, how fab is that?! (All marking was anonymous!) So we had a bottle of Champagne as a toast to the new exec and to celebrate their triumph! After the meal we headed back the house again for some photos and a vast array of chocolate and biscuits! We may be ballet society, but we like food! I had such a lovely evening and I really look forward to the next social!

Choir are also preparing for the ULMS Proms Concert now! I can’t wait – if it’s anything like the performance we did at Campus Fest, it is going to be a lot of fun! We’re doing a Les Mis medley, which, so far, sounds lovely! I believe we’re collaborating with the symphony orchestra again, which is always cool! I love the fact that there are still things going on with societies, even though we are coming into exam period. It’s always good to know that there’s opportunity to take some time out and do something that isn’t a particular strain on the brain, or stress inducing! I really value the time I have in societies and likewise, spending a little bit of time with friends. It’s been good this weekend, as I’ve entered full revision mode, to take a little bit of time to go for a coffee with my friends, or watch a film, and we made Nutella sushi (no, it’s not made with raw fish!)… I Skyped my bestie this week as well, and it was just the best thing! Revision definitely takes priority, but taking just a short while to regroup is important. I’ve found it’s quite often my friends and family that put my feet back on the ground this time of year! Tackling revision also means baking as stress relief, so a carrot cake will be in order this bank holiday Monday – YAY! I can vividly remember writing something along the lines of when there are time of worry there will always be someone to talk to and there will always be cake and I feel this is a perfect mantra to live by most of the time and especially during exam season.

So, new challenges arise as the end of the year comes closer and closer – but I’ve said this before, they’re challenges worth taking on. Like I said in my last post, I came to uni to learn about things that I enjoy learning about and I need to make sure that I am still enjoying it! So as revision takes over my free time, I plan to make sure I keep focused not only on the content but on getting as much as I can out of this experience.

Thank you for reading, guys! I hope you had a lovely week and long weekend!

History Hugs,

Eleanor :0)