Outlets

Why are essays so stressful?! This week has been the run up to the essay period; it’s all about thinking of plans, original approaches, structures, decent phrasing, getting the ideas right and most importantly: not stressing. Well, I seem to have been ignoring the last little bit of that sentence because I really am stressing!

I think it is noteworthy in these posts to tell you honestly that the work load for second year is very different. Lots of people will say that there is a lot more to do, which is true to some degree, but I have felt that the way I have been looking at things is a lot different too. This might not be down to the fact that I am in second year now; it is just the way that the course content flows and the way that we ought to be thinking about things. I mean within various modules I am going from something very obscure and location/cultural specific all the way through to the grand narratives and theme of the period or of the question in hand – not to mention handling the way that different people have interpreted it over time, or in the present day, and what this might mean for our overall understanding of the topic and its main themes/characters/events. As well as this, I have been thinking about career prospects a fair bit this week too, because I met my mentor, Victoria, in person this week! (And it was amazing!) So, I have a fair few things rumbling around in my brain, a list of readings, 4 essays and I am one very overwhelmed student! This week it has seemed very, very difficult to focus on exactly what I need to do and think about, despite all of the many to-do lists and Post-It notes. But I do not want to use this post as a means of telling you guys how much I have been stressing! That is not the point at all. Instead I would quite like to use the post to explain how I managed to combat a little bit of the worry and the stressing!

One of my favourite ways to combat stressing is to cook and to eat, but not in the cliché ‘Oh my God! I am so stressed! Give me as much chocolate, cake and ice-cream as you can!’ (Although, when things get really tense this may be the final straw…) I cook and eat because it relaxes me and I enjoy it. When I am cooking I have to concentrate on what I’m doing – my mind cannot be somewhere else, really, as I would probably end up with something very yucky or a scorched kitchen…not good. On Thursday I had literally THE BEST tea! It sounds trivial to be discussing with you what I had for my dinner, but just cooking myself something really tasty and sitting down in the peace and quiet to enjoy it just gave me a little sense of satisfaction and a boost to keep going. On Friday I spent some time in the library after my Renaissance lecture and managed to get quite a few things done, so maybe that’s the answer: a really tasty meal solves the world’s problems. Speaking of tasty meals, then (just while I’m on topic!) My friend came over for dinner on Saturday and it was really, really lovely. I cooked a curry and bought some samosas and onion bahjis from the Saturday market in town (the market is so, so cute! It’s like having a very tiny version of Portabella Road on my doorstep; I step out of my blue door (remember my Notting Hill link a couple of posts ago?!) and I’m hit with lovely smells, the sound of people laughing and bartering and just some hustle and bustle – It’s quite nice to see that there is life outside of the uni bubble sometimes!) and we just sat and ate and chatted for a while; it was really, really nice. I love working on my studies, but things like this make me think about what else you get out of uni life – being able to have a chat (and eat!) with friends is something quite special in its own little way and it really calmed me down to take on the week ahead, as I have SO MUCH TO DO!

Sometimes the best thing you can do is to just take a step back from whatever it is you’re reading about and just do something else. And this week my ‘something else’ has been my CV and getting myself together after meeting with Victoria. We had our first meeting on Wednesday and it was incredible! The Careers Mentoring Programme co-ordinator, Claire, set up a very lovely session for everyone to attend and meet their mentors. We were given some guidance about the programme – what to expect and what sort of things we could possibly be doing with our mentors. The variety was really great, but the main message was definitely you get out what you put in. This made me think about the sorts of things I wanted to get out of the programme, but it was so scary thinking that in a couple of years I will genuinely be looking for a ‘proper job’ – aaaah! Victoria was so lovely and reassuring though! She said that she was willing to keep in contact as much as she is able to, if we contact her with anything. She seemed really keen to help with the CV, which I’m sure will be so helpful! It was really, really exciting to meet her in person and she definitely knows her stuff – wow! Any question I had she seemed to have the answer for; it was quite amazing, really. I was interested to hear what she had been up to recently in her job and the sorts of things she enjoyed doing at BBC Breakfast; it all sounds so fun! It was made quite clear that things can be pressurised and that journalism is a competitive industry, but Victoria definitely emphasised the value in the job and the sense of satisfaction when you see things run smoothly in print, or in broadcast etc. knowing that your hard work has made that happen. The way she was describing it was like something I could only dream of and I feel very privileged to be able to ask lots of questions to somebody who is living that ‘dream’ in reality. We are still working on ‘Operation Work Experience’ and this week coming up will be all about the cover letter!

Like last year, Ballet Society provides me with a bit of an outlet too. It is somewhere I can go to meet with some of the loveliest people I have met and just have a good ol’ dance and stretch for an hour or so. There was a part of me that thought I shouldn’t be wasting my time going to society meetings at the moment because I have so much to do. However, when I put it into perspective, it really is worth me going. I always feel so much better after I’ve been, plus this week we learnt the cutest little routine, ever! George, our teacher, told us that we were going to do something different and he had us all leaping and pirouetting and balancing and reaching and it was just so, so fun! I did feel a lot better afterwards!

Oh! There is something else I must, must, must mention before I conclude this week’s post! Eeeek! SCAN’s 4^th Edition was printed this week and my article was in it; I had a by-line and everything! I don’t think I have smiled so much in a long time! There was something so rewarding about seeing my words and my ideas about a topic printed in a newspaper – I’ve even kept a clipping! The topic that I reported on, the Time to Talk campaign is something really, really important to me and I am so pleased that SCAN offers an accessible platform for people to read and learn about these ideas, because they are so, so, relevant for us as a student body. I have been working on a short piece for this week too, which has been rather exciting. Writing is actually a really good outlet for me too, especially this blog because I can just be myself and have any of my (very frequent) little stresses with you guys. Sometimes it can be better to just write down where you’re struggling and let it out. When I’ve written it down and put it into perspective it gives me some grasp on what to do about the workload and how to achieve the goals I have set myself.

So, this week coming up is all about keeping my head in the books and keeping focussed on what I need to do! Writing and finalising essays is one of the most challenging and most rewarding things that I have to do as a student, and I want to do the titles some justice. I know the most effective ways to destress now, but the aim of having these outlets is for me to be able to create my best work and to help me work efficiently and enjoy my time doing it. So, the kettle’s on, the notes are out and the pen is poised – let’s go!
Have a lovely week, everyone – thank you for reading about my little stresses!

History hugs,

Eleanor

Week 5 is always the height of the term. I’ve found this week I have ‘to do’ lists as long as my arm, my diary is full and I feel like once I’ve finished one thing it is immediately replaced by something else. This time last year I was feeling the pressure quite a bit too, I remember having handed in my annotated bibliography for History and feeling an overwhelming sense of relief, but I knew that I was in the run up to essays and that is genuinely one of the scariest things in the world (well, it is for me anyway). This year, as much as I’d like to say that I feel confident in going into my essays ‘because I’ve done it all before’, I can’t – that would be a massive lie. I am feeling the pressure a little bit at the moment because I just feel overwhelmed – I don’t know whether I’m coming or going sometimes and I feel like I need to get back on the straight and narrow; it’s just a case of finding my way back without getting even more worried about everything on the way!

However, there are always two people guaranteed to help me find my way back: my parents. Their visit this weekend could not have come at a better time! It was so lovely to see them because they always know exactly what to say and know how to calm me down as I am starting to get the essay jitters. We had a couple of really lovely, quiet evenings in completed (naturally) with cake and tea to finish things off. On Saturday my mum and dad came to visit my flat in town and it was so surreal; it was like being what I imagine some sort of adult would be like. My dad couldn’t stop mentioning how much he liked the ‘speck’ (the location for any of you not fluent in my dad’s lingo!) and my mum just seemed so happy that we had managed to make it look a little bit homely. It just felt odd to ask what time they were coming over to mine; it sounds strange but honestly, it was one of the most peculiar moments of my uni experience so far. On Saturday evening we had a takeaway from GoBurrito and watched the firework display together. I have been going to fireworks with my dad since I was small and being able to do it this year was so lovely. We were able to see the fireworks from the road where I live, so we all pulled on our hoodies and watched outside, with my friend, Becky, coming to join us too. The display this year was excellent! There were so many and they were so pretty! I couldn’t help but smile as the sparkles fell from the sky and the loud bangs rumbled around the city. I was with three of my favourite people on one of my favourite evenings of the year.

I really don’t know what it is about my parents that calms me down you much, you know. For most of the week I was really stressing about sorting out my CV because I wanted to have something decent to give Victoria, my mentor, who you may recall me mentioning last week. Before this weekend my CV consisted of my current job at home, the fact I was hoping to study history at university and my previous education, along with a cluster of extra-curricular activities. And by CV, in this respect, I mean a bullet pointed list on a Word Document. My verdict: not good! I have been to quite a few workshops here at Lancaster that are supposed to help you with creating your CV, making it effective and making it stand out, but despite being inundated with handy tips, effective methods and eye-catching layouts I could not think where to start. The careers workshops here are excellent, it’s just difficult to use those tips in an effective way, or even just to make start – it genuinely was like the classic allegory of ripping off a band-aid: I just had to do it: sit down and illustrate why I am an excellent candidate. The only question that was sticking out in my mind, though, was ‘what does make me an excellent candidate?’ I don’t know why it’s so difficult to explain; it’s just writing down the sort of person you are, the sort of things you do and the sorts of skills you have – when you really strip it back to the bare bones, but for a couple of days this week I have sat down to write my CV and have withdrawn almost immediately, either out of fear or generally not knowing what to write. . I knew that when I showed it to Victoria she would (definitely) make some changes, but I just didn’t want to give her something that was completely rubbish. But as soon as I started to talk it out to my parents, just mentioning the sorts of things I’d like to put in and the things that I think are important made it so much easier to get writing. So now it is done and I am awaiting feedback with bated breath!

So that is my CV done! But I am worried about essays. They seem to be piling up and I feel like the work is getting harder and harder while I am stuck behind. When I see other people working I keep thinking ‘Oh, they’ve done so much more than me!’ or ‘They probably know it better than I do’, ‘why am I doing this and not the essay?’ Like I said at the start, the list just gets longer and longer and if I’m honest, I have felt l like I don’t know what I’m doing some of  the time. I’m worried about the time and having so much to do. But having seen my mum and dad I have regrouped somewhat and I am trying to keep focused on what I have to do. I guess there is one thing I do know: seeing my parents was definitely the best medicine.

Have a lovely week, everyone!

History Hugs,

Eleanor

It’s all go!

Wow! I love the autumn here in Lancaster, everything is so beautiful. I don’t think I appreciated how pretty the campus is last year, even though I was living there! I’m able to look out of the window on the bus in the morning and huge open spaces are lovely and autumnal – the colours are just wonderful. I love it as the nights draw in early and I have an excuse to wear warm jumpers, but the days where the sun is shining through the clouds and it’s just cold enough to justify taking a flask of tea are the best! Aaah, autumn is definitely well and truly here and so is that feeling of things mounting up as we come to the middle of term!

You may recall my telling you about my mentor in the last post? Well, she asked me if I would give her a phone call this week, just to have a chat about the sorts of things she has done in her career and the sorts of things I would like to get out of the programme. What an incredible lady! I am genuinely quite astounded at how much she has done with her career – and what is better is that she did her studies here at Lancaster! Victoria works for the BBC as a senior broadcast producer and her job sounds absolutely incredible. The sorts of things she was telling me were just surreal; Victoria has worked for with the team covering Nelson Mandela’s death, she’s interviewed Justin Bieber and she works on the production and the cue for BBC Breakfast each morning; it is genuinely incredible! She made it very clear that the journalism and media industry is tough and that there are lots of things they will expect of you, but it can be one of the most rewarding careers going. Just having a little chat with her has made me so excited to learn more about the industry and we are already working on ‘operation work experience!’ – I am hoping to get a ‘sort-of-mini-placement’ at my local newspaper at home over the Christmas or Easter break, so I need to perfect my CV and I am looking forward to going over Victoria’s feedback; it’s all systems go!

This week saw the first couple of meetings for me as an academic rep too. I was really intrigued by the sorts of things that might come up at the consultancy meetings between the faculties and departments. It is clear that there are some issues up for debate at the moment and it’s nice to hear and be part of such a vibrant discussion on concepts that will matter for current and future students. The Faculty Forum was so interesting and it was great to mix with students from different year groups and listen to the issues that they’d like to raise – especially the third years, as it is good to know what they thought about second year when they were in this position last year. There were definitely some really valid points made in the meetings and it was really encouraging to see how the work and campaigns of the LUSU full time officers comes to fruition. Our full time education officer made it really clear what his policies were and that he wanted us to discuss the means of enforcing them within the department. I loved the fact that the wall between the students’ union and the students was broken down a little in these meetings – I felt like I understood how things were operating, rather than just hearing through the grapevine the sorts of things that the Union were trying to put in place for students. Working closely with members of the History Department was really beneficial too and it made me realise how much attention is paid to the various courses in the ways that they are structured, taught and examined. We were able to give module specific feedback, which was great as it’s a way of making the educational experience here at Lancaster the best it can possibly be. We were also able to discuss issues that would spread across the department to help improve students’ quality of learning and it was pretty clear that the members of staff were really keen to get feedback and establish some worthwhile changes. I really do look forward to the next few meetings!

The things I have been covering in my course this week have made me so, so, happy! Sometimes when I’m talking to people about my course I fear that they think I’m a little strange…! The themes that I have been able to draw out of my modules so far this term are concepts that really matter to me and capture my interest. In my Paris lectures this week, the key focus seemed to be on the breaking down of social constructs and understanding the mentalities of the revolutionaries and it something I find really fascinating, especially in light of the ways we look at Paris and its history today. This lecture and our compulsory module Hist.250 are really helping me to reflect on the ways I view events in history and they are offering me new historiographical techniques that I really hope I can pursue when considering ideas for my own writing. In weeks 5 and 6 coming up it is definitely time to start essay planning, so maybe I can employ some of the new skills I am (hopefully!) absorbing. My PPR module seems to tie in really well with some of the concepts discussed in History and I love the fact that they are so intertwined; I feel like I am gaining a new perspective on each of the subjects due to the interdisciplinary notions that crop up from time to time. The value of religion in society over various periods is definitely something that has taken my interest, and this module has allowed me to develop a better understanding of the changes to Church structures and their effects on society – the complex implications of a monastic or monarchical structure is something that seems to crop up in a few of my modules and it is fascinating to see how different disciplines borrow from one another to achieve a sense of understanding. (Again, apologies for the rambling…I will stop now and return to a slightly lighter subject!)

I haven’t spoken very much about my time in Ballet Society so far in the posts this year, surprisingly! We have been up to quite a lot of things together and being part of the exec has been really, really fun! We had our first social a couple of weeks ago and it was adorable; we all wore pink and then headed to Sugar for the evening. Spending time with the girls is such a laugh and everyone is really sweet too. We have vamped up our fitness classes by trying lots of new exercises and different styles. A couple of weeks ago I taught a Zumba class and it was hilarious, but since then we’ve done fitness and flexibility as well as body conditioning. In the next couple of weeks I think we’re going to try our hand at yoga and aerobics; it’s going to be a real laugh, I hope! Speaking of which, the President of the society, Emily, and I took part in an LA1:TV programme this weekend and it was one of the funniest things I’ve seen this term! The show was in a team games format and we were given the opportunity to play an equivalent of Family Fortunes, with hilarious results and we also did teach the presenter, which involved us attempting to show off our ballet skills… (How effective that was I don’t know, but we tried; I think Darcy Bussell’s place as Prima Ballerina is safe for now!) I will try and get the link up on the next post when the oh-so-talented LA1 team have done the editing for it. I was so impressed by the knowledge these people had of running a production and using the tech; it was so cool!

Before I close, I must say that I hope you all had a lovely and spooky Halloween! Experiencing Halloween at uni is one of the best things – people go all out with their outfits: there’s fake blood, face-paint, wigs, matching outfits, liquid latex; you name it somebody probably has it sorted! My friend Becky and I decided this year to go as aliens, I don’t think we were very scary, but dressing up and putting on all our make-up was really fun! We met up with some of our friends from our old flat last year too and we had a really lovely night in Sugar, finished off with cups of tea and food! Spending time with my friends like this is something I really love. When I imagined coming to uni I could only but hope that I would find a couple of really lovely people to be close with and I think I’ve been very lucky in that respect. As were sitting in the flat laughing and drinking tea I couldn’t help but smile; I haven’t been ‘out out’ in quite a long time and just dressing up, busting some strange looking dance moves and enjoying some time with my friends made me think that while I am ready to take on these next couple of weeks, which I know will be tough, I have some fab people to go to for a chat, a giggle and a cuddle when I need to.

I hope you have a lovely week guys – enjoy Fireworks Night on the 5^th!

History Hugs,

Eleanor

This week has definitely been one for trying new things! As I’m starting to get to grips with the new challenges of second year I am realising the countless opportunities arising for me as a student here at Lancaster. The new course material is stretching me in ways that I had never even imagined and I am very lucky to be able to explore new ways of thinking about the discipline in the various modules I have chosen. Alongside this, the uni is starting to open up the nomination processes for new elections. There have countless opportunities popping up to help us develop skills outside of the course curriculum this week and. I have definitely felt that I’m starting to branch out a little – I don’t know if it’s because I feel a tiny bit more confident to try new things, but I know for sure that taking on these new challenges is proving very exciting!

So! I have some very exciting news to open this week’s post; and I cannot believe that I am about to type this – (in fact, I am almost in the same sense of disbelief as I was when I realised that I had completed my first year of uni). If you were reading the posts before the summer, you may have a distant memory of me mentioning a careers mentoring programme here at Lancaster? Well, this week I had a very lovely e-mail from the co-ordinator telling me that I had been accepted onto the programme and that they had paired me with a mentor who works for the BBC as a senior broadcast journalist. The e-mail was just telling me about the sorts of things my mentor was involved in and outlined the way that they aimed to help students progress into the terrifying world of careers. My reaction: *incoherent squeaking noises!* I am really, really chuffed with my mentor, Victoria. Just reading her profile made me so, so, so excited and I feel very privileged to be a part of the programme. A little later on in the term we have some sort of open day to meet our mentors and to have a little chat about the sorts of things we’d like to get out of the programme, so I will let you know how we get on and how things are progressing. Eeeek! It seems too strange to be thinking about career prospects this seriously yet!

There is a small mention in the introduction this week about the uni opening up the nomination period for the elections and this is definitely something to elaborate on! Over the last couple of weeks here at Uni departments have had openings for Academic Reps, which is rather cool. The reps have a chance to meet with members of the department, members of the faculty and even, on occasion, the Vice-Chancellor of the uni (!) to discuss issues that may have been raised by students, or to develop ideas suggested by LUSU’s Education Officer. One of the aims for these meetings is to try and make Lancaster’s educational experience for students the best it can possibly be. As a student this is something I seriously care about and it makes me so happy to know that there are people who are discussing changes, improvements, or are even trying to reinforce things that have worked in the past to try and make the uni experience her at Lancaster the best it can be. The education we receive here, and at any institution, is something so, so valuable and I think it is really encouraging to know that the departments are genuinely seeking feedback from the people that experience the effects of the way degrees are taught, structured and assessed. (Sorry, I will stop rambling now and get on with my point… (for any new readers, I must say that these little ponderings are not uncommon – feel free to skip to the next paragraph)…) Because this is something that really matters to me I did decide to sign up for the rep scheme and I am very pleased that I did too! After writing my little manifesto I was a little bit nervous to see what the outcome was from the voting, but it turns out that there were three slots and three applications, so we were all able to take part. We have our first couple of meetings in Week 4, so I will try and keep you updated on the sorts of things we get up to!

This week also saw the first SCAN meeting of the semester. At the end of last year I was really keen to get involved with the paper on campus, but as exams crept up I knew that I would have to put things on hold a little, because my degree needs to come first! However, this week I took the plunge and went to one of their section meetings, for Lifestyle and Features. Well, what a lovely bunch of people – everyone was so enthusiastic about the things they were interested in writing about. The editors were really friendly and eager to hear any thoughts we had and they had some really, really cool ideas for articles to be featured in the next issue. Speaking to the Features editor, Bethany, was really interesting and she had so many cool stories that she wanted to look at in the upcoming weeks, one of which I have chosen to write an article on! I’m so excited to be a part of the paper and I am really looking forward to getting some ideas together too; she has even asked me if I could conduct an interview – maybe it’ll be like being a proper little reporter; I’ll have to get a cute little notebook and a fluffy pen! The article is due in on Thursday of Week 4, so in next week’s post I will be post-article! I’m really too excited…!

I have been spending a fair bit of time this week in our new, and rather snazzy, library! They have done such a lovely job with it; I am so, so impressed. It’s really contemporary and airy and lovely – it even has a little tree in there, which, I have been told, is supposed to bring a feeling of calmness, or a tree of knowledge…or something… Either way it’s rather sweet. There are so many more places to sit and there are loads of different styles of seating too. Some for group working, others with a little desk lamp, sofas with adjustable desks, booths – all sorts and it is just so, so lovely. (I do apologise for my oddness, just rambling about all the lovely seating). Being able to pop in there, where it’s wonderful and quiet and just engage with all the interesting new things I’m learning about is just the best. It’s such a nice environment to work in now, which is perfect because I seem to have such a lot of reading this week! All there’s left to do is to have a little explore and work out how to navigate the shelving system!

Even amongst these busy times, I did find some time for some baking this week! (Eeeek!) On Sunday morning I went into our kitchen in my pyjamas, with my radio and made a chocolate and orange loaf…as you do! Just being able to take a little bit of time for myself to relax was so lovely – just waking up in the morning and thinking ‘I feel like doing this today’ and just doing it – no questions asked. I couldn’t help but smile as I was kneading away – I was doing something that my younger self could imagine doing, or wanting to do: just baking something yummy and then settle down at my desk to do my studies with a cup of tea. (It was probably something I read in a book, or saw in a film, but to me that was just pretty cool) Sometimes baking is just a good way to ground me – things have been so hectic this week and it was nice just to calm down and then get back to what matters the most: my degree (and baked goods, of course!)

Thank you for reading! Have a lovely week, guys!

History Hugs,

Eleanor

That distinct uni feeling is back: the nerve-cited tingle. Knowing that there are going to be lots of new opportunities, new challenges and new experiences is something that I cannot really describe – the excitement and anticipation of it all makes me nervous, but it’s a good nervous! Just thinking about all the amazing experiences I was lucky enough to be part of last year makes me think that all the nerves are worth it! I am really looking forward to the next chapter as the new semester is getting well underway. And speaking of the semester getting well under way, I must apologise for the lateness of this post – it is now approaching the best part of week three and we’ve a lot to catch up on! (I promise that the rest of the posts for the year will not be as long as this one!)

Seeing as this post is entitled ‘I said it wasn’t goodbye’, I guess we should start with a quick ‘hello!’ I hope you all had a lovely summer, full of smiles and (at least a little bit of) sunshine and that you’re ready for the beginning of a new academic year. For any new students reading the blog, I wish you all the very best with your studies over the course of your degree and I hope that these little ponderings can give you a little bit of insight into what could be to come. And for any prospective students, I really hope that I can encourage you to come to Lancaster; it really is lovely!

I must take a little paragraph to talk about the summer, even though it seems quite a long time ago now! It was so, so, so good to have a lovely long break and recharge my batteries ready for the new term. The summer term at uni can be a little intense, but just that feeling of freedom over the summer makes it all worth it. I had some time to reflect on all of the things I had learnt last year – thinking about how much I had really taken from my first year at uni and the more I thought about it the more I realised how much I had done over the first year – it’s quite scary! Seeing my friends and family was just the best thing – having cuddles from my grandparents, going for walks with my dad and baking with my mum made me think about some of the things I missed about home whilst I’ve been away. It really made me appreciate how much I enjoy life’s little pleasures! If you were reading the posts last term, you may recall that I said I was going to visit Edinburgh? The trip was absolutely fantastic! Spending some time with two of my closest friends, enjoying the sights, the comedy and just the whole atmosphere was really lovely. (Plus, there was shortbread – you can’t go to Scotland without shortbread!) I was also lucky enough to visit Banky’s Dismaland exhibition in the summer, with my friends, because it was situated where I live – how very exciting! Just like at Christmas, being home for such a long time felt a little odd to start with but once I was back working in the shop things returned to normality! As ever, it was so good to be back – I love being part of the summer sales, things get really busy and hectic and in a very strange way it’s really, really fun!

Here we are in Edinburgh!

And here’s Dismaland!

But, we’re back! These last three weeks have been all go, go, go with starting the new course, catching up with friends and settling back into uni life. I travelled up to Lancaster for Freshers Week and just having that week to catch up with everybody and to hear about all their summer stories and adventures meant that when Week 1 began I had a little more time to get my head around what was going on in the course structures, and getting my reading to together and things, but I will come to that shortly (aaah!) So, Freshers Week: Take 2! Moving into my flat in town will remain as one of those standout moments in my life. I have always thought about having a flat in a city and now this little thought is a reality! Having seen the film Notting Hill when I was about 11, a house with a blue door was particularly important to me (just another one of my little weirdisms) and I now live in ‘the flat with the blue door’. I really love it here and it makes me feel so grown up; I’m not really sure why but it’s kind of cool to say that when I’ve finished for the day ‘I’m going back to my flat’…*sigh*. Just like the first evening of my first Freshers week, I spent the evening making my bedroom my own – my lovely mum took me on a quick jaunt to Ikea when she dropped me off so I could get a little bit of storage and my flatmates and I spent an evening assembling flat-pack-furniture…forget Sugarhouse; it was screwdrivers and peculiar instructions until dawn!

When I had settled into the flat and taken some time to get myself sorted it was time to have some fun with my flatmates and some of our friends from last year! I went to my very first paint party – which was amazing, albeit very slimy, and I had such a good time! Just seeing everybody smiling, having a lovely time and singing at the top of their lungs to club music reminded me that uni is about having fun, as well as studying. Studying, assignments and lectures will remain at the forefront of my mind, but taking some time to have a little bit of fun can be really beneficial – I had such a good night! We had a couple of quiet nights in too, one of which included a ‘Great British Bake Off Mini Marathon’ complete with homemade cookies! (YAY!). During the daytime we were equally busy, but the best day for me was definitely Freshers Fayre. Meeting up with the Ballet girls and being on the other side of the exec stall, trying to get everyone to join the society was so exciting! I can vividly remember walking into the craziness that is Freshers Fayre and just being totally astounded by the number of amazing stalls: from football, to Quidditch all the way to baking and rock climbing – but it was amazing to be part of the Fayre this time. I can imagine that I looked the same as lots of the Freshers – a little scared, but hopeful to find a society where I could fit in and enjoy myself and I really hope that for some people ballet will be that society! We had little dishes of sweets, pretty pens and bunting – which was so, so exciting. I couldn’t help but smile as I saw lots of new students eager to see what was what. It made me think how much I valued being in my society and being part of the exec I had such a fun time and I am eagerly anticipating all the new tasks that my role as treasurer will bring!

Here we are at Freshers Fayre!

And this is a picture of my friends and I in the aftermath of the paint party!

So, there was a whistle stop tour of Freshers week! It was wonderful to catch up with everyone and to have some fun! But, now I must devote some of this post to my new modules – which, by the way, I absolutely love! Heading to lectures this time around was just as exciting as I remember it being when I began in my first year. Actually, just the process of waking up, making myself a little packed lunch (and getting to use my Moomin vacuum flask!) and then catching the bus made me feel extra-specially student-y – I loved it. It’s really difficult to convey the specific feeling that I had as I was sitting on the bus; I just knew that I couldn’t wait to get things underway for the year.

So, the course! I am now a second year History Major, minoring in PPR! The fact that I was able to choose my modules myself this year is something really valuable to me. I feel very privileged to have been given the opportunity to study some of the key issues in history that stand out to me as a student. The minor system here at Lancaster also means that I can continue on with some philosophy modules. However, I have strayed away from some of the more obscure philosophical concepts and have chosen to take my studies more in the direction of understanding religion and the way it has impacted on society through history – something I hope that will run concurrent with some of the key themes arising in the history course. The history modules I’ve chosen focus primarily on social and cultural issues in various areas of Europe from around the 1500s, (although I do have a module on post-War America in Lent term) and the upcoming material looks absolutely wonderful. So far I have really, really enjoyed the shaping of the course because we are thinking about so many themes that will aid the appreciation we have for history as a discipline and as a means of aiding societal development. I am really, really enjoying the workshop style sessions too! Whereas in first year we had seminars which were mainly tutor coordinated this year we are working closely with our lecturers and taking the discussions in our own direction. I think this is a really useful way for us to ask questions and to hear how other students’ opinions differ to my own and I look forward to seeing how these sessions progress. Just like last year I have a fair few readings and things to be doing, but being able to explore lots of new sources and looking at them from a different historical perspective is all part of this new challenge and, so far, I have loved venturing into the world of C18th Paris, Medieval monasteries and Aristotelian thinkers!

The more I think about it, the more I realise how much has happened in the last few weeks – too many things to talk about in one post! (However much I’d love to, I fear that this one is becoming too long!) I mean, there have been lots of new starts and new opportunities for me as a student and I cannot wait to see how things pan out over the course of the year and I hope that you will come back to find out what happens! I am nervous, but I think it’s more an anticipation – like when you are reading a good book and look forward to every page. I seem to refer to my time at uni like a story quite frequently – maybe that’s because, like most stories, there will be ups and downs but it’s about making it to the end and finding out what happens.

Thank you for reading, guys! For any previous readers, thank you for coming back and if there are any new readers I hope you’ll stop by again!

Have a lovely week!

History Hugs,

Eleanor