{"id":184,"date":"2017-10-17T19:28:15","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T19:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/?p=184"},"modified":"2020-04-15T23:09:57","modified_gmt":"2020-04-15T23:09:57","slug":"if-i-could-tell-my-first-year-self-one-thing-it-would-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/2017\/10\/17\/if-i-could-tell-my-first-year-self-one-thing-it-would-be\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018If I could tell my first year self one thing it would be\u2026\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018If I could tell my first year self one thing it would be\u2026\u2019<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u2018Feel the fear and do it anyway\u2019<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Starting with a rather philosophical quote here but, put simply, my advice would be to do as many things that scare you as possible. I\u2019m speaking from experience here when I recommend getting out of your comfort zone and taking part in as many societies\/clubs\/sports teams\/voluntary and academic opportunities in your first year when free time is a lot more available. <\/span><\/p>\n

    I told myself in my first year that I was going to let myself adjust and settle into university life before venturing outside of my studies (which there is absolutely nothing wrong with at all) but in my second and third year I partook in the Lancaster Bombers American Football team, the Defying Dementia Student Society, the creation of this blog as well as a number of voluntary placements. These opportunities enabled me to network with peers outside of my course and opened a lot of doors for me so I wouldn’t change anything. However, it took a lot of proactivity and time management to ensure I was allocating my time effectively throughout my last two years of study and I couldn’t help but sometimes wish I had started at an earlier stage in academic career.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t get me wrong, everything worked out perfectly for me but do yourselves a favour and start sooner rather than later. Your future self will thank me for it!<\/span><\/p>\n

    (Maybe you could begin by writing an article for your BLS Student Blog \ud83d\ude1c)<\/span><\/p>\n

    – <\/span>Jed, Blog Creator, BSc (Hons) Biological Sciences Graduate<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    2. First year DOES count<\/span><\/p>\n

    One of the most frequent phrases you will hear in your first year of uni is \u201cfirst year doesn\u2019t count,\u201d which is accurate regarding your final degree classification, however it doesn\u2019t mean that your grades are completely meaningless. First year in BLS is one of the most intense in my opinion, as you are doing 15 modules in one year whereas most other courses will cover around 8. This means you are expected to learn a lot, and of course it is nearly impossible to be amazing at EVERYTHING. However, I would definitely say to try your hardest and not give up just because it \u201cdoesn\u2019t count,\u201d as when it comes to applying for second year summer internships, and even your dissertation topics, your first year grades will be taken into account.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Don\u2019t get me wrong, missing a lecture or two after a heavy night isn\u2019t going to doom you to failure, and in BLS we are lucky enough to have lecture recordings so we can catch up, but don\u2019t pass off first year as a doss year, make the most of your contact time! <\/span><\/p>\n

    – Maya, 3rd year Bsc (Hons) Biological Sciences Student<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Everything Will Work Out In The End<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      When you first come to Lancaster, your degree can often take a backseat. There are so many challenges to overcome, from personal relationship problems to mental health issues; I think it\u2019s fair to say that not everyone has a smooth ride over their first 12 months here. But whatever you do, don\u2019t let that deter you. As someone who has switched their degree scheme multiple times since they\u2019ve been here, bounced around a number of societies and felt like university wasn\u2019t for them more times than they can remember, trust me, it all works out. Going into my third year now, I am totally focussed on who I am and who I want to be, and I wouldn\u2019t be able to give my degree my all this year if I hadn\u2019t gone through those experiences in my formative years.<\/span><\/p>\n

      In retrospect, if everything had gone to plan, there are a few things I wished I\u2019d have done. Attend every lecture, gain as much insight as you can and grasp every opportunity available to you. Your last year at Lancaster may seem a million miles away, but your time here will vanish in the blink of an eye, so utilise it well. Now is your chance to really develop who you are as a person and discover what you want to do when you finish your time here – it truly is never too early to think about this. Grasp every internship and work experience placement with both hands, but don\u2019t forget the fun stuff too. If anything, I should\u2019ve joined more societies – there are clubs here that you will rarely get the chance to participate in again, so if you want to join kickboxing, or motorsport, or ultimate frisbee, do it. It\u2019s important to get that life-work balance just right. Work hard and don\u2019t let yourself down, but crucially try to enjoy yourself in the process and hopefully any anxiety you may have will simply wash away.<\/span><\/p>\n

      – Hannah, 3rd Year Natural Sciences BSc (Hons) Student<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. <\/i><\/b> It\u2019s never too early!<\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        By the time I started my first year I figured that it was the time to really enjoy myself as I already made the big decision on what and where I want to study and therefore I wouldn\u2019t have to think about my future until my third year. When I had my first careers workshop in third year though, I realised how wrong I was. In a competitive and constantly developing industry such as sciences work experience is essential and makes you stand out. Going back in time, I can recall how many opportunities I lost just because I did not appreciate the skills I would gain or I did not put enough effort into my applications and even missed the deadlines a few times.<\/span><\/p>\n

        I did try to get involved with activities aside from my course such as volunteering for two weeks in Bulgaria. That was a great experience from which not only I met great people and had fantastic memories but also helped me build up my CV and gain a variety of skills. Apart from that, I believe I should have paid more attention to gaining experience in the field, especially in a great university like Lancaster where they offer 12-month placements across the country, summer internships etc.<\/span><\/p>\n

        Although that did not stop me from doing what I wanted to and I have moved on to do my Master\u2019s on something that I really love, I wish that I was more pro-active and grabbed the opportunities when I had the chance to. <\/span><\/p>\n

        – Maria, Biomedical Sciences Graduate<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Making the Most of Every Page<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          If I could go back in time I would give myself some rather plain and practical advice! In my first lecture at Lancaster I had been warned that the volume of content I would cover compared to A-levels would be dramatically different. This was absolutely true. Even now I\u2019m surprised at how much information can fit into a fifty minute lecture. As nerdy as it sounds, I wish I would have experimented with different note-taking techniques early on. I spent way too much time scribbling, illegibly at times, trying to keep up with everything the lecturer was saying – an impossible task believe me! Take the time to find a way of making and organising notes from lectures, whopping text books, and long articles. It improves your efficiency, leaving you more time for the fun stuff, and makes exams seem much less daunting. Finding the perfect nook to study in as well as having a \u2018study buddy\u2019 can also make pouring over notes that bit easier too! Rarely will you have this opportunity to devote so much attention to learning alone so get ready soak up as much as possible!<\/span><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. \u2018Don\u2019t Forget to Have Fun\u2019<\/span><\/i><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

             <\/p>\n

            When I first started at Lancaster University I was excited at the prospect of starting anew and learning about something that I have chosen and love. However, when you\u2019re told that there is a big leap from A-Levels to University, they are not wrong. I was so overwhelmed with the quantity and the difficulty of the work, and was so concentrated on getting the best grade that I possibly could, that sometimes I forgot to have fun. <\/span><\/p>\n

            If I could rewind to my first year at Lancaster I would have gone out more with my friends and stressed less about the work. The workload is sometimes overwhelming and can be stressful, but if you work out a time for you to do all the work, you also have time to go out with your friends rather than stressing about an essay at 12am that you have due for the next day. It is incredibly important for you to have fun so that you have some way of relieving the stress that will consume you if you\u2019re not careful.<\/span><\/p>\n

            – Molly, 2nd Year Biomedicine BSc (Hons) Student<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            \u2018If I could tell my first year self one thing it would be\u2026\u2019 \u2018Feel the fear and do it anyway\u2019 Starting with a rather philosophical quote here but, put simply, my advice would be to do as many things that scare you as possible. I\u2019m speaking from experience here when I recommend getting out of Read more about \u2018If I could tell my first year self one thing it would be\u2026\u2019<\/span>[…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":626,"featured_media":187,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[84],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life-as-a-student"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/files\/2017\/10\/fresher.jpg?fit=1024%2C573&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9dFBD-2Y","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/626"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184\/revisions\/186"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/bls-student-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}