WOAF || Chapter one || FreshFest
University is fantastic, my lectures are brilliant and the people I have met all seem wonderful...
The social side of university is fantastic, the bars and clubs, or blubs as I like to call them are lush and they play the normal club music, but some play awesome indie music like The Black Keys and Coldplay! All my flat mates are wicked (Although we all have the almighty freshers flu at the moment) and although it's only been a week no real arguments or 'side taking' has happened which is a relief.
Some of you reading this may know that I have joined both the hockey and music society at my university and I'm loving hockey so far (the music was a little pants this week, but I'm going to go next week and see if it livens up a bit). In hockey I've pretty much secured a place in the team already, so much so that I'm going to collect the keeper kit tomorrow afternoon! I had training yesterday and because they had no keeper kit there, I had to play outfield AND ACTUALLY RUN... Thus, I have been hobbling around to lectures and Tesco today.
As I said above, my lecturers are fan-tas-tic.
Di - Study and Research Skills
Nick - Intro to Criminology
Rav - Intro to Crim JusticeÂ
Andy - Diversity, Values and Ethics.
My favourite (as childish as it is) has got to be Andy. I only met him today and already I can tell that I am going to love his classes. He is also Dyslexic and has already assured me I can do it and that he will help every step of the way, even if he isn't teaching my modules! He is also an ex military police officer which is brilliant because that is a career path I am seriously considering in 3 years time...I will be going to him for references :P... Di is also lovely, she is just like a previous teacher of mine, Andrea, who I got on really well with. I have not really had much chance to get to know Nick and Rav, but they both seem nice.
However, there is one thing that I have found about going into university with a learning difficulty such as my own and that one thing is that it seems to be that in order to discrete the difficulties of dyslexia, one must first read and learn about it. Oh, the irony of such a statement. (Luckily, however, I am able to get two birds with one stone as one of my formative assignments is in regard to 3 self-chosen areas of Study and Research Skills (SRS) and I am doing Studying with Dyslexia! Otherwise, I'd have extra reading!)
If your university sells them - Buy a freshers wristband, they really DO save you money
Go out as much as possible - You don't always have to drink when you go out and it doesn't always need to be at night, just go out and meet new people from different courses and backgrounds!
Be open minded - You never know who you are going to meet or what you are going to come across, being open minded allows you the freedom to talk to whoever, whenever and have a better and full social life at uni
HAVE CHANGE! - As crazy as it sounds, change is a fundamental thing and something I only found out today. Things like halls laundry services, bus fares and trolleys all require change and normally correct change. So, stock up on those 20p, 10p, 50p, ÂŁ1 and ÂŁ2 coins! (Nowhere takes 5p coins anymore around here)
Have a go, what's the worst that could happen? - Have a go at anything you haven't tried before, sign up for every club going at the fair and just have a blast, the worst thing that could happen is that you didn't put your name down!
Be sure to take notes and attend induction lectures - Sure, almost every induction lecture is boring and the same as the next one, but they really are important, not only for studying but for meeting course mates and lecturers, you will after all have to work in a group at some point!
Finally, don't hold back - Say hello, ask questions, have fun, go crazy, study hard, have a drink... Do whatever you want to do, do stuff others want to do and don't be shy, everyone else is in the same situation.
That is about all this week has entailed in a nutshell. If you'd like to give this blog a lovely follow, you'll get a post like this once a week with tips and advice as I come across challenges first hand and also, if you are family or a friend of me then basically what I'm up too!Â
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