My recent (and rather stressed) posts may have hinted at it, but I’m currently battling my way through final year of (though I do say it myself!) a bloody hard degree. The few months since September have been some of the busiest and stressful of my life, but equally some of the best. It’s bittersweet really – I’m torn between being fully done with studying and not wanting to leave!
I’ve come to realize that attending university and applying for jobs is a lot tougher than I first imagined. I know realistically I’ve actually done very well in my job applications, but it’s still disheartening to end up being rejected at final stages, especially when every single other interviewee had already graduated. My goal is to still have a job lined up before I finish university, but equally I’m beginning to slow down applications, concentrate more on uni work and try and relax a bit more. Easier said than done though – give me until tomorrow and I’ll be stressing all over again!
Obviously with all these applications there ends up being a few rejections. I’m not ashamed to admit there have been many times I’ve been in tears on the phone to W, though somehow I haven’t yet opened an email and cried in public. Time will tell…
Then there’s the actual studying, what’s supposedly the important bit. And that’s going quite well. It took me a while to remember how to do things admittedly (the downside of a years placement!), but the work ethic I gained over last year has definitely helped. Settling my alarm for 6am and starting work early is not something I would have done in second year! I’ve found final year has brought a lot more “work through this in your own time”, a lot more reading for some modules (which as a maths student is really strange!). It’s also brought a lot of work for the last week of term – I’m that person who doesn’t finish assessments until midday this coming Friday, that person who is still ploughing through the work when I should be thinking about Christmas.
My degree is so cheery… #mortality #studying #notes #uni #universitylife #finalyear
A photo posted by Chloe Ellen (@ninegrandstudent) on Nov 9, 2015 at 1:24pm PST
Oh, and it’s brought a lot more cheery topics too – with a whole module dedicated to estimating future lifestyle and mortality rates…
However final year has also meant living with some of the loveliest friends ever. We’ve gone back to having house Sunday dinners, film nights, late night trips to ASDA to buy snacks. Having been so stressed I’ve seen just how important my friends are to me, whether it’s W on the end of the phone to hear me rant and cry, or my housemates to make me laugh. So whilst I can’t wait for the stress of studying to be all over, I’m dreading the day in the summer where we pack up and leave. One minute I can’t wait for university to be over, the next I’m praying for time to slow down!
How did you find final year? Were you torn between wanting studying to be finished but not wanting to leave?