Finishing Uni in the Most Unexpected Way...
I remember writing my first year recap post so clearly. I had recently handed in my final assessment, I was using a friend's laptop as mine had given in, and we were stuck in a hotel room because our accommodation's plumbing and electricity had basically decided they had finished for the year too. A weird way to round of my first year of uni, but absolutely nothing in comparison to the way my final year came to a close.
In that hotel room, it would have never occurred to me that my final stretch at Solent University would ever be like this. It was inconceivable to me that I wouldn't be submitting my final major project in a nervous newsroom, surrounded by the amazing friends I had made, all of us itching for a celebratory gin and lemonade or ten. The reality of it is, I submitted my final major project from the comfort of my own home back in Cambridgeshire, with my friends once again scattered all over the country, and the pubs aren't open to grab even one celebratory gin and lemonade. In fact, it's difficult to make any of this feel like a celebration at all.
Let's take it back to the start. I wrote a post titled 'Having a 3rd Year Freak Out' way back in September, stressing already about my final major project and worried about what the next eight months may hold. My first semester was a lot: a lot of work, a lot of late nights in the library, and once again - another broken laptop. I'm cursed.
Many of our assignments were set in the first semester so we could spend January-April working on our final major projects. And while it seemed very intense at the time, I think it was one of my most enjoyable semesters to date. Although it was maybe my most demanding unit, I was so excited to work on a PR module that really honed in on what I was looking to do after uni, and my Investigative Journalism unit was super interesting - it made me feel like an actual, proper journalist. That semester was also sprinkled with final major project business - a presentation here, an interview there - but the real work for my last ever hand-in started in January.
While a couple of other assessments have cropped up, my FMP has dominated my life for about five months now - five months that have at times felt like five years, and others, five minutes. The Rise, Representation and Responsibility of Mental Health in Popular Music is my little baby; it has truly tested my patience, but for the most part it has been such an eye-opening project that I have genuinely enjoyed working on. You know you're doing the right thing when sometimes it doesn't even feel like work.
Over these past five months, there's always been this thing in the background, which I can only describe as being like an annoying mosquito that you can't see, but it's constant zzzzz is doing your head in. This thing was Coronavirus. As someone on a journalism degree, we were constantly researching it, reporting on it, it was lodged into the back of all of our minds. But, just like a mosquito, it doesn't affect you properly until it bites.
Uni moved towards remote learning on the 19th March. On the 21st, I was packing up the car, leaving my boyfriend and friends for however many months and wondering if I'd ever step inside the buildings that I'd grown so fond of again. It turns out, probably not. It all felt like a dream - it still does.
Don't get me wrong, there are so many people who have had it so much worse during this crazy, awful, unbelievable time. But I think final year uni students are very justified in feeling upset. For me, uni has been such a formative and incredible experience that will never get the ending it deserved. There have been mountainous highs and terrible lows but each and every moment has helped me to grow, and I feel like I have changed for the better because of the experiences I have had and the people I have met. But there were no hugs goodbyes. No final night out. Every time I open my wardrobe doors I see the dress I excitedly bought on an impulse for graduation, and I am reminded there is a very big chance I might never get to wear it. It all seems miniscule in the grand scheme of things. But it's hard not to feel emotional when you worked tirelessly for three years knowing the pride you'll feel celebrating with your friends on that last day, or walking across that stage at the graduation ceremony, will make it so worth it. But just like that, it was over.
Working on my project during lockdown has been quite the task at times. With limited access to equipment and software I was used to using at uni, I felt quite restricted in what I could do. And without face-to-face contact with any of my lecturers to quickly sort problems or to simply ask yes/no questions, the whole process seemed to drag quite a lot. Uni staff have been absolutely incredible during this time and I can't thank them all enough for all their support, but it would be very wrong to suggest that being away from campus hasn't impacted my project in some way. Learning new software from scratch through YouTube tutorials, that software being far too complex for my laptop - it was all a bit of a stress.
These past few weeks have been underlined with uncertainty. The difficulty of finishing my final major project at home has been one thing, but worrying about life on the other side of hand-in has been another. I'm sure lots of people - not just graduates - are feeling the same way. Do I even start looking for jobs now? Do I wait until the 'new normal' comes around? How will I look in amongst a growing pool of thousands of other anxious applicants? I'm not really sure what I'm meant to be doing in this extra-long summer holiday of mine, with no uni to go back to and no solid plans ahead. The 'up in the air-ness' of it all is really isn't much comfort to someone who loves being in control, but I appreciate the extra time to watch so much Disney +.
There is a lot of pain and a lot of stress in the world right now. But if there are any silver linings to this for me personally, I've managed to finish uni during a pandemic. I'm finished and I'm so proud of what my friends and I have managed to achieve. I'm not really thinking about the final grade right now - I'm just frankly astounded that we managed to actually get it done! We might not be able to celebrate in style, but that won't stop the girls and I virtually cheers-ing with a glass of bubbly. To all my friends whom I miss dearly, you're all fantastic and I love you.
In my first and second year round ups, I've concluded with a little look ahead to the future. I'm not going to do that now - I don't even know what I'm going to do tomorrow. But I'm not going to let the future scare me, today I will just be content in knowing I've just done something pretty cool.
In that hotel room, it would have never occurred to me that my final stretch at Solent University would ever be like this. It was inconceivable to me that I wouldn't be submitting my final major project in a nervous newsroom, surrounded by the amazing friends I had made, all of us itching for a celebratory gin and lemonade or ten. The reality of it is, I submitted my final major project from the comfort of my own home back in Cambridgeshire, with my friends once again scattered all over the country, and the pubs aren't open to grab even one celebratory gin and lemonade. In fact, it's difficult to make any of this feel like a celebration at all.
Let's take it back to the start. I wrote a post titled 'Having a 3rd Year Freak Out' way back in September, stressing already about my final major project and worried about what the next eight months may hold. My first semester was a lot: a lot of work, a lot of late nights in the library, and once again - another broken laptop. I'm cursed.
Many of our assignments were set in the first semester so we could spend January-April working on our final major projects. And while it seemed very intense at the time, I think it was one of my most enjoyable semesters to date. Although it was maybe my most demanding unit, I was so excited to work on a PR module that really honed in on what I was looking to do after uni, and my Investigative Journalism unit was super interesting - it made me feel like an actual, proper journalist. That semester was also sprinkled with final major project business - a presentation here, an interview there - but the real work for my last ever hand-in started in January.
While a couple of other assessments have cropped up, my FMP has dominated my life for about five months now - five months that have at times felt like five years, and others, five minutes. The Rise, Representation and Responsibility of Mental Health in Popular Music is my little baby; it has truly tested my patience, but for the most part it has been such an eye-opening project that I have genuinely enjoyed working on. You know you're doing the right thing when sometimes it doesn't even feel like work.
 |
| First Year |
Over these past five months, there's always been this thing in the background, which I can only describe as being like an annoying mosquito that you can't see, but it's constant zzzzz is doing your head in. This thing was Coronavirus. As someone on a journalism degree, we were constantly researching it, reporting on it, it was lodged into the back of all of our minds. But, just like a mosquito, it doesn't affect you properly until it bites.
Uni moved towards remote learning on the 19th March. On the 21st, I was packing up the car, leaving my boyfriend and friends for however many months and wondering if I'd ever step inside the buildings that I'd grown so fond of again. It turns out, probably not. It all felt like a dream - it still does.
Don't get me wrong, there are so many people who have had it so much worse during this crazy, awful, unbelievable time. But I think final year uni students are very justified in feeling upset. For me, uni has been such a formative and incredible experience that will never get the ending it deserved. There have been mountainous highs and terrible lows but each and every moment has helped me to grow, and I feel like I have changed for the better because of the experiences I have had and the people I have met. But there were no hugs goodbyes. No final night out. Every time I open my wardrobe doors I see the dress I excitedly bought on an impulse for graduation, and I am reminded there is a very big chance I might never get to wear it. It all seems miniscule in the grand scheme of things. But it's hard not to feel emotional when you worked tirelessly for three years knowing the pride you'll feel celebrating with your friends on that last day, or walking across that stage at the graduation ceremony, will make it so worth it. But just like that, it was over.
 |
| Second Year |
Working on my project during lockdown has been quite the task at times. With limited access to equipment and software I was used to using at uni, I felt quite restricted in what I could do. And without face-to-face contact with any of my lecturers to quickly sort problems or to simply ask yes/no questions, the whole process seemed to drag quite a lot. Uni staff have been absolutely incredible during this time and I can't thank them all enough for all their support, but it would be very wrong to suggest that being away from campus hasn't impacted my project in some way. Learning new software from scratch through YouTube tutorials, that software being far too complex for my laptop - it was all a bit of a stress.
These past few weeks have been underlined with uncertainty. The difficulty of finishing my final major project at home has been one thing, but worrying about life on the other side of hand-in has been another. I'm sure lots of people - not just graduates - are feeling the same way. Do I even start looking for jobs now? Do I wait until the 'new normal' comes around? How will I look in amongst a growing pool of thousands of other anxious applicants? I'm not really sure what I'm meant to be doing in this extra-long summer holiday of mine, with no uni to go back to and no solid plans ahead. The 'up in the air-ness' of it all is really isn't much comfort to someone who loves being in control, but I appreciate the extra time to watch so much Disney +.
There is a lot of pain and a lot of stress in the world right now. But if there are any silver linings to this for me personally, I've managed to finish uni during a pandemic. I'm finished and I'm so proud of what my friends and I have managed to achieve. I'm not really thinking about the final grade right now - I'm just frankly astounded that we managed to actually get it done! We might not be able to celebrate in style, but that won't stop the girls and I virtually cheers-ing with a glass of bubbly. To all my friends whom I miss dearly, you're all fantastic and I love you.
 |
| Third Year |
In my first and second year round ups, I've concluded with a little look ahead to the future. I'm not going to do that now - I don't even know what I'm going to do tomorrow. But I'm not going to let the future scare me, today I will just be content in knowing I've just done something pretty cool.
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