Tuesday 23 June 2015

Finishing my second year of University.

So, as of 6:35am this morning I sent in my last Level 5 essay and I have officially finished my second year of uni! I could not be more relieved. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't my best work. The rest of my end of year essays and presentations were the result of a lot of hard work, dedication and passion for the subject and I was really proud of what I produced. This last one however, was more the product of rushed, late night work. The module it was for wasn't really my favourite and as the essay was the last in a long list of assessments, I'd completely lost all motivation. I'd like to say I'm disappointed in myself for handing in shabby work, but to be perfectly honest I'm just so god damn happy it's over and that I managed to type something up, send it in and get it out of the way!

It still hasn't quite sunk in that next time I go to uni it will be to start my final year of my degree. Scary! Second year has definitely been a tough one, with the work load significantly increasing from the year before. I've also had the troube of moving back home with the aim of saving money to deal with, as I found it a lot harder than expected. During first year I lived in halls where I literally had to crawl out of my bed, walk fifty steps out of my flat door and I was in my university's main building. Going from this to a forty minute car drive away was a huge adjustment. However, I'm hopefully looking at few flats up in Leeds overr the next week. So moving back there for my final year will be exciting and will make life a lot easier for me.

Although I was desperate for this year to finish,  I'm already excited to start back in September (sounds weird, I know!) But one of the worst feelings is losing motivation for something you're passionate about, and so I'm really looking forward to going back after some time to rejuvenate so I can get back to having that drive and enthusiasm for my course. I've also got some really interesting modules to look forward to next year, which I think I'll enjoy a lot more than some of the ones I studied this year...

There have been many stressful moments this year, and a couple of modules that I found extremely dull and made me lose the will to live (ie Renaissance...) but overall I've really enjoyed it  because I love studying English. When I do a module I find interesting with books that are enjoyable to read it really makes all the difference. I've found that in my Magical Realism module, so doing a subject like that which I really loved and was passionate about has definitely been one of my highlights in second year. I've also got to know some really lovely people on my course who I hope I'll stay friends with next year!

Anyway, this was quite a random post about my reflections and musings about the last year of university life... I'm just so happy that after the last few weeks of being cooped up in my room working, I'm finally free to enjoy summer! I'm got a lot of exciting plans and travels coming up and I also hope to work on this blog a lot more.

Thanks for reading. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Wednesday 3 June 2015

Sailing the Whitsunday Islands: A Photo Diary

The Whitsunday Islands has to be the most incredibly beautiful place I have ever visited in my life. With the gorgeous islands, picturesque beaches, bright blue waters and colourful marine life you will literally think you have died and gone to heaven. 74 stunning tropical islands make up the Whitsundays, located in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Some of the most well known islands include Hamilton Island, Daydream Island and of course Whitsunday Island which is home to the absolutely breath-taking Whitehaven Beach.