Vice President Mel Ramsay tells us why you need to make the most of the time you have left.
The warmth and free food that most of you got back home may seem like a distant memory by now, but, if you're anything like me, the extra few pounds you may have gained could be a lasting reminder for the foreseeable future.
But here we are. It's 2014 and semester two. Nah, I can't believe it either, it feels like yesterday that I was sat down with a cuppa watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics. As if that was 2012 though.
All reminiscing aside, this semester means it's time to get serious. If you didn't do so well in the first one – no worries. This semester is a fresh start.
The point of this blog is simple, just make the most of it. You're in uni for a small proportion of your life, and you don't want to look back on it as that time that you *could've* done your best. That point didn't hit me until semester two of my final year, so that's why I'm telling you this now.
So my list of what you should do is as follows:
• Go to all your lectures
Trust me; you'll miss these when they're over. Go see your classmates. Build those relationships. Learn everything you can (without falling asleep preferably). Ask for help. Share ideas.
• Take every opportunity
Go bowling/bingo/for a drink with that bloke/girl/person you met in that seminar/club/coffee shop (Delete as applicable). It's an experience, and that's what uni's all about, don't fall into the stress circle (stress about work, try to do work, stress about work that you haven't done, don't do work, nap, stress about work etc) give yourself a break and do something different. Uni is about learning your subject, but it's also about life experience and learning about other people. Every random thing you do contributes to your overall experience. Just do it.
• Try and get some work experience under your belt
Work experience is an amazing opportunity, and it is really worth doing now. Just think, at the moment you have a bit of time, your student loan, and a reason to do it. Once you've left university and you have a full time job, it's going to be hard explaining to your new boss that you need two weeks leave to experience a different career. You'll be surprised how receptive companies are when it comes to work experience. This is the time to try out different places! Even if it's not related to your course, you could find an amazing new career that you never even imagined would suit you.
• Join a club or society
Clubs and societies are an amazing opportunity to extend your friendship group, experience new things (SEE ABOVE!), and generally have fun alongside your studies. The union has so many different ones to suit you, even if you're in your final year and it's late in the year, you can still join! Loads of the societies have trips and everything, so you might aswell spend a bit of your loan on a trip that you'll remember for the rest of your life, rather than 10 pints of Carling that you won't remember the next day. You know it makes sense.
So, my list isn't massive but I think that every point is valid. Remember that many people refer to university as the best time of their lives. Make it yours too.
KLOVEYABYEEEE