I can't quite believe this is my third university update! My last one was before Christmas and boy oh boy has a lot happened since then. If I was you I'd make sure you were comfy, maybe a blanket, a nice big mug of hot chocolate and a couple of chocolate biscuits because, well, it would be silly not to!
A lot has happened since my last update post (which you can read here) but I have actually only been back at university for 8 weeks (technically seven) as my semester didn't start until February (and boy oh boy did the Christmas holidays drag!) but the past seven weeks have been very jam packed.
After coming back after Christmas I got all of my assignments I handed in before Christmas and I actually did pretty well, I got a First in my Land Law assignments which were worth 50% altogether, and I got 2:1's in my Criminal and EU law assignments which is honestly such a relief and such a weight being lifted on my shoulders! There is definitely more pressure in second year as everything actually counts towards my degree so I wanted to well and I definitely did. I am so proud of myself and despite the first semester being really difficult I'm glad it didn't affect my grades and education as that would of been the worst thing to have happened!
My living situation hasn't improved at all, I basically don't talk to two of the three other people I live with and I can honestly say hand on my heart that I have done nothing wrong. To be honest I am upset by it as it was not how I thought my living arrangements would go but it's probably helped me in the fact that I don't get distracted when I'm in the flat trying to do work and if I hear them in the kitchen I don't have the need to go in and socialise. Sophie (the one flatmate I do still talk to) is very similar to me in that we are both work orientated so we motivate each other and have days where we say we are just going to do work and then watch a film or a TV show in the evening.
On a positive note in terms of living arrangements I did secure a house for third year. I am living with two other girls who are on my course and after spending weeks and weeks attempting to find a relatively decent place in our budget we've actually decided to rent the place they're in at the moment. It's not the best place in the world right now, but I'm excited to get in there and make it all pretty and girly and I'm just excited to live in a HOUSE with STAIRS and a BATH! You do not understand my excitement! I am actually going to be able to take better advantage of having a Lush right on my doorstep!
In other news I did have an unexpected trip home. The plan was that I wasn't supposed to go home at all between moving back after Christmas and going home for Easter, it was two months and it didn't seem that long plus my family were visiting me in the middle of February so it wasn't like I wasn't going to see them for two months! I was at work, after having a really 'crappy' week at uni and having the worst shift ever (we had no team leaders or managers in for my department and no one else knew how to do anything) my mum messaged me saying "Do you want to come home tonight?" at first I was really confused but after saying she would pick me up after work and bring me home I was overjoyed. I didn't realise just how much I needed it. So both her and my dad did the hour drive to Oxford, picked me up from work, took me to my flat to grab some bits (aka dirty washing) and took me home. As I had no lectures at the beginning of the week they didn't bring me back until Tuesday. It was so nice, it was the weekend of Mother's Day and I just loved spending time with my family.
This year, if you've been reading my update posts or my Twitter (which is always linked at the end of my posts) you'll know, has been really difficult for me and I'll happily put my hands up and say it. I know its not my course, I love what I'm doing, as much as I'll complain about the workload and the lectures and everything else I love doing it, I love what I'm learning and I love my friends on my course and the people I've met. For me I think it's the fact I'm not where I imagined I'd be, in the sense that I'm not as independent as I'd like as I'm living in student halls again and I can't have my car, which I know isn't the be all and end all but I just love the freedom it allows me. as I've meantioned my living situation isn't what I thought and that has had such an impact on me. Living in halls in first year was different, yes we complained that the guys we lived with were loud or messy and everything but us girls got on so well and I never thought it would get to the stage where I don't even really talk to two of them (and trust me I've tried!). I wouldn't change my experiences though as it has definitely taught me a lot in terms of friendship and people in general and it's definitely moulded me into a better and stronger person because of it.
In other news, I have got my exam dates now for May. I don't know how to feel about them in all honesty. They are all the day after one another, which is great as it means I get them out of the way but it also means that I am going to be super stressed that week and I won't have lots of time to revise between them all. Also they are in three different campuses, yes you read that right. At Brookes we have three different campuses, Headington (the one I'm based at) being the main one, where most exams are held. However, as they are doing lots of work there they are putting exams on in the other two campuses which wouldn't be so bad but they are both on either side of Oxford which can be a pain to get to and the buses aren't the most reliable. I'm not worried about it too much at the minute as it's just under 2 months away but at the same time that's definitely going to add to the stress of the week!
Second Semester is far from over but I am so looking forward to having three weeks off. I am currently at home at the minute as I came back last weekend but there is so much to look forward to whilst I'm home! I've got my 20th Birthday though I'm not sure how I feel saying goodbye to being a 'teenager' but that's a whole different story. It's of course Easter which some chocolate may have to be consumed and I am planning on meeting up with lots of different friends whilst I'm back oh and I've got a gym membership too!
If you've made it this far I am seriously impressed. I had so much to share and just wanted to blurt my feelings and thoughts out to all. Maybe I should do update posts more often! My next one though will probably be just after I sit my exams in May so that could also be a lengthy one as so much could happen between now and then!
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