What University Taught Me

I have a different post for you all today, as it's more of a lifestyle post but I thought that it might be useful to a lot of you who are heading off on the next part of your life in a few months, or are thinking of going to University. So here's what University has taught me...

I started Uni in September 2010 and at that time I thought I was pretty grown up but little did I know that I had so much more to learn.

1: It's completely fine to be different:

The night before my first day at Uni, I panicked about what to wear, how to have my hair and makeup, even if my notebook was cool enough. In reality all of that panicking really didn't matter. You will not meet a more mixed bunch of people than the ones who you are Uni with. Stick to being you and you will be fine. Honestly, I feel extremely silly and vain when I think about how much I panicked before my first day. Within 20 minutes of sitting in a lecture theatre, I noticed an elderly lady (who I later found out was doing her 11th degree and was 71 years old), a boy with a multi-coloured mohican, and a girl with a Cruella De Ville style hair do. My point is that, whilst in High School, there seems to be this thing that makes everyone think that they have to fit in with the masses and follow the crowd. Being at uni made me realise that by standing out and being different, you are actually more likely to fit in.

2: You don't need to save up to go to University:

I always thought that to go to Uni, you had to have money in the bank. Wrong. Don't get me wrong, I think that saving a little before you head off to Uni will help. There were many times when I found that I had to rely on my overdraft on  my student account, but I don't think that my experience would have been the same had I had money all of the time. You don't need to worry about saving for your fee's as everyone is entitled to a partial or full payment of fee's. This is available through the Student Finance, which explains exactly what you are entitled to and what you will need to pay back. 

3: Work hard and you will get the results you deserve:

I know this sounds really obvious, but it really didn't kick in with me until I started at Uni. It's really simple but if you don't do the work you will NOT pass. At GCSE and A-Level, I just expected to get good grades, and didn't work as hard as I should have and when I didn't get what I wanted, I wondered why. You will always meet people during your studies who think that they will get good grades if they don't work hard, but the reality is that they will eventually find that they will struggle and won't come out with the grades that they could have.

4: Don't worry about nor making friends. You will make hundreds:

Just before I started my course, I started to worry that I wouldn't make friends. You have to remember that everybody is in the same position. No-one knows anyone and some people have moved hundreds of miles away from their loved ones. You will make friends. Don't be afraid to ask if you can sit next to someone, or if someone wants to go to the library to study, or for a drink after lectures. I can honestly, say that the fiends I have made at Uni are my friends for life, and I couldn't have got through my degree without them.

5: Make the most of what you've got. 

There were plenty of times throughout my studies where I wished I had that dress from Topshop, or that lipstick from MAC, or I wished I could go out for Student Night. Even though you can't always have exactly what you want, the stuff you already have is perfect. Being strapped for cash and wanting new things made me develop a new thrifty lifestyle. You can easily do DIY projects for a few pounds, or customise items that you already have. Your bank balance will thank you.

So, if you're heading off to University this year or in the future, remember to think of it as a new start and something that will develop you as a person. I'll be graduating with a BA (Hons) in Tourism Management in three weeks, and without learning these things, I wouldn't be doing that. I'm sorry this has been an extremely long post, but I thought that I would share my experiences, which I hope has helped some of you :)