I'm Off to Uni

Hi Friends. 

 I took the majority of August off blogging to gain some perspective. I have loved blogging every week and I plan to continue; however, over the summer, as my routine shifted, I found myself scrabbling for something to write about. My content became forced and unauthentic. If I am uploading weekly, I want the quality to remain consistent; I took a break to do some key planning and also to gain some inspiration. I have some awesome posts planned for you guys including another Look Book which is a massive project for me; hence why I haven't done one in about 18 months. I also have a whole bunch of Uni posts lined up for you so I thought I'd get started on that today. 

 I wanted to chat to you today about how I picked my University and my course in order to help anyone who is in the same position as I was last year. 

 My first piece of advice is something I followed right when I was picking my GCSE subjects when I was 14. I believe that unless you are following a specific career path such as Law or Medicine, it really doesn't matter what subjects you take. My advice is to pick what you enjoy. When choosing my university course especially this was crucial to me. I knew I'd need the motivation to read huge amounts on this subject, I'd have to stay up late some nights writing essays, I'd need to research in my own time. To be quite frank, I probably could have done well doing Law or Politics, but I know for a fact that I wouldn't have been interested enough to put my heart and soul into it. 

 When it came to picking my A Levels, it was fairly easy for me. The subjects I had done best in were the ones I loved because that's how my motivation correlates. 

 It was the same for picking my degree. I knew I loved History. But I also knew I was struggling a lot. I just couldn't get my head around how I was meant to write and my grades didn't match my love for the subject. It was quite hard to kiss history goodbye. It had always been one of my best subjects but I knew at that point that I was an English student. 

 My passion had always been in books. 

 So I researched Literature degrees and decided to include Creative Writing in there to give me a career prospect aside from teaching. 

 I didn't have a career in mind when I chose my degree but I don't think that matters too much these days. The reality of the world at the minute is that jobs for post graduates are few and far between... my priority was having the best three years possible in order to end up with the best mark in my degree. 

 I have since thought more about the jobs I would be qualified for and realised I would love to work in publishing. This, I think, proves that if you follow the path you enjoy most, you'll be qualified for a job you'll enjoy whether or not you know what that job is at the beginning of the process. 

 When I began looking at universities I was sure I'd stay at home to save money. It was always incredibly important to me to go to university, primarily because I grew up believing we were too poor to go to uni. I kept this misconception with me when visiting university websites because I misunderstood the financial aid and processes in place. I believed I couldn't afford to live away from home. 

 So I picked a local uni that I loved at planned to stay home for the next three years.

 My only regret in this whole process is that I didn't shop around the country more for a uni. Since the atmosphere at my home has shifted, I have decided to live at uni and I couldn't be more excited. But because I went through most of this process alone, I didn't feel like I had the option to change my mind and look into a university across the country. There are so many areas of the UK that interest me: Bath, Brighton etc. I wish I had had the knowledge and understanding this time last year to know that it was possible for me to be financially able to go to any uni I wanted to. 

 Despite this I am so excited to go to Uni in a few weeks time. I have picked a University that suits me. I'm not a massive nights out person. I picked a university that is relatively small but expanding quickly which I truly believe will suit me more and allow me to focus my attention in the right places. 

 When choosing a university research is so crucial. If, like me, you don't have a family that really know much about uni and you're left to your own devices, make sure you research everything. Try not to limit yourself. Anything and everything is possible when it comes to university no matter your financial background or what degree you choose. 

 Good luck to any of you off to uni in the next few weeks or to those of you completing your A Levels. I hope this helps you plan your research process a little more efficiently. 

 I am aiming to get back into my regular Sunday blogging schedule over the next few weeks!