Hand Stands and Bruised Knees

I have just completed my first year of university and it is safe to say I am absolutely relishing in the prospect of having a relaxing summer!

I would like to talk a little about what I do at university, my achievements and how I got there.

I study Chemistry and have had a love hate relationship with the subject for the past year. I love the content and learning new mind blowing concepts, however being examined on this content is a whole different ball game. I very much appreciate the science, however understanding it for an exam is something that has been a work in progress this year.

It is pretty crazy to move out of your family home into a flat with strangers with a bank account balance (at the start of the year) that makes you feel like you can do absolutely anything you want to.

Firstly, getting yourself to lectures is the most important factor in my opinion to getting a first. Being there first hand to experience the lecture is a lot different to watching it back on a podcast as some other time - I mean, you're literally paying for it.

Organisation is also absolutely vital at university as at the same time you will experience an inflated social life and find yourselves going on nights out during the week (which is something I've definitely experienced before). Lecture notes can quickly pile up and before you know it you're in the study week before exams start and you're listening lectures from the second week of the semester only just making revision notes. Make sure you keep notes up to date! You will thank yourself later when you have a 50 minute lecture condensed into a A4 page that takes you 5 minutes to read - this will greatly assist in your revision.

Get the text books that the university recommends as typically a module in a course will closely follow content from a book on the modules recommended reading lists. This was the case for several of my modules and having the textbook with exam questions and extra reading was very beneficial, particularly because in university you don't get past paper answers whereas with the textbooks you do get the answers to the questions that are similar to the exam paper itself.

Listen very carefully to your lectures, they write the papers you are going to sit and the end of the semester and tend to put some emphasis on content that is on the paper. This is what took my grade from what could have been a 2:1 to a first. Don't get me wrong, they won't outright tell you whats on the paper but subconsciously give away a lot more that they realise - or maybe I just got really lucky with my lectures, but it's always worth keeping an eye on.

Get out of your flat as much as possible! There are a lot less distractions in the library/cafe than your home (I feel as though this one is pretty obvious so I shan't blabber on).

Talk through content with course mates. It took me until university to realise that my verbal chemistry is awful, I would have no problem writing down answers to questions however having academic dialogue with peers was a massive issue I've worked on from the start. This is particularly important as my exam papers didn't have strict mark schemes and rather than recalling an answer for marks, marks were awarded for writing down ideas/concepts and considering application of content - this skill can be greatly improved by taking about the subject and gaining a greater understanding rather than just learning the syllabus.

It is important to remember that your first year is time to adjust to a different living and learning style and therefore grades aren't the most important aspect of first year, but it is pretty cool to say I got a first in my first year of university.

I have struggled with acne for many years, since my early teens to be precise and now being 20, I have had a lot of time to trial an array of 'miracle cures'. Firstly, I would like to note that I do not believe in a 'miracle cure' that fix acne problems over night. This is an absolute impossibility, particularly for myself as I am battling old stubborn acne scars as well as active acne.

Firstly, I made many dietary adjustments and essentially ate a 90% plant based diet. For several months I had the dream skin I never thought I'd have and this lasted for a few years until I came across a second bout of acne for an unbeknown reason to myself. (I highly recommend adjusting your diet first as a natural treatment as this did work for me initially, particularly cutting out most dairy).

Like I just mentioned, I was completely blind sighted by the return of my acne. I refined my diet once again and became even stricter on the plant based front and reduced my sugar consumption as this is known to cause acne. However, my efforts proved fruitless.

I was eager to keep at it with the natural methods as I believe that if you're not willing to eat it then it shouldn't be going on your face as creams are absorbed into the skin and assimilated into the body just like food is. Thus, I began trying a whole host of natural creams and I particularly found success in aloe vera, I have my own plant thus apply it to my face straight from the plant. From research, the aloe vera is able to aid in the recovery of acne scars as well as fight active acne due to the hormones present in the plant. Hormones called Auxin and Gibberellins in the aloe vera are responsible for the useful properties. I found moderate success using aloe vera on my skin.

This result was not what I ideally wanted and thus, reluctantly turned to pharmaceuticals. I came across benzyl peroxide which was hailed a miracle treatment for problematic skin. I therefore have it a try (5% benzoyl peroxide) and found great results within a week of using the cream nightly. Not only were my spots healing up, but the cream also treats black and white heads too.

I have particularly oily skin and therefore the drying nature of the cream didn't affect my skin too greatly, however my skin became very sensitive. I am unsure whether this is a direct symptom of the treatment or whether it was caused by the enhanced sensitivity to UV rays (despite using SPF!). Since using this cream I have reduced my usage to every 3 or 4 days and my skin is still improving day by day. Just to note, I am still using aloe vera in order to re-hydrate my skin once a week.

Overall, I would recommend this as a last resort (over the counter) solution before venturing into prescription medication for acne!

My skin is far from where I wish it would be, however perseverance is key (or at lest that is what I'm telling myself)!

As I have been sampling the university life during freshers I have come across many hacks for living life on the cheap and making the most of living in a new city!

A bit of a boring one to start off with but get your textbooks as soon as possible! Even though the libraries stock multiple copies of the same textbook there is no guarantee that there will be enough for one each. If you like the textbook then you can re-new the book for pretty much the entire semester. University is not like A-levels so there is limited relevant information on the general internet.
Social media is your best friend prior to leaving for university! Join groups for people at your university, on your course and in your accommodation. Make friends to take the pressure off meeting all the people you will be living with/on your course on the first day.
During freshers walk as much as possible rather than using public transport in order to really understand where everything is and get a general feel for the city. This can also be considered as an apology to your body and get a bit of cardio in after testing the absolute limits of your liver during freshers. (When the deals on drinks are so good, it's a crime to say no!)
Pinterest food hacks are an absolute life saver! (I will be posting a follow up blog of a couple of my favourite recipes to make when I have no money/motivation to cook).
When you are in your accommodation, especially at the beginning of the academic year try and utilize the communal areas as much as possible in order to socialise with your flatmates. Staying in your room a lot will give other people in your flat that you are a hermit so they probably wont invite you along to much purely because they don't see you so they dont think to ask!
Following on from the last point, try and keep as busy as possible. Not only does this allow you to meet amazing people but it takes your mind home and feeling home sick.
Even Though freshers is all about going out and having a good time, a lot of universities offer events during the day like fairs which normally has a lot of free stuff to offer so I highly recommend taking advantage of this! For instance, Dominoes were offering free pizza at one of the events I attended. FREE PIZZA. Need I say more?!
When it comes to freshers events makes sure you check whether the events are being held by the university or a private company as often events can clash with the university schedule. For example, buying tickets to a club one night and then having to attend a welcome lecture the following morning does not give off a good first impression when you turn up hungover still in your pajamas.
When it comes to buying food, chain supermarkets are not as cheap as you think. For instance, your typical bottle of water is 70p(ish. Depending on where you live of course) however in a local chinese market bottled water is 30p! So, I recommend scoping out the local food markets for cheap grub!

That about wraps it up for advice and hacks I have for freshers!

Pages

Tiësto & Dzeko ft. Preme & Post Malone - Jackie Chan

Oh Wonder - Heavy

Oh Wonder - High On Humans

Drake - Nice For What

Danrell X Småland - Hostage

The xx - I Dare You

Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin - I Like It

Clean Bandit - Solo feat. Demi Lovato

Bebe Rexha - I'm A Mess

Post Malone - Better Now

Nicki Minaj – “Bed”

Nina Nesbitt - Somebody Special

Nina Nesbitt - The Best You Had

Popular Posts

Blog Archive