Hi everyone!
So, as I mentioned in my last update, I got into University!
(Cue cheers and party poppers)
I was feeling ecstatic, then quite ambivalent about it when I first found out. Anyway, I’m excited at the moment. I am going to a university close to home, whilst my brother also got in to Uni and is moving out, so our preparation lists are very different, of course.
I sometimes wish I had a very good reason to move out, but rather sadly my rational thinking won out on this one. My brother is studying Marine Bio, something that can’t easily be studied right in the middle of the country with a canal at best, and my best friend is a Dentistry student of which there are only 17 schools in the UK.
Meanwhile, there are many more places to study Psychology and the University I am going to is a solid choice to study it, apparently. If I can, it’s probably a good idea to minimize the debt I’ll be getting, too. One thing I am petrified of is being stuck paying off a huge amount of money with stupid interest rates.
Whilst the new start is a great excuse for new stationery and things, as I am staying home I really don’t need anything new! I have:
- a colourful set of clicky Paperchase Inkjoys.
I have a few Staedtler fine liners but I don’t use them as much as I prefer the biro-type pens like Inkjoys. - A lot of flash cards I didn’t get around to using during A-Level
- notebooks – I tend to accumulate those!
My favourites for notes are actually the £3 A4 hardback spiral-bound notebooks from the Works – the ones by PaperPlace. The designs for these often change and aren’t exactly Paperchase-cute but I just grab the nicest design – I’m not too picky with these. Those have decent paper quality and big line spaces for rough work, and on top of that, they are super affordable. The greatest testament to how much I love these, however, is the fact I’ve fully used up two. I, chronic notebook un-finisher, FINISHED these notebooks because I used them so much. - One of those tiny pencil cases, from my little sister. I have gotten into the habit of using much less stationary and carrying only a select few pen colours around – usually black, blue, red and purple. Again, this is for rough work when I am out and about. This is a soft case as I’d rather not have my pens rattling in a tin or box, and still fits a folding ruler and nail file just fine!
- A USB stick that I’ve had for six years and is still going strong – for any digital work.
- A sturdy backpack – I like the Kipling ones – which may be a little pricey but my huge travel bag lasted me through my GCSE textbook days and multiple overpacked days of travel and my backpack has lasted two trips to Vietnam as well as two years of my brother’s A-Level textbooks and folders so I think they are quite worth it. My best friend, my brother and my dad all love their Swissgear/Wenger backpacks.
- A daily journal thing from Urban Outfitters. It’s not something to plan weeks ahead with – I am trying to use my phone calendar more – but you can just pop a date in and organise a free day if you just so happen to have one, and make lists of important things to do. I had a problem with my day-to-view planner last year with just not filling it in and wasting lots of pages, so hopefully, this strategy will be better.
Is there anything you think I don’t already have that I should get?
I’m not quite sure how else to express that I’M EXCITED even if I’ve spent most of last year being glad I’m not doing the same exams my friends in Uni are, because that will be me soon. It’s exciting the way all new things are.
I’m not even worried about socialising! A couple of years ago the idea of that would still terrify me but I’ve become much more comfortable with chatting to anyone over the last year, mostly by attending lots of events by myself. The only thing is that I’ll probably sit out all the club outings and house parties…
One thing I am actually worried about is if I love Psychology like I think I do. A-Levels are a real test of whether you like a subject enough to work at it and Psychology was definitely that subject for me. I always seem to do better in my Psychology work even if I think I’ve put the same amount of effort (or even less) compared to my other two subjects. Especially during my gap year, I was far more focused on Biology and Chemistry because I had more to make up for in those, and I still made less progress. I’m just worried it might also be the same for bits of Psychology this year but I’m also sure it’s just me vastly overthinking all of this and maybe I should stop before I have a crisis.
Phew.
I mean, how do you like to organise yourself? Is anyone else nervous about the New Thing that they’re doing this year?
Until next time,
X
Twenty Swans 