As One Door Closes, Another Door Opens

There is nothing like a traditional ceremony to mark the end of a chapter in your life, and the beginning of a new one.

I attended my first graduation (and hopefully more to come) last week, where I wore the black robes and graduation cap to officially graduate with BSc degree in Biomedical Science.

On one of the hottest days of the year, everyone dressed up very formally and wore their robes with pride, including me. There's something about wearing graduation robes which makes you feel important, or an extra in a Harry Potter movie. I didn't want to take it off at the end of the day!

The day was more than my outfit though, it was the sense of achievement that could be felt in the room, and seeing everyone walk on that stage and shake the chancellors hand. It made me feel proud of what I have done, and even better for making not just me but my parents proud as well.

The graduation ceremony was over in a flash and thankfully I didn't trip in my heels whilst walking across the stage! After hanging around after the ceremony to chat, take pictures of me throwing my hat in the air, and have a well deserved glass of prosecco, I found it was time to leave the city where I had spent 3 years living and studying.

Whilst driving out of the city, it was sad to leave behind some of the best memories of my life, yet I felt happy to leave some of my worst (university is not always the best moments of your life).

I couldn't help feel excited for the future, as those three years made me realise who I want to be and what I want to do with my life.

I am so grateful for everything I have learnt from university, as well as the mistakes that I have made. It has given me so many opportunities and so many new perspectives.

If you happen to be reading this and are at/going to university, you will come out a new person. It will make you grow, and the graduation ceremony is so worth all those hard times. Giving up is easy, but you will grow more as a person if you take the hard route.

And so I shall leave this post with one of my favourite quotes of all time, from a man I admire and who inspires me to keep dreaming.

"If you can dream it, you can do it." 

Walt Disney 

The Proudest Moment of my Life

If someone would have said to me 6 months ago that I would have been able to cycle from London to Paris in 3 days, I would have laughed in their face and told them there is no chance of it happening.

But it did.

Writing this, I can say that this is one of the proudest achievements that I have completed. It's not everyday you meet someone who can tell you they cycled over 200 miles, through the sun, rain and wind to arrive directly in front of the Eiffel tower and be able to say "I made it".

It was a gruelling challenge, that pushed my body and mind both physically and mentally.

Not only do you have to deal with the looming hills and long distances between breaks, but you are also running on very little sleep and relying on sugar and adrenaline.

Day One

My challenge started early, with a 5.30am rise in London to meet at Hersham playing fields. As it was July 1st, I was expecting a calm, summer sunrise but unfortunately this being Britain, we were greeted with the cold, wind and rain.
As we set off in our groups, we cycled out of the busy streets of London and left the city for the rolling hills of Surrey. At this point, as the distance racks up, I started to doubt whether I could pull this off. The hills are steep and challenging, but it is the moments when you see how far you've come, but how far you've got left that are the most difficult.

I have to admit, I did very little training for this. It was my own fault, but training would have helped a lot! However, I did not let this stop me and make me give up! I powered through, determined not to make it into the support vehicle.

After a challenging day, we arrived at Portsmouth in the evening (after the most horrendous hill), proud to have completed day one. A quick shower and some carb loading, and we were boarding the overnight ferry to Caen, ready for day two.

Possibly the worst selfie in the world

Day Two

As 4.45am dawned, we had arrived in Caen with possibly the worst nights sleep ever, having only a chair as our beds. Nevertheless, we prepared ourselves for day two, with 87 miles of the French countryside between us and Evreux.

I have to say, the best parts of this trip are cycling through the picturesque French villages. I stopped for a coffee in one and it looked like a movie set. Just being able to see France like this makes the cycle worth it.

This was the hardest day, with the weather doing all it possibly could to dampen our spirits.
But it did not defeat us, all this hard work and fundraising could not stop me from giving up. As the miles slowly increased, we arrived at Evreux in time for a traditional French meal and a well deserved nights sleep.

Day Three

The final day rolled around, and this time, the 5.30am start was taking its toll on me. However, as soon as we started cycling again, the adrenaline kicked in and the thought of arriving in Paris at the end of the day motivated me to keep going.

After 74 miles, we reached the outskirts of Paris, and together as a team, we cycled through the (rainy) Parisian streets. Thanks to the Euro 2016 football being on, and with France playing that evening, the French morale was high, and this only encouraged us to make it to the Trocadero.

This had to be the best feeling in the world. Seeing the Eiffel Tower in front of you, having cycled there from London, was a euphoric moment. It just proves that no matter what you set your mind to doing, you can achieve it! I have surprised not only my friends and family, but also myself on what I am capable of achieving. This trip was so surreal and I encourage anyone who gets given the opportunity to do something like this to grab it with both hands.

Of course, the most important aspect about this trip was that it was raising money for Breast Cancer Now. Collectively, we raised over £270,000 for the charity, with myself contributing over £1000 to it.

I am so thankful for the generosity of the general public, who helped me to do something so special for the charity and to help save lives in the future. If you still want to donate, then you can at:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Charlotte-Davis20

On a final note, I would just like to say the biggest thank you to anyone who supported me and donated to this worthy cause. It has really surprised me that although there is so much pain and hatred in this world, love and unity will always conquer.

Thank you for reading this post,

Love,

Charlotte

What I Learned From Final Year at University

So this week I officially came to the end of my degree!

It's been tough and a real learning experience for me. There have been many ups and equally many downs, but I guess that's the whole point of life.
I think it's nice to sum up final year with lessons that I have learnt myself. Of course, everyones university experience is different, but seeing as mine has come to an end, here are a few things I've picked up on:

1. A lot of people actually start to do work

When I first started third year, I missed freshers due to being in America. As soon as I moved back in, I wanted to go out and see everyone that I hadn't seen all summer, but even after the first week, most people had kickstarted their coursework, lecture notes etc. This completely shocked me as I felt like I had to start putting effort in, but I suddenly realised that I do the work and could have fun at the same time. Some people find the balance tough, so just because everyone else seems to spend all day everyday in the library, doesn't mean you have to. There will be a point (around disso hand in time) when you have no other choice but to practically sleep in the library, but my advice would be to enjoy freshers one last time and let loose before starting the work.

2. You have to grow up a lot

The was a point at the start of third year when I realised that graduating uni isn't all that bad, and the thought of starting full time work in the real world started to feel like the next adventure. I didn't seem to dread finishing, rather I was kind of looking forward to it. I started searching for graduate schemes or travelling programmes I could do after university. Also, although I enjoyed going out, it started to get a bit tedious and repetitive after going to the same club nights for the past 2 years. Nights in suddenly seemed more preferable and I started opting for staying in and completing uni work rather than a night out.

3. Make the most of third year

Your final year is easy when it comes to having a solid foundation of friends and knowing the university lifestyle inside out. One thing I will advise is to enjoy and savour being a student for one last year. I did this by joining a new society, where I made so many new friends. I also joined up to the universities RAG adventure cycling from London to Paris. These opportunities aren't easily available after uni, and it provides another way of meeting new people. It also helped keep me motivated with the last year of uni, and meant that I really felt like I had made the most of final year.

4. Enjoy the small things

You don't have to go all out for your third year, but simple things like going to the union for a snakebite or using our student discount at restaurants and shops means you are taking advantage of the last time you can enjoy these pleasures.

5. Don't pay attention to anyone else around you

Some people had already finished their disso before I had even started mine, which slightly scared me! But then I realised, each course is completely different. For starters, I was not doing a dissertation but rather a research project. Also, some of the people posting it on facebook went to a completely different university which means they operate in a whole different way. So relax, and focus only on you.

6. There will be a point where you will need to do some work

This happens at different points for everyone, where you get a sudden wave of realisation that you need to stop your partying antics and procrastinating, and buckle down to some work. Your finally year is not for partying, get that out the way in the first two. This is the year that people go to university for, to get that degree. So the sooner you start motivating yourself to work hard, the better and easier it will be. Don't listen to that person that calls you boring for choosing the library over the nightclub, at the end of the day, you are accumulating a lot of student debt to get a good degree, so it would be stupid to throw it away for a few nights out. The summer is for chilling, relaxing and partying. Right now, get those books out and start organising your education. It's only temporary, in a few months it will all be over and it will all be worth it when you're celebrating with a good degree classification at the end.

Final year doesn't have to be stressful. If you remain organised and on top of your work, it can be quite easy.
I warn you now, you cannot breeze through final year without stressing, panicking and maybe crying the odd time. I certainly did not, and there were times when all I wanted to do was give up, but knowing that it was only temporary got me through.
They say you get out what you put in, and I truly believe in this saying. I was one of the last person I knew to finish my exams, but I remained focused and tried to not let that hinder me from trying my best.

On a final note, if you are contemplating going to university, I would say go for it. It truly is a learning experience and builds you as a person.

I wish you the best of luck wherever you are in your education ladder!

Confessions of a third year student...

These days, my life seems to resemble a pair of scales: balancing a social life and sanity with final year university work and insanity.

My lack of blog posts and ideas have been a result of this. I knew this was coming and I tried to prepare myself for the stress and copious amounts of work that would come my way.

I won't sugar coat it, final year is hard, it's meant to be. 

As we approach the end of April, the deadline for my thesis is just around the corner. I've spent pretty much every day since January in a laboratory, desperately trying to gather results to give me something to write about.

This is the life of a final year biomedical science student. It's not fun, but at the same time I am weirdly enjoying it. For those who choose to study a scientific course, then it is most likely that you will end up doing a research project. Not only do I think it is harder than a dissertation, I also think it is waay more stressful but at the same time way more rewarding.

Having to design, plan and conduct a research project by yourself is hard and without proper training, it means you have to use your own initiative on a daily basis to make sure you actually know what you are doing. There were times when I felt like crying in the lab because I had no idea what I was doing and none of my experiments were working. This is where patience comes in handy.

I've learnt so much in a matter of months, not just to do with my course but to do with myself. I definitely do not want to go into research as a future career, and I have also realised that the best way to complete something is to just sit down and get on with it.

I suppose the one thing that keeps me going is that it'll all be over in a couple of months. It's actually scary how quickly time goes when you are so preoccupied with various assignments and revision.

I think it's this point in a degree where you have to make sure you have chosen the right course and that you enjoy it. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to find the motivation to do anything.

Gone are the days of partying almost every night. In fact, after a days work I feel mentally exhausted and the last thing I want to do is get glammed up for a night partying into the early hours.

The coping mechanism's I have acquired are getting enough sleep, which is incredibly important and really effects your performance. I also try and go to the gym a few times a week, as well as going to local dance classes as this fulfils my other passions. It makes for a really good break and keeps me sane.
The most important one however is to START EARLY! I seriously cannot emphasise this enough, the earlier you start, the less stress and panic there will be towards the end. If you find yourself with spare time, make a head start. You will thank yourself for it later.

I can't say I have changed my diet to enrich me with brain boosting omega-3 or anything, I simply indulge in chocolate most of the time to satisfy that sweet craving and as a reward for all those revision notes I made. And there is nothing wrong with that. I also have become a procrastibaker, as you can see from the pictures below!

Blueberry Cake

Strawberry fairy cakes

Easter egg chocolate cakes

So I guess this post is like a diary entry and when it is all over I can read over it and take comfort in the fact that it's all over.

Why You Shouldn't Care What Anybody Else Thinks

It came to my attention this week that I started to worry about what people were thinking of me everytime I did something.

I always thought I was the type of person who didn't care what people thought about me, but it wasn't until I actually realised that I was trying to justify doing something that made me realise I am caring what people think of me.

And then I thought why?

Why am I so concerned about the opinion's of others when it doesn't actually matter. To put it into some contexts, I worry about the slightest things such as whether I should go to the gym, or not wanting to go on a night out but stay in instead.

The gym situation has only started happening recently, when I lost a lot of weight (unintentionally) and suddenly I felt conscious exercising in public.

At the time, I was going to the gym at least once a week, and suddenly I started worrying that every time someone would see me in the gym they might think I was overexercising because of an eating disorder. The main reason for going is a) get my money's worth and b) it makes me feel good.

Another situation was choosing to stay in whilst everyone else was going out, which I then thought would make me look boring. So I forced myself to go out and pretend I wanted to be there. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I do want to go out and I have a really good time, and these are the best nights out. But sometimes, especially in final year of university, I just want to stay in
and have some me-time, that's just how I am.

So when I tried to justify why I was so concerned about what others were thinking, I couldn't think of a reason why.

Everyone on this planet is an individual, whose into different things, looks differently, reacts differently, it's just natural.
So by worrying that others might not think the same way as you is silly and I am so fustrated with myself for even letting it get to me.

And that's when I knew I had to stop caring.

Suddenly, I started doing the things I wanted and not having to explain why I am doing them. If people wonder why, then that's their problem. Besides, curiosity is a human trait so I don't blame them for wondering why. It was hard at first but it's just one of those things we have to overcome.

But the thing that really stopped me from caring is the fact that they probably aren't thinking about what I'm doing or how I look. It's me overreacting and being paranoid.

And therefore, worrying about something thats unknown is not worth it.

So I guess my advice is the next time you worry what others think, ask yourself, do I care? Do they care? Probably not.
And do I want to do this or am I scared that if I don't, others may judge (but probably won't)?

 Just a little thought.

That Sunday Post...

Ahh... there is nothing in this world that beats that chilled Sunday feeling. I love Sunday mornings. It's a chance to forget about the stress of day to day life, and to spend the last bit of the weekend doing nothing without feeling guilty.

With the changing of the clocks, I arose from my bed feeling refreshed with the extra hour of sleep, and was greeted with the autumnal sun shining through my window.

After a lazy morning spent eating breakfast in bed, it seemed only fitting to do a tiny spot of Sunday baking. Being a student at university, I don't have the luxury of being able to use my mum's range of baking equipment that she has accumulated over many years. Instead, I go back to the basics when baking at Uni.

Something I hadn't baked in a while were brownies.

Nothing beats the smell of them baking in the oven, and the first taste of warm, gooey chocolate brownies that seem to melt in your mouth.

So, armed with tesco's basic baking ingredients, I managed to create the perfect (well, to me) chocolate brownie with a hint of orange.

The orange gave it an autumnal, almost christmassy kick, as well as providing a way of using up any leftover fruit I had lying around.
Seriously, when I was baking them, the kitchen smelt like Terry's Chocolate Orange. It was the perfect addition to spice up the simplest of recipes.

Speaking of the recipe, I followed the BBC Good Food Best Ever Brownie recipe (found here), but as I'm baking I tend to meander away from the steps and add my own little additions. You can do this to, creating it to your own taste by adding nuts, raisins, more chocolate, whatever! It doesn't have to be perfect, just as long as it tastes delicious!

So, when you're feeling lazy and in need of a cosy weekend treat, give these tasty little brownies a go!

I will be cycling from London to Paris!

Please help me raise money for Breast Cancer Now!

I am taking on a little challenge next year by cycling from London to Paris in 3 days to raise money for Breast Cancer Now.

The charity is amazing and its aim is to raise money for funding into breast cancer research. They hope to find a cure by 2050 for breast cancer so that no women will have to die of breast cancer again.
Finding a cure for breast cancer can also find a cure for all types of cancer, so no one ever has to lose someone or die themselves.

Cancer is a very common subject and many of us have been or know people who've been affected by it. My Grandma was personally diagnosed with breast cancer, although she was lucky enough to make a complete recovery from it. Others aren't so lucky and a close family friend of mine made the decision to have a mastectomy to be able to live her life to the full.

By finding a cure, women won't need to die anymore or have to make the horrible decision to lose their breasts due to this devastating cancer.

I will be cycling as part of a group of students from London to Portsmouth, then hopping across the channel and cycling through the french countryside right into the heart of Paris, arriving at the Eiffel tower.

My aim is to raise at least £995, however anything extra is a bonus and will all be going to the charity, so there is no limit.

I will take you on the journey and update you with how my training is going on this blog!

If you would like to help me and donate, here is the link to my just giving page. Any amount helps and even £1 can make a huge difference in scientific research, and possibly find a cure for cancer.

Thank you!

https://www.justgiving.com/Charlotte-Davis20

What I learned from second year of university

Another university year is about to begin and as I'm going into my final year, I thought it would be useful to share my experience of second year. You will find lots of posts about freshers and how 'wild and crazy' it can be, but what no blog posts ever say is that first year is a good time to prepare for second year.

It was tough. That's one thing I found out. There were times when I felt down and whilst I wasn't depressed, I certainly felt lonely. It may have been my course, or it may have been the fact that my first year was amazing! Whatever it was, I'm glad to have survived second year and now i shall embrace third year as the final hurdle before finishing my education!


- Second year gets a lot harder

The first thing my course leader said was that second year is the toughest out of the 3. I couldn't understand this. Surely third year, the year that actually counts, is the hardest?

I found first year really easy and felt like it was one big catch up year so that everyone from a variety of different backgrounds is bought to the same educational level. I found that this is true, by the results of my first year exams! Plus it doesn't count so you only need 40% to pass onto second year.

However, second year isn't so easy. I found is extremely tough! So tough that I have experienced many lows. It has gotten to the point where I have considered on more than one occasion of dropping out of uni. I found that I suffered from anxiety as well, which is a first for me. There were a lot of struggles and it certainly did not live up to how good first year was.
My one bit of advice is to power through, no matter how hard it gets. If it doesn't go to plan, you still have third year to make up the grades.

- You won't want to go out as much

I have to say, I partied hard in first year. I frequently went to lectures hungover and going out 2-3 times a week was the normal thing to do. However, this changed dramatically in second year!

With the amount of work, it is impossible, but I also found that I favoured a night in watching Gossip Girl over a night out in a club. This also coincided with me actually suffering from hangovers, which I never used to get in first year. Now, it takes me a whole day to recover, and when you have mountains of work due in, it isn't the most practical idea.

On the plus side, you save a lot of money and live a healtheir lifestyle!

- You will drift away from friends

Living in halls meant you go to know so many people. You will barely speak to these people in second year! I was close to the girls in my flat, but as I didn't live with them in second year, I hardly saw them and when I did it was on a night out so was very brief.
This is just one of life's things. It is a natural occurrence and you will make so many new friends.

- The library will become your best friend

Towards the end of the year, the coursework will start to build up and you will find that staying in the library all day will become a daily occurence. Especially around exam time. You will also find that the library will get so busy that sometimes there won't be a single computer free (depending on your university).

One piece of advice I will give you is to break up your day by going to the gym/going for a walk. You will go insane staring at a computer for 8-10 hours. If you want to remain sane, make sure you do go home.
Libraries are open 24/7 but that doesn't mean you have to live their whilst exams are on, as some people do and you can smell them. Just so you know, most libraries don't have showers.

I am extremely proud of how I handled second year and my exam results surprised me. I worked hard, probably too hard, but at the same time I learnt so much about my personality and learning styles.

Now to do it one final time to complete my degree. Wish me luck!

My Summer Awaits...

I can finally say that exams are OVER!!!

It feels so good to not have to revise, or feel guilty about not revising! I have worked my butt off for these exams and I have revised properly since January. I have to say, second year of university has been tough in so many ways, and I would be lying if I said I didn't struggle.

There have been times where I have felt like giving up, but I persevered and I am so glad I did. My one piece of advice for anyone in a similar position is that no matter how hard it is, it is only temporary and by working hard and having motivation, it pays off in the end. I now have one more year of my degree and then I will hopefully be a graduate! But for now, I have 3 months of living and working in the USA to look forward to!

So now I am back home and I have begun packing and sorting out all my documents. This week I have my dad's birthday, my birthday on Thursday and then New York on Saturday. A very exciting week up ahead.

Hopefully I will be blogging over summer, so expect lots of posts about my adventures! For now, its back to packing!

Ways to Save Money As a Student

So I was going through my recent posts and released its really obvious that they are thought about on the spot. Due to the amount of uni work I've had recently, I haven't being pay as much attention to my blog as I would've liked, and I've been writing pointless blog posts for the sake of posting something.

However, when thinking about what to actually write about, I had some inspiration. I'm a student and have been for about a year and a half. A couple of friends have been moaning about their lack of money and I realised, I'm quite good at budgeting! So, I thought I would share my advice as a student about how to spend and save money cautiously, where you can still splash out and afford things for yourself but are not left in your overdraft at the end of every term.

• The first tip is an obvious but sometimes not practical one. Get a job. Some people do this whilst at uni, and there are plenty of part time student friendly jobs. Club promoters recruit students to hand out flyers for student nights, although word of advice, you will annoy everyone that walks past and may not be liked as much! The uni will offer jobs for students as well. I was a student ambassador in first year where I would show people around on open days and visit schools to promote the university. The pay was very good, I think it was around £8 an hour which is very generous.
• If you don't want a job while at university, theres always the chance to work over summer. You have about 3-4 months off depending on your course, and many events companies hire students. There are dedicated student websites that only advertise student jobs so they are worth checking out.
• Sometimes a job is not always possible, so the next few tips are about saving on things associated with lifestyle.
• One way to save money on food is to look out for offers and only buy say crisps, or cereal, when it is on offer. This applies to fruit. I only buy the fruit thats on offer as it's quite expensive!
• Also, avoid big brands to cut down costs. Things like pasta are perfectly fine when they are value brands, however some people aren't keen on using value meat. I used to buy meat, divide up the packet and freeze into portions. That way I would get 3-4 meals out of one packet which is a lot!
• Another thing I would do is make my own pasta sauce by using half a tin of tomatoes for one meal, and flavouring with paprika or garlic powder and adding vegetables. This is so much cheaper than buying a tin of branded sauce, not to mention healthier!
• When out and about, buy packed lunch foods when spending a whole day in the library. I see a lot of people buying lunch or dinner from the local supermarket, which overcharge for food anyway, or buy it at the library which takes advantage and increase their prices. Buy a packed lunch box or plastic sandwich bags and make your own. It doesn't take long and will make a difference to your bank account.
• Apply this to hot drinks as well, buy a thermal flask and make your own tea, instead of spending up to £1 on what is effectively a small cup of hot water and a tea bag. Fine for every now and then but it does add up if you buy it frequently.
• Next, shopping! Get good use out of student discounts, although note that sometimes it doesn't make a ton of difference (e.g. topshop and 10% is not that good on some items of clothing). Sign up to websites such as studentbeans.com and they will email when companies are doing discounts specifically for students.
• Onto the main part of students lives- alcohol! My advice, don't splash out on Smirnoff vodka when you can buy Tescos own! I certainly can't taste any difference. And make use of bringing a hip flask into clubs (as long as they don't check your bag) to avoid buying drinks out.

After a night out, cook your own food instead of going to a chip or kebab shop.

All these little changes can make a big difference. By being a little more cautious with money, you can save a lot and get through uni without racking up too much debt. Too many people are reckless with money but if they were more careful, they wouldn't be left empty handed everytime they go home!