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 

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.