One of the best things about being a student is when you’re not actually being a student.  With a month at Christmas and a month at Easter followed by three months at summer you have plenty of time to do the travelling, internships and paid-work that you struggle to fit into your busy term time schedule.  After my first summer as a student was made up of the usual train travels around Europe (unexpectedly the highlight was Milan) this summer is turning out to be a little more, ordinary.   Two main things have occupied my time…

Hong Kong Efforts

The first of these mind occupying, time demanding activities has been the organising of my imminent study abroad in Hong Kong next semester.  Many students begin their study at Newcastle quite open to the adventure of studying abroad.  The faculty offers a wide range options such as Copenhagen, United States and Hong Kong for unilinguals such as myself, to the likes of France and Germany that require you to know their respective languages.  However, these interested numbers start to dwindle as the reality of costs, academic and social risks and the sheer preparation that is required becomes apparent.  I am someone who has managed to persevere, and after I have battled through the obstacles of visas, accommodation and travels I will hopefully be rewarded.  The benefits of studying abroad are immense.  The opportunity to make friends from all over the world (HK is an international university), learn about a different culture and study at another well-regarded university.  It also looks great on your CV, leading me to my second thing…

Careers Chances

After finishing second year I am feeling increasingly worried that my answer to the question, “what do you want to do?” is still “I don’t know.”  The answer of which I came to at age 11 when I realised a career as a clown was not for me.  Therefore, I have spent a lot of my summer thus far searching the Internet for graduate jobs determined to be ahead of the game.  However, both the beauty and the dilemma of a politics degree is that it doesn’t close any doors (sorry for cliché).  So, being a well-rounded individual with the obvious liberal reluctances to go-into-business I am left envying the pre-determined destiny of the marketing student.  Nevertheless, I will continue my Google searches with the hope of finding dream employment in a business which aligns with my moral compass, pays extremely well and resides overlooking the Seine, Paris.

Have a good summer.

Revision Technique: From A-Levels to University

At the start of GCSE’s I really didn’t know what was the best way for me to revise. At school we had lots of study skills workshops that taught me how to organise my time on each subject, but when it actually came to revising I still didn’t know what to do. Should I just read through my notes or make secondary notes and read through them? I began by making secondary notes by hand on small sheets of brightly coloured card. I used all sorts of coloured pens as well for highlighting different things, but by the end of it I couldn’t even revise from my notes they were too confusing. Not only that but it took forever to hand write everything up.

By the time A-Levels came around I knew that I needed to type up my notes on the computer. Then once you’ve printed them off you can read through them easily and highlight the important things as you go. It took me awhile to make sure this was the best way for me to revise, but its quick and easy and you can easily change the font of the text, italicize words, make headlines bold and use loads of bullet points!

This way of revising was a success; and I base this on the results I achieved at A-Level. So when the Summer Exam period started in the first year of UNI I was prepared, and instantly started typing up my notes. The exams went well, so I did the exact same revision for my 2013 January exams just gone.

With the January exam season coming to a close, it has freed up a bit of time in and around lectures for students to get stuck into something other than academic work.  Personally, I devote much of my free time to playing sport – it’s a way of letting off steam and gets me away from my desk and out of the house!  Top of the agenda at the moment is the Politics Running Club – it’s predominantly student led, and having signed up for the Great North Run in September, training is picking up pace.  I also get my fix by playing in the University Rugby team – I’ve been injured for the last few weeks, but I’m finally getting back into the swing of things and am looking forward to cracking on with the rest of the season.  Away from the university sporting activities, on Sundays, my housemates and I also play in a 6-a-side football league.  Sunday’s are probably the quietest day of the week, so this afternoon run around is much anticipated, and allows us all to try and emulate what we’ve been watching the previous night on Match of the Day!  Without doubt, I think getting involved with activities outside of the academic realm is important.  My interests mainly revolve around sport, but there’s plenty to get involved with at Newcastle.  Irrespective of what endeavour you chose, I reckon life at university without them would risk becoming slightly monotonous, as they break up the week, and are welcome distraction from work!

The question of what to write for my first blog post caused me to consider what would I tell someone who was starting his or her university life.  After some thought, I would say join societies!  For the majority of students, who don’t join societies, their course mates and flatmates represent their entire friendship group.  On starting university I joined five societies, and I can say without doubt that it has been one of the best decisions I have made.  Through joining the politics society I went on a trip to Madrid last Easter.  I joined the Anglo-Chinese society where I attended weekly mandarin lessons.  The International Development Society where I helped organise their annual conference to much success.  Due to my interest in business I joined Enactus, a society that through the positive power of business sets up social enterprises around the world.  Lastly, being from the countryside I was eager to get out of the city now and then, so I joined the Fell walking society who organise weekly walks and climbs in the Lake District and Scotland.  Some of these societies continue to be part of my university lifeand others have drifted into the background whilst I focus on the academic side of university.  My belief is that first year is time to join as many societies that take your fancy, to get opportunities to meet people, have experiences and learn about things that don’t feature in your degree.

 Friday 14^th December, the last day of term, essays handed in, bags packed, 350 Newcastle students heading to Austria for a Ski trip they will never forget. Coaches were subject to a little delay leaving the Student Union due to difficulty packing in so many skis and boards, but by 6pm the last of the Newcastle pirates (the dress code for the bus) was en route to Dover and beyond. The student only ferry was a sight for sore eyes at 2am; thousands of students from Universities across the UK all heading to more snowier climes were sprawled out across any available floor space like sleeping lions, catching zzz’s before a crazy 8 days ahead. As nighttime fell for the 2^nd time finally after what seemed like days on that 15-hour coach journey, touch down in Mayrhofen! With a resort map in hand a can of red bull in the other and a new NUSSC t-shirt and beanie we were sent off to find our accommodation for a quick turnaround.

After a first night full of frivolities everyone was up at the crack of dawn for the day ahead and the sight of snowy mountains. First on everyone’s agenda was collecting hired skis and boots before heading to the main Gondola in town which took you from 650m to 1,800m above sea level in just a few minutes. The conditions for skiing were amazing, several days of beautiful sunshine and a couple of blizzards meant thatincredible powder snow covered the resort on and off the piste for the entire trip. The week was pretty much constant fancy dress, the themes set before we leftranged from Disney characters to “make your own” outfits, which were mostly created from the local SPAR bags.Scratch Perverts and Rudimental also played in the resort while we were there in the infamous Arena nightclub; the chart-toppingtune “Feel the Love” became the song of the week.

Inevitably the trip came to a very sad ending, nobody was looking forward to a repeat performance of the bus journey home, but it was the 22^nd of December and everyone was excited for Christmas. The trip was truly an unforgettable experience, hundreds rebooked straightaway onto the Easter Trip to AlpeD’Huez, and I will certainly be booking onto the trip for next Christmas. Huge thanks go to the NUSSC Committee and Outgoing who organised the trip. If you want a peak as to what actually went on, here’s a video of memories that will make you want to go next year!