On the 17th July 2017 I graduated Nottingham Business School with a 2.2 in Marketing. There were tears shed (in secret), reminiscing and celebrating we're all done.
Its crazy to think this time 3 years ago I was buying my last few bits for uni, preparing to move and waiting for my A-Level results.
Along those 3 years I've learned and gained so much. I talk about uni a fair bit here and the experience I had as it happened, but only now its all done can I look back on it as a whole. So in this blog I will touch on a few things.
Course/NTU
Firstly the course/NTU. Whenever I went to an open day at NTU it felt like I belonged, I looked wide eyed at my mum and knew the world was at my feet. It felt like home before I'd even got there, although I was local that was not the reason why. No other uni felt like NTU, I remember going to a open day at Hallam and we went to one session and I was like 'Mum I want to go, this place is not for me.' However whenever I heard about another event at NTU I was like 'Can we go?' 'Can we check this out, and do this.'
I remember being told I shouldn't pick NTU as my first choice but honestly I don't think there was anywhere else I would rather have spent my past 3 years. Nottingham is a beautiful city and NTU is a good uni. My course was versatile, I had choices, in my final year pretty much all my modules allowed me to focus on aspects or companies of interest. That made third year a lot less stressful, if you're researching and writing something your interested in it makes it easier.
In addition to this I can honestly say I felt so comfortable at NTU and that was partially down to the staff. I remember being told at school 'Exams aren't really your forte, so you should focus on coursework' but at uni it was 'No you've got this, here's how we're going to tackle it.' I had a whole team of course staff and student support encouraging me and/or helping me. I can honestly say NTU cares about its students and not just the tuition fee's they bring, or at least my course team did. Before I got to NTU, they were talking to me about my needs in regards to my epilepsy, my depression and anxiety. They wanted the best out of me, which is obviously beneficial for them, the better I was, the better I performed, the better results they got.
I never felt pressured, during my second year I had a rough time with my epilepsy, my medication was being increased every 2 weeks. I was experiencing horrific side effects (my memory was appalling I remember sitting in a lecture forgetting how to spell my last name) but thankfully my tutors have all been understanding of the fact my epilepsy or depression can get in the way and were happy to put plans into place for me. Without these plans or the support I received I can honestly say I would've had to make a decision between failing my degree or at least a year of it or my health. Anybody who knows me would know I am stubborn and there is a chance I'd of chosen the degree over my health.
My degree taught me transferable skills but also the struggles I faced taught me to reach out for help. When I felt like dropping out of my degree, or my mental health was taking a beating or my health was at a low. I knew something could be sorted with uni, it just meant that I had 1 less thing to worry about which made a massive difference.
The People
I have met some lovely people at NTU, and of course with that, some not so lovely people. I've had the joy to be part of NTU Drama for 2 years, Trent Tigerlillies as well as meeting people such as flatmates and course mates along the way. However, uni also made me realise how important the people I left at home were as well.
Whilst being at uni, I realised that I also only had to surround myself with people who made me a better person, made me happy or had some kind of positive impact on my life. Its okay not to get along with someone, and you can say 'No' to having someone in your life, whether they've been in your life a short while or practically your whole life.
For instance, during uni, several people have tried getting back in contact with me. One of these, was someone I once called my 'best friend' but during the years I'd given her several chances but the last time we 'fell out' was because I was talking to someone she didn't like (this was also during my A-Levels so we're like 16/17) and to me if someone who is supposed to be my friend of 10 years can do that I didn't need them anyway. Anyway, during uni they tried to get in contact again, and for a while I was like 'Ok, this is fine, we can be civil' but then it became toxic, she tried making me jealous over little things, acting like her life and achievements were far superior to mine. If I hadn't gone to uni I may not have realised that my achievements are just as relevant, and if she couldn't be happy for me then she had no place in my life.
However, on the other hand I also met someone I can call my best friend, like she has he flaws and we're both a bit of a muppet at times but thats because we actually love each other. She knows what makes me tick, what I love, my weird crushes and also loves swearing as much as me. Like we have each others backs and we both know that even if her new flatmates are lovely they won't beat our pizza nights or bonding over reality TV.
