End of an Era 1: Term is Coming!
Hello
again everyone, and welcome to the second post of my End of an Era series,
which is all about my final year at university.
It
may still be August, and there is over a month to go yet until the start of
term, but there is already a lot on my mind.
DISSERTATION
(S)
For
those who aren’t aware, this is the big final assignment project without which
I cannot graduate, and is going to take up the entire year. Usually, students
will have to complete one of these essays, of around 12,000 words to submit at
the end of the year. However, because my degree is a split degree (a Joint
Honours), I am going to be doing TWO essays, with each around 6,000 words in
length.
Although
some might say this makes my life easier, in many ways it does not. It means I
have to think about and research TWO topics instead of one, which is going to
be more difficult, especially considering that I have the same amount of time
to do both assignments as those who are doing single subject degrees.
At
this stage, I am worried because I have absolutely no idea of the topic for
either essay, and am unsure as to whether I should have something I want to
work on at this stage. On top of that, I continually ask myself if I am behind
everyone else by thinking this way, or if everyone else is at the same point
that I am. Should I be thinking about at this point, or should I have been
thinking about it long before now so I had something to go on?
The
fact is, I really don’t want to mess this year up, as it is the single most
important part of my whole degree programme, and failure remains one of my
biggest fears, as it does for most university students.
READING
Bearing
in mind what I’ve said above about how much or how little prepared I am for the
start of the year, I am wondering how to proceed with the research and
pre-reading side of things as the end of September edges ever closer.
Without
a specific topic to look up for my disso, there is currently no direction to my
reading. Because of this, I am stuck as to how to proceed with it. Where do I
start if I don’t have a particular subject to research and write about? Do I
look for a topic before reading, or is it better to read anyway and try and
find a topic amongst my readings?
FEARS
The
disso, and its associated research are not my only major fears about the next
year, but they are a huge part of my concerns nonetheless.
I
am worried that if I don’t keep up with progress on the essays, and the
reading, then I will very quickly become overwhelmed with the workload and the
pressure. This will then lead to getting behind, and ultimately, it makes me
fear that I will fail as a result. I just don’t want this year to go wrong for
me, in any way, because I don’t know what the consequences of that would then
be, but they won’t be good whatever they are.
Organisation
is absolutely key for me, and is how I’m going to be able to keep on top of my
work, and to keep my anxieties at bay. My other strategy is to ensure that I
have free time to do other things, which will give me the break from work I need,
as well as allowing me to relax and maintain a healthy state of mind.
DOCTOR
WHO SOCIETY
One
of the things I’m going to be doing in my free time this year involves one of
my greatest loves – Doctor Who. For the past couple of years, I have been attending
my university’s Doctor Who society as a member, where we all share our love for
this iconic TV show. And this year, I have gone from being just a member to
being elected president, which is absolutely AMAZING!
I
am aware of the huge responsibility that this position has placed upon my
shoulders, and I know that it is going to require a lot of planning and
commitment to make it work. In a way though, I am sort of relishing the
challenge ahead, and it will give me something to look forward to at the end of
each week (meetings are usually on a Saturday). I can’t wait to get started really!
SWIMMING
LESSONS
I
said in a previous post that this was one of the things I wanted to accomplish
over the next twelve months. At this stage, there isn’t much to say on this, except
that I am making steps to get the ball rolling on this. I will probably turn
this into a series on its own, but there will definitely be more updates on
this in the future.
And
there we have it. Those are my thoughts and feelings at this stage, with a
month to go before the start of my final year at university. Are you now, or
have you ever been, in a similar situation to mine? Do you empathise with anything
I’ve said above? Can you offer any advice? You can get in touch by leaving a
comment, or messaging me on my social media. The links to all of my pages are
in the table below.
Until
next time, remember to keep active, keep smiling, and above all else, keep
believing!
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SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
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