Favourite things I’ve done in York this year

This blog post is written by Amy-Louise, a second-year History student at York St John University.

I always try to challenge myself each year to say ‘yes’ to more opportunities and again this year, I have done exactly that.

Here are some of my favrouite things that I have done this year.

Pound a pint and Saturday karaoke at Archie’s

During my first year, I didn’t go to the Students’ Union very often or have much of a nightlife. However, during the first few weeks of my second year, I found the courage to go to karaoke at Archie’s here on campus. I had a lot of fun and even had the bravery to join in and sing ‘Heart Shaped Box’ by Nirvana.

Looking back on memories through videos and photos taken by friends that night, it reminds me to keep saying ‘yes’ to things because you don’t know how much fun you’ll have if you don’t just go ahead and do it.

It can be a great opportunity to unwind at the end of a busy university week and spend time with the people who stay by your side and make university just that little bit easier.

The pantomime

While this was at Christmas time, with two of my flatmates (now very close friends) we went and saw a pantomime.

This was mainly due to one of them being an international student and she had never seen one before, so there was no excuse when there was a performance on at York’s theatre.

It helped me to feel festive while still at university, and I had so much fun watching my flatmate enjoy the show and understand the jokes that me and my other friend had been making to the run-up to Christmas. It was something that made me feel just that little bit more festive, especially as I visited my hometown and saw a second pantomime with my parents barely a week later.

Reading by the river

With the warm weather… I have found how much I adore reading down by the river and sitting in museum gardens with friends and a really good book. Me and my flatmates made it a weekly event during our last term to walk down to the museum’s gardens after class. We would bring packed lunches and a blanket and spend a few hours reading and talking about our books until it either got colder or the sun was setting.

I found that having people to talk about reading really helped me to read a lot more this year as well as enjoy it a lot more as a hobby.

The York International Shakespeare Festival

I had the amazing opportunity to witness events at the York International Shakespeare Festival. I saw two readings on reworked Shakespeare, Codename Othello and the Murder of Gonzago. I loved seeing these readings take place on the stage or in a lecture hall, and while the costumes and props were limited, the characters still came to life regardless.

It was something I wasn’t aware of last year, and seeing how much Shakespeare still impacts today’s theatre and literature was something that made me fall in love with Shakespearean texts and plays just that little bit more.

Academic

Being in my second year of university meant that a lot of my own interests could show in my modules. I chose the fields of history that interest me and got to choose modules that showed this.

I had a lot of fun this year at university, taking part in a conference and poster display as part of my assignments as well as being able to focus on making exhibition plans for another. I have had a lot of creative freedom this year at university within my history degree and I have loved the majority of it (even if I did get stressed trying to reach my final deadlines).

I have seen and achieved a lot this year, and it is always part of my ‘end of year’ to-do list to be able to reflect on the year that’s just passed me to see where my strengths were and things I want to either do or achieve in the next one. I’ve seen shows, taken part in academic research and made more memories than what my brain (or my phone storage) might allow me to keep. I’ve grown again as we all do throughout the year and I am slowly becoming the person that I never thought I could be. Gaining confidence to speak up during seminars and putting my opinions out there will always be some of my favourite things I have done this year.

To find out more about YSJ and our students’ recommendations, check Maria’s blog, where she shares her favourite places and things to do while studying at YSJ.