Reflecting on my first year

Hi! I’m Jas, and I’m a third-year English Language and Linguistics student. In this blog, I’m going to reflect on my university experience and what I would do differently in my first year. University is a big deal for a lot of people, and going into first year not knowing anything or anyone is nerve racking, and it is difficult to know where to start. Coming to the end of my course, I have been reminiscing a lot about all my experiences at uni, what I have enjoyed and what I would change.

Getting more involved with societies

If there was one thing I would do different in my first year, I would join more societies. I tried out a few, including The Dead Poets Society, The Psych Society and the History Society, however I didn’t stick with any particular one. Societies are a great place to meet new people, learn new skills and join different events. Whilst you will make friends with your flatmates or course mates, societies are a great place to meet people from all courses with similar interests to you.

They are also a great place to try out new places in York and go to many different social events. Whether you’re a drinker or not, societies often organise events like weekly Wednesday Frat meets, mini golf, pub quizzes, game nights, movie nights, bar crawls, and many more. In my first year I was generally too nervous to join any societies, especially sports, but if I had the chance again, I would be more consistent in attending different events.

Exploring more of York

Another thing I would do different, is I would explore more of what the city has to offer, such as different bars and cafes.

In fresher’s week and especially first semester, it is very typical that you might follow the crowd and go where feels familiar, which is absolutely okay. But some of my favourite spots in York that me and my friends go to, I wish I had found sooner. Sometimes finding a new favourite place comes entirely unexpectedly, which I think makes them even more special, so there is also no pressure to try everything in your first year.

Letting go of the pressure to have everything figured out

This is also important, as the most important difference I would make, is I would worry less about not having everything figured out. Whilst your univeristy experience is what you make it; there is no pressure to do all these social events if that isn’t what your university experience is about.

I have loved my uni experience regardless of what I did and didn’t do in first year, and I think the most important lesson is not to feel too much pressure to try everything and have everything sorted in your first year. Whether you have concerns about what career to go into, how to meet new people or feeling like your not truly living the uni lifestyle, there is so much time across your course to figure things out and find your people.

For more information about our English Language courses, visit our website: http://yorksj.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/english-language-and-linguistics/

Discover more student voices here:
https://www.yorksj.ac.uk/applicants-and-offer-holders/student-voices/