University is known as being one of the most exciting times of your life, with so many new opportunities. And it’s true – there’s so much you can get involved in. However, the ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’ and ‘my real life starts next week’ mentalities are damning and make it too easy to not make use of these opportunities. This is definitely something I experienced in my first term, despite all the plans I had made mentally before arriving. The end of last term and the start of this term I’ve been focussed on turning that around. So, what am I doing?
My current activities
The gym
The first major change I made was joining the gym. Okay, so this isn’t a university-specific opportunity. But it is the university gym so all the classes I attend are with fellow students which makes them more sociable. I currently go five times a week (I really like to throw myself into everything I do) and attend different classes, such as yoga, body pump and pilates, whenever I can fit them in. I really love the gym as a productive use of my spare time and I always feel great afterwards. Thanks endorphins.
Pole Fitness
This is a relatively new one for me. My university has a Pole Fitness society which I was interested to join for months, but only recently built up the courage to do so. I had two motivations for joining – neither of which are related to future career aspirations! Firstly, it seemed like a unique way to have a bit of fun whilst improving my body confidence. Some girls look fantastic showing off their moves and I want to know their tricks. Secondly, I was keen to meet new people at university, as by now I know most of the students on my course. Pole fitness is known for having good socials so having a bit of fun in the pole classes and then going for a pint seemed like a great way to make some new friends.
I haven’t really been going long enough to say that I’ve made amazing new friends and my body confidence has skyrocketed. But I can say that the classes are really fun – but hard work – and everyone in them is super friendly. Hopefully this could become a new long-term hobby.
Part-time job
Before I joined university I knew I wanted to work alongside studying. I’d had a job a home during my GCSE and A Level years and knew that not having a little bit of disposable income would be a shock. However, I wanted to ensure that a job wouldn’t impact my grades or social life. Therefore, when I saw jobs offered by my university I knew they were the perfect opportunity. All of the shifts are published online and I sign up for any that I want. I’m not require to work X number of hours per week – it is completely down to me. The majority of shifts finish at 13:30, and they are never later than 17:00 so I can maintain a social life. The job itself requires me to chat to potential students and show them around the university, which is really easy and in fact can be enjoyable, depending upon the people I’m showing around. More importantly, there are often long gaps between showing different groups around which means I have lots of time to chat to my fellow students/colleagues. I’m not only making money, completely on my own terms, but I’ve also made new friends.
Whilst a job might not sound like the most fun university opportunity, for some people it’s a necessity, so I’m lucky to be able to enjoy mine as much as I do.
My future plans:
Extinction Rebellion
Now this is an opportunity I haven’t yet taken advantage of but plan to soon. My flatmate recently joined our local student XR group and I’m planning on joining with her. Climate change is a massive issue which I’m extremely passionate about. I can’t imagine looking back in 50 years time, thinking about everything on my doorstep that I could have gotten involved in and realising I did nothing. Being in a large, green city, there are often strikes and protests as well as weekly XR meetings so there’s many different aspects I can get involved in. Hopefully, it won’t be long until I post on here talking about my experiences with XR.
Volunteering
My student’s union has loads of different volunteering groups, ranging from collecting food for food banks to visiting people in retirement homes. There are currently two opportunities that I’m interested in. The first is RAG (Raising and Giving) which is the universities general fundraising society, organising many different events and donating the money to different charities affiliated with the SU. This volunteering can be done on an ad-hoc basis, which appeals to me, and because the society is so large, it’s a great way to meet new people (a common theme in all of my current and future plans). The second opportunity I’m interested in is volunteering with Nightline which is a student-run service for students to phone up in the night if they need someone to talk to. I think this is a really great initiative, especially as mental health awareness is at an all-time high, so it’s something I’m really keen to be a part of. Unfortunately, as I wasn’t available on the training dates I will have to wait until next academic year to get involved.
The Honest Truth of One Student's University Life 