My Rollercoaster University experience
I’ve had a very hectic experience when it comes to university and the best way to describe it is a rollercoaster. I applied to do a foundation year last year that would lead me into Media for first year. I would say that I did enjoy my foundation year more than my first year as I got to explore the full university experience and I actually felt like a university student. I was more outgoing, I was more motivated to learn, I was developing a new line of independence . However, in terms of the learning I didn’t get to actually learn about media it was more on how to write and develop essays which will help me for future referencing but I wish I got more perspective on what I was going to experience in first year of Media.
I enjoyed learning new things about myself and about other people, I love how the University itself is very diverse and I managed to meet a lot of nice people who were willing to be open with me and have a good time as I am a very reserved person so I’m glad that I managed to open up more to the people around me. I wanted to join a few societies that fit into the categories of what type of things that I like but there was one particular society that I was looking for which is the ACS society (African Caribbean Society) where they bring people from those different ethnic backgrounds together, and because I was looking for more diversity me and my friend ended up making a request to set up that society but anyone was welcome in joining the society even if you’re not from those ethnic backgrounds. It benefited me a lot as we all set up different events for us all to meet one another and make new friends so I would highly suggest to anyone to join any society that has been put in place as it is a good way for you to get yourself out there, interact with people and to have a more exciting uni experience.
As soon as I started first year we were already in a global pandemic it has been very difficult to gain the full experience as there were guidelines and restrictions that were put in place by the government in order for people to be safe; meaning that people had to stick to the social distancing rules and we couldn’t have face to face contact with other students and lecturers.
At the start of my semester for my Digital Design and Core Production Skills modules we had on campus teaching as they are more practical lectures where you had to gain full experience and knowledge when it came to using photoshop, camera work, filming, editing, audio etc. I quite enjoyed doing more practical work as it entails me experimenting new things and it can help with my work ethic and to improve my skill set on future projects. I’m also a very visual learner; meaning that if it is demonstrated in front of me I will have a better understanding as to what I need to do.
Whereas with my other modules such as Contemporary Media Analysis and Professional Development, they are online lectures through Microsoft teams and they were more to do with writing essays, analysing set texts and group work. It was quite difficult to balance everything out in terms of the workload as it was overwhelming by travelling on campus during a pandemic and to have other lectures online so it was confusing as times for me. I also found it weird whenever I used Microsoft teams to go to an online lecture because were not sitting with the students and the lecturer face to face so it was a bit hard to grasp at first but now I’ve been accustomed to the new setting.
Some of the assignments were challenging for me as they required me to take photographs to edit and to film a 1 minute video with a 10 minute presentation, as I have stated the circumstances during this time were very hard to aim my work at a high standard as I wasn't able to demonstrate my abilities and full potential. It was very hard to capture a good image as we were able to travel to certain areas at this time so it was hard to find some inspiration to help me develop and apply to my work.
I’ve found that this time around that university has been very overwhelming for me and I’ve lost quite a lot of motivation, this pandemic has made me realise that when you are put in these type of situations that I can have a massive impact on your mental health in so many ways. But even though it is a struggle I do try to take my mind off of things by going on walks in the park, working out etc; which leads me to being more motivated to do my work.
Even though my university experience has been a rollercoaster I must say it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was gonna be. Through it all I’ve developed work that I am still very proud of considering we’ve not had an accessible amount of facilities to work with, I love how the lecturers have been very supportive and helpful whenever I am stuck on something to do with my work and I have still managed to make new friends even though I haven't met them face to face.
I’m going to stay positive and optimistic about what the future holds for me and my university experience as it seems like things are started to get better and returning back to normal. I am thankful that I’ve managed to have at least 1 year of my University experience whereas other people have had to deal with this ever since they’ve started so I have to count my lucky blessings I guess.
