Life update | University life and beyond

As you may know I recently finished my final year at university, I can't even believe where the last three years of my life have gone?! It truly has been an amazing whirlwind of time. I'm still finding myself each night wondering what work I have to next before realising that I never have to do any again, long gone are the sleepless nights and stress induced spots (See pic above!!), hallelujah! I thought it would be nice to round up my time at university and what I plan to do next, I do like to keep you all in the loop with my life aside of blogging! I studied International Business Management at Southampton Solent University and in hindsight getting Solent as my second choice of University was probably the best thing that ever happened to me,well worth the many initial tears on results day! I really do believe in such a thing as fate! 

I had never even been to Southampton beforehand to check out the university, city centre and the surrounding areas so it really was all alien to me when I arrived and realised this is where I would be living for the next three years! Unfortunately for me I didn't get a place in halls but the university laid on some really good find a home days which is where I found 12 other people to live with in a HUGE house right in the centre of town,perfect for obsessed shoppers like me but very bad for the bank account. The first year flew by and it was mostly spent partying and sleeping off hangovers, oh and studying of course.. My course group was very small unlike other courses so we had a really tight knit group of friends that did a lot together, it also made the whole experience at uni really enjoyable, the small class sizes were also brilliant for interaction with the lecturers. As for the accommodation, living with so many people of course had many downsides as you can imagine, but I'm still grateful for the experiences that I had and that I met my boyfriend in that house,clearly fate working its magic again! 

My second year was without a doubt the most amazing year and experience of my entire life and it will always be something that I look back on with extreme fondness. Because my course was International Business Management we had the option in the second year to stay at Solent and do half a year placement or to study abroad for the year. Without thinking I packed my bags and said good bye to England for a year and embarked on my year living in Finland! The whole experience was just phenomenal, the university was fantastic, the people I lived with are still my best friends and Finland will always be referred to as my second home now.

So this brings me onto my final year. As anyone knows who has been to university it's stressful, there is lots of work but there is still room for plenty of fun! I haven't actually written about my achievements on my blog but you may have seen me announce it on twitter/Instagram that I am proudly graduating with a first class honours woo hoo! I have had a really tough year and I was 99.9% sure that I had achieved an amazing 2:1 that I wasn't even eager to read my results in the morning that they came out. The shock of it made it even better and I still think that it's only just sinking in now, my graduation is not until November which is a while off but I'm already looking forward to getting dressed up for the day and seeing my uni friends once again. I really am so grateful to have had the experience that I did at Southampton Solent, the university was all that I could have wished for,the year abroad and the experiences and friendships that I made along the way. It may be gone but never forgotten! But I'm more than glad to wave goodbye to student accommodation, and of course I missed having a bath way too much! Nothing beats having those home comforts back.

Now that uni is over it's time to enter the real world,no more watching TV box sets all day and spending all my student loan on clothes! I was always aware of the job situation post uni and being a graduate does not make you instantly employable. I'm currently in something which I call catch 22, I'm too experienced for some jobs yet I don't have any experience for graduate jobs. They ask for at least 2 years experience  for some of them which is madness as I've had next to no time or any opportunity to gain experience alongside my course, other wise I would have done so in a heartbeat. I really do see the attraction of work placement years. I'm looking for a job in the marketing/social media sector which really is my dream career, I'm not going to let the endless applications and rejections dampen my spirits, the key is definitely to remain positive and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is comfort in knowing that I am definitely not the only one in the same boat. Whatever is out there I am completely ready for it and armed with my first class honours degree waiting to make a difference,but fingers crossed i'm employed by graduation!

I hope you enjoyed reading about my time at university! If you are moving away to uni for the first time this year I wrote a post last year on surviving freshers week which I definitely recommend a read of!

Have you been to university or are looking to go to university? What are your tips for a new graduate like myself?

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