Coming to the end of my third year at Salford I have been reflecting on my time at university. When I started back in 2019 as a young 18 year old I was terrified to start my degree. I had moved away from home, in a new city, was living with strangers, and starting a course with new people. I honestly had no idea what to do but all of that was before I had even started and met the people I now call my best friends.
I have never been good at coping with change, it has always made me anxious and I have given up many things because I was scared for the change it would cause. I thought I wouldn't go to university, I was too nervous but I just hadn't found a course I was in love with an had to do! I found Digital Media at Salford and just new it was what I had to do.
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I then met everyone on my course and because of them I have had the best three years of my life, even though half of these years where ruined by covid and lockdowns! My first year was cut short due to the first lockdown but it was still an amazing start to university, I have so many happy memories. Second year was a whole mess but I still had a great time and my final year has been so stressful but I am living my best life!
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There is nothing I would change about my time at university I just wish time could have slowed down a little bit, I sometimes wish I could just stop, look around and breath to realise how lucky I am. If you're starting uni and you feel nervous don't these years will be some of the best of your life, you can do this!
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I am dyslexic which has made education a struggle for me, I thought that it would be hard for me to get support throughout university which caused me to only get tested in second year. One of the reasons I didn't get tested or support was because my course, Digital Media, is very creative and design based, who knew how much writing there was to do! Throughout my whole time in education I have been too scared to ask for help, during my first year I did the exact same.
Then my university experience was ruined by covid causing learning to move online. When I started my second year I was struggling more than I thought which led me to contact the disability team at my university. I then had to go through the process of getting tested for a learning disorder, this wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be. Afterward the test I had meeting to discuss the support I would receive from university and from student finance England though the disability student allowance.
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This support has allowed me to achieve brilliant grades, I even received a 78 in my dissertation. I am so glad I finally asked for help and accepted all the support that was given. If I didn't get this help I know I wouldn't be where I am today. If you are in the same boat as me get tested, get the help and never give up. I also thought that being dyslexic would stop me from being academic and getting my dream job but it hasn't. I maybe dyslexic but I am able to do whatever I want!
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DO WHAT YOU LOVE AND LOVE WHAT YOU DO.
Throughout my three years at university I have completed many assignments and during some of my modules I might have shed a tear or two due to the stress but I learnt how to get by and complete each assignment on time.
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University is stressful there is no lie about that but throughout the years you will learn and develop methods of how to plan your time, what softwares work best for you and how to follow the brief to ensure you submit the right components. For me I always wrote lists, it is just how I worked and the method that worked best for me.
I'd read the brief and write down a list about each component and what they include, this helped me see exactly what I needed to do for the module and what I would need to submit before the deadline. Once I knew what I had to do I researched to find out what I wanted to produce for that particular project. I then started designing and doing the work for that module.
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Everyone works differently and there are so many different methods you can use to complete work for your assignment. You can just trial methods to find out the one that works for you. Just don't ever leave the work to the last minute.
