Year 13 was one insane year– one won’t be quite like it again. Sorry to hit hard with the first line but you definitely go through those times when you’ve got poor time management and typing up a storm at 3am. But of course, uni hype was at an all-time high towards the end of the year. It was only a matter of time before I stumbled across The Inside Word as a curious soon-to-be uni student.

Applying to blog for The Inside Word was a great move and I’ve gained a whole lot from it. An easy way to make new mates and being able to glimpse into the uni lives of all my fellow bloggers feels like getting a personal update on the ins and outs of all aspects of uni life. I’ve had some awesome experiences and there have been quite a few perks of being a blogger this year.

AND I’ve had a few questions about University Hall Apartments and have written a short bit about it at the end! So have a peek.

Free travel!

I reckon a big one for me was actually being able to create content for my own blog. It’s such a nice feeling being able to create and develop what you want and post it for the masses to read. Good advice from Simon who oversees the blog was: ABTP (Always Be Taking Photos). I haven’t really thought about it but I’ve used it as an excuse to take photos everywhere when I usually wouldn’t. My mates have gotten used to me annoyingly exclaiming “IT’S FOR THE BLOG.” I’ve liked creating content so much that I’m going to be continuing my own blog if you want to keep up with B Law post-The Inside Word. I’ll keep ya in the loop!

Blogger opportunities have been pretty plentiful this year and thought I’d share what sort of things you could get into once you apply to become a blogger…

A beautiful morning in Paremata before the event

I made my way to National Young Leader’s Day in Wellington awhile back. It was the first time being back in Welly since moving up here and it was just an overnight gig so I decided to stay with a mate and didn’t even visit my parents… whoops. It was a whole lot of fun, I got to sit in on a Q&A Panel in front of a whole lot of college students as a blogger for the university and just have a chat about uni life. There were some pretty moving and fun speakers such as Petra Bagust who had a fun yarn about her life– I took away the fact that yes, university can set you up with a great skill set and a degree, but it is often everything that you do outside or alongside it that can get you to where you want to go.

Avalanche City’s Dave Baxter singing a tune– we were on the Q&A Panel together

It was really just a chill day, especially getting to hang with the main crew Catherine and Dennis, providing the much-needed banter in the car and waiting in the airport.

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The University of Auckland had their Courses and Careers Day recently and I hope you managed to make it! I remember coming in 2015 and it was just the coolest atmosphere. I definitely had a whole day planned but I remember my parents getting a bit slack so we just made it to uni hall together and then they kinda just went to get lunch and hang out with family friends without me…

Yes

Our blog has been pushing for so much more exposure this year and it makes it so much more exciting to write for and be a part of. We had our own slot in the open day schedule where all the bloggers could just have a general chat and have people ask questions. Shout out to Yi Xin who is so good with her words so we never had to endure any awkward silences.

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My favourite but also the most nerve-racking experience I got to have as an Inside Word blogger was being the interviewer for The University Of Auckland’s Blues Awards night. It’s a night where the talents and achievements of university students are acknowledged. It was held at Shed 10, I was pretty late and contemplated catching an uber but I ended up power walking down to the event and ended up with pretty hectic blisters on the backs of my feet.

At my table, shout out to Mike McRoberts for the shoutout and to the AUSA exec team for being slick company for the night

You know it’s a hundies event when you’ve got your name at your table…

I was all prepped and ready to go, notebook in hand (that I just got from UBS), questions sprawled on the pages and phone on record. It was a mission. I had never done anything of the sort before and interviewing Olympians and such high-achieving students was the strangest feeling. It was a beautiful night and such an experience, Flame Tree catering (who do our hall food) also did the catering for this event, seeing duck on a plate in front of me from Flame Tree was interesting for lack of a better word.

It can be tough but also crazy inspiring being around so many motivated students… fun times thoooo

Where to sign up eh! There’ll be a post up in late November outlining what you’ll need to do to apply. If you’ve enjoyed all the content we’ve been pushing out and reckon it is something you want to do too, definitely give it a crack. Whip up a sample blog post about anything– pull all the stops!

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University Hall Apartments

So due to Grafton Hall being out of action next year, the University Hall Apartments which were previously for 2nd+ year students are now for first-year students. They are directly opposite University Hall, the two orange towers I’ve blogged about before, you can check a comparison with O’Rorke here. I’ve heard selection was just random so no biggie. You can get a full run down on the facilities etc here. There are a few positives and general living things that I’d thought I’d address.

You don’t have to deal with elevators which probably is the number one worst thing about the towers. You get to share a space with just 4-5 people, for some this will work better, for others it won’t be as ‘exciting’ as the towers. You also share a bathroom and kitchen in these smaller groups. Having a kitchen will come in crazy handy, the mess of the sink and tiny fridge in the tower common rooms doesn’t always cut it. Overall, you’ll get more of a chill vibe.

The towers might be more exciting in terms of socialising and the building itself is nicer and modern. Sharing spaces with around 32 people to a floor comes in as the 2nd worst thing to elevators. As the dining room is in the towers you’ll have to cross the road to get your meals if you’re in UHA. Depending on your floor and what your sleeping patterns and social lives are like, noise could be a big issue in the towers but also something to consider at UHA. Just a pretty general overview as I’m pushing the length of this blog quite a bit– let me know if you have any questions below!

– Bryan