Cheesy heading – I know – but it’s officially the last day of lectures for my first Semester of University, and ya girl is shook! What an absolute roller coaster the past few months have been! So I thought before I move into the heat of exams, and progress into a hibernation state as the inter-semester break rolls around, I’d summarize my topsy-turvy Sem One experience in a good ole bloggy post – so please enjoy (or pity #sadreactsonly) what my life has been like, and the few lessons I’ve learnt, from the 6th of March to the 8th of June!

My excitement, motivation and lack of procrastination at the beginning of the semester gets me teary eyed if I’m being honest; but being the normal human being I am, with below average time management skills, naps started to leak into my schedule and it wasn’t long before unstudied lectures started to pile up. Although much of the reasoning behind this was the fact that sleeping is such an enjoyed pastime of mine, I also started to avoid study because I came face to face with a lecturer I wasn’t overly keen on and concepts that just didn’t make sense to me.

Views from the library during a well needed study-break after writing my first line worth of BioSci notes.

Lesson One:
If you come across a lecturer you don’t vibe with, or you’re getting delivered concepts that seem super crazy and complex, just step back, take a breath and realise that you got this! Uni gets tough, no doubt, but realising you don’t have to understand things straight off the block, and knowing that it’s okay to chip away at stuff at your own pace until you get that lightbulb moment, is essential – especially in such a competitive and potentially overwhelming course.

As the semester continued and I slowly started to get a feel for a few of the new lecture modules, I was back in my element and felt that I understood some things so well that I didn’t even need to to revise my lectures – oh how wrong I was.

Me looking out over all the lectures I regret not writing notes on – whoops!

Lesson Two:
Feeling like you have the knowledge of the Universe after coming out of a BioSci lecture that you completely understood is priceless. However realising a week before your test that you actually didn’t write notes on almost a whole module because past-you was a bit too cocky, is not priceless at all – it’ll definitely cost you… in tears. WRITE NOTES AND REVISE YOUR LECTURES.

After some hard work and good support from my friends and family, I got my groove back and mid semester tests approached quicker than ever. Throughout this period I was studying to 11 o’clock at the earliest every night, and dragging myself out of bed attend 8am lectures – my relationship with sleep was almost non-existent. By Friday – my day off – I was dead to the world and was so tired I could barely study.

Lesson Three:
I’ve learnt that sleep is so, so important at University – almost just as important as it was in kindergarten. The quality of your sleep will literally dictate the quality of your learning the next day. Although there are those people who can run on coffee and the buzz of only having 4 hours of sleep, for the majority, in order to fully absorb everything in lectures, having a good night’s rest is key.

The weekend after my last test I went exploring and took a cliche Sky Tower pic – twas’ great to get out of the hall!

Once I found myself at the other end of my first lot of tests, I was more than happy to get back into my regular routine of studying and starting to go back to bed at semi-normal hours. For the first time in 3 weeks I felt completely relaxed. Sadly this was disturbed by the nerves and fear that came with results. After multiple Facetiming sessions with my parents as I checked my marks for my tests, I felt I had experienced every post-test-feeling possible. Sadness, excitement, confusion – it was all there. However, there was one result that really shook me and even made me re-evaluate why I came here in the first place.

A cute pupper from the Canine Friends Pet Therapy Day – definitely a good pick-me-up after a bad test result.

Lesson Four:
A bad test result does not equal a bad life, a stupid brain or a reason to doubt your abilities. When you going into Uni, especially into courses like Health Science or Biomed, I think it’s important to keep in mind that you have multiple places where you can pick your marks back up if you stumble. But in order to be able to pick up those grades, you have to be resilient – realise you made a mistake, learn from it, and move on. Don’t dwell and be sad!

Test results came and went, and I found myself eventually moving on from a not-so-nice test result. Now that the end of semester is nearing, and exams are next week, I feel that now is a good time for some self love!

Lesson Five:
Look after your wellbeing! Keep your health in mind and don’t be too hard on yourself. Take breaks, eat Burger Fuel and hang with friends when you can! Uni is so much more enjoyable when you actually have a laugh, take in some scenery and just appreciate being in such a cool place like the UoA. However as well as some classic self-loving and appreciation, study hard for exams and give yourself the opportunity to do well! Treat yo self – to some study!

End of Semester Celebration at Uni Hall! 🎉

Until next time fellow bloggies xx

– Rebekah