As you can probably tell by all the post we are reaching that very fun time of year, EXAM SEASON!!! In the week leading up to exams I am housesitting my Aunty and Uncle’s place while they are away overseas, taking care of a very lovable old doggo named Pepper. The perks don’t end there, in addition I am having to make use of their spa pool whilst they are away because it would be a shame to waste such a gift and being in possession of such a gift has led me to be quite popular among my friends as they look for an excuse to get away from their studies if only for a couple of hours. This has been an interesting experience as I have been housesitting over a very busy and intense time of the year. The escape to my own space has been amazing, I didn’t want to believe it at first but the public transport in Auckland has been a trial of the mind as I try and not end up on the other side of the city. I am thankful that buses run quite regularly and so if I miss one it isn’t long until another comes but the routes from the city are a nightmare to navigate. I was mainly paranoid because one time last year I had flown up to Auckland for a holiday and was exploring by myself and wanted to get back to the same house but the bus went West like it was meant to but not the way I wanted and so I ended up about 20 minutes away from where I wanted to be without any knowledge of how to get back. Needless to say this time around I have been using the mobile app religiously to ensure that I in fact get onto the right bus this time around.

For the study, housesitting has been good and bad. I have been doing a lot during the day but when I return home in the evening I tend to park the study until the next day which in a way isn’t all bad. I have to say my study habits have been exceptional in comparison to how they were when I was in college. I felt like I didn’t know how to study and being at home I had absolutely no motivation to do anything so I hardly studied. At the hall there’s a really heavy study focus, to begin with they have brought in a alcohol ban and moved our quiet time to 8pm rather than 10pm. This may seem a bit rough but it is all for the good of all as everyone is studying for exams that are at different times. They do this because they believe that everyone deserves the best possible environment to be able to work at their best, which is true and I am grateful for it.

I was really curious to see how hardcore the residents would get when it comes to study, although there are study rooms and a huge push for us to get into the study mood I wasn’t sure if people were really going to knuckle down and get into it. From what I’ve seen though I feel a lot more motivated to do my own study because of the mood and environment that is in the hall at the moment, every is planning their study and keeping themselves disciplined and ensuring that they are doing stuff. It’s been quite nice to be in this environment because I know that otherwise I probably would have done minimal study whereas I feel like I am making good progress on my papers and hopefully will be ready to ace those tests haha.

Floor 8 you stunners #Upthe8

On a lighter note the hall hosted an end of semester event just to give everyone the chance to take their mind off exams and assignments for one night and just have fun. They arranged a Mocktail night that in a way turned into a Ball-like event. There was music, dancing, AMAZING FOOD (trust me this is important if you understand some of the struggles that come with hall food), and of course mocktails. This was a whole lot of fun and so many people dressed to the nines. It was a great opportunity to come together as a hall and just celebrate all the hard work we’d put into the last few months that have just flown by us without us recognising. I was grateful for my floor really turning out and we were able to snap some awesome photos from the night, they are right when they say that your floor become your family and I couldn’t really be happier with mine.
I wish everyone all the best for their upcoming exams. May the force be with you and the odds be ever in your favour, in times of trial remember to just keep swimming.

Hakuna Matata