An introduction

I’ll introduce myself. I’m James, I am currently in my third year studying (and thoroughly enjoying) a masters in Physics at the University of Southampton and I am one of three new writers for the Life at Southampton blog, taking over the reins from the wonderful Flo, Joanne and Rohit.

‘Who am I?’ It seems like such a simple question, yet it’s surprisingly hard to answer. After all, it’s not that often that you have to divulge such a large amount of information about yourself in one sitting. However, as a blogger, it is a necessary thing to do.

I guess that’s the first part of who I am; a writer. I have always enjoyed writing creatively, yet up until recently I have never been able to really find an outlet that worked for me. However, around Easter last year, I decided to follow the growing trend of starting my own blog. The only question was, what should I write about?

I turned to what I loved the most for subject matter: music. Music is more than a love, more than a passion; it’s an obsession.

It began as a child, listening to my Dad playing Queen songs and asking to have my own copies. He copied the CDs onto cassettes (remember those?) for me to listen to and I would sing along, thinking I, one day, could become the new Freddie Mercury.

Although my singing career never took off (some would say thank goodness!), I did pick up the guitar ten years ago and have kept going ever since. Through this time I took part in a few jams and gigs, taking up the bass and the odd pattering of drums along the way, but it wasn’t until this summer that I joined a band with fellow University of Southampton students.

That is one thing Southampton is great for – immersing yourself in music. Whether it’s joining the music societies such as RockSoc (which I am a member of), performing and jamming in a session by LiveSoc, or going out to one of the many, many music venues in the city to see an array of acts from local hopefuls to your favourite band, there is a whole culture of music and entertainment to enjoy.

Australian metal band Circles playing at their intimate album launch gig at Southampton’s Avondale House in October 2013

Not content with just satisfying my creative side, I also try to squeeze as many hours of sport and exercise into my life as I can. This is one aspect of my life that university has completely changed. Since arriving as a fresher in late September 2011, I have tried dodgeball, taken up the mysterious sport of tchoukball, played badminton recreationally and also competitively for the Physics society, joined the handball team and managed to find time to swim nearly every week.

Nothing can quite prepare you for the number of societies at the university before you arrive, with the sports clubs only being a small handful of the full variety. I am heavily involved with one of the more bizarre and unique societies: Southampton’s very own Fancy Dress Soc. I am on the committee as the group’s treasurer and one of the original twenty-five members which were needed for the university to affiliate us as an official society last year.

Fancy Dress Society’s first ever social

The society’s premise is simple: to host the best fancy dress themed socials. The image above is from our first ever social with the theme of dress being someone, or something, with a name that begins with the same letter as your own name starts with (I went as The Joker). The night spawned some great and imaginative costumes, including an iPhone (which had shed all its apps by the end of the night), Gandalf and Jake the Dog.

Regardless of who you ask, I’m sure everyone will agree that the key to getting the most out of your university life is to keep yourself busy; take up a new sport, pop along to a talk by a guest speaker and go along to a social or two. Whilst I certainly haven’t touched upon everything I do and love, I hope I have given you a glimpse of what to expect from my posts in the future (lots of fancy dress for sure!) and how I live my life at Southampton.

James