Except this time, it really is the final push! Sitting down the other day to carry on some slow but steady progress towards onrushing assignment hand-in deadlines, I realised that, quite terrifyingly, in just under seven weeks’ time my academic career will be all over.
After years upon years of SATs, school exams, GCSEs, A Levels and modules galore, it’s incredibly strange to think that, in the blink of an eye, the days of being a student will soon be over. Although there’s more than enough work to get through during these two months (and I won’t be discounting the potential for further study in the future, of course – who knows, maybe one day I could go for a PhD!), if there’s one thing I’ve learnt while studying here at the University of Southampton, it’s that the weeks pass much quicker than they seemingly ought to!
As James wrote recently, it’s around this point that work really has to be at the forefront of matters for students, given the relative proximity of deadline season. Around this time last year, for example, I can recall many days spent staring at a dissertation, hoping it’d somehow assimilate the huge swathes of journal articles open on my laptop screen on its own and just write itself. A few weeks of challenging report-writing later (as well as a weird sense of enjoyment in terms of the satisfaction of seeing it all come together), it was in – phew!
I’ve no dissertation to contend with this year, but as the Easter holidays fall firmly at the two-thirds junction of the Easter semester, a deadline rush after them is pretty common. This year is certainly no exception, with programming assignments, mock business reports and structured essays all on the agenda, as well as the typical need to start revision for end-of-May exams as early as possible – or else face the prospect of learning a lot of material very quickly indeed!
I’ve always found the Easter break, therefore, to be very well timed, as the length of the spell means you get to enjoy a solid (and often necessary!) rest, still having time to get down to business and crack on with work to relieve as much pressure as possible on your future self. Software Engineering has therefore been the main priority recently for me, although being at home, there have of been plenty of opportunities to meet up with old friends and family as well - justified breaks, of course!
Meanwhile, I’ve also had to start putting preparations into place for the strangely surreal scenario of leaving Southampton in a couple of months. Besides figuring out the logistics of carting back four academic years’ worth of accumulated paraphernalia (I call it memorabilia!), ranging from textbooks to towels, and coats to cupboards, I’ve also been stepping up my efforts to plan for the months ahead, making full use of the brilliant Careers Destinations services offered by both the University and my school, ECS, as well as exploring as many options as I can.
In the midst of all this, I received an email reminding me of one aspect of the coming months I’d entirely forgotten about. After all, when you’re the youngest of four siblings, booking your place at a graduation ceremony (in doing so placing a hire order for your robes!) is one of those activities that you grow up seeing others in your family do, but never really expect for your turn to eventually come around. So it was odd knowing that this time around, all things being well, this ceremony would be my own!
Attending my old housemates’ graduations at the University in 2014 was a great experience – and brilliant motivation for hopefully having my own this year!
Before then, however, I find myself returning to Southampton in the next few days for what truly is the final push. There’s lots to do, but with only seven weeks left of academic study on the agenda and the promise of a great summer Southampton send-off, I’ve everything to gain – so here’s hoping!
Robin
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