Despite plenty of exciting society-related things going down this week - from film festival coverage for The Edge, to the start of filming for the second season of our SUSUtv show Reel Opinions, the biggest event was, as you can probably guess, the start of lectures.
In fact, amongst all the socialising and the society-related fun, it's surprisingly easy to forget about that elephant in the room that is your course. True, we're still a fair few weeks away from our first assignments and all that much more complicated stuff - but I've always found (at least at first anyway) that starting strong with both work and organisation helps you feel on top of things right from the off, and saves a lot of stressing further down the line.
This past week marked my first return to lectures since April, which I'm sure you'll agree, is a pretty significant gap academically. Diving into that first week's set reading head first then may have initially been a bit daunting, since despite some dissertation work over the summer, my brain was still a little sluggish. What I found pretty quickly is that working (to use that cheesy, age-old analogy) is like riding a bike - you honestly never forget. I realised I wouldn't have got this far - to the University of Southampton of all places - without at first knowing how to work hard. I didn't have to learn anything new, I just had to click back into that familiar mind-set. Rest assured, by the end of that first chapter, I had found my footing again.
In fact, by the time that first lecture finally rolled around, I was totally in 'the zone'. It was almost as if I had never been away.
Aside from
lectures, filming for SUSUtv started again this week.
This isn't to say that it's always this easy though. In fact, in the past (and especially when I first started here at the University) finding the right place and attitude to work was a little tough - but it's important to remember that as human-beings, we have evolved to adapt to our surroundings. When your Halls of Residence or your private-rented house get a little too noisy, there's plenty of quiet study spaces to hide away in. The obvious ones are Hartley Library and its smaller sisters just down the road on Avenue Campus and beyond, but there's also a whole bunch of other quiet rooms and hidden desks set-up to make sure you always have a secure place to work.
If the problem isn't space-related but instead more about motivation, there are plenty of support networks running through the whole University which can help you get a handle on things. Whether it's the SUSU’s Advice Centre located above The Stags, the Student Services building, your own personal academic tutor, or even - amongst Humanities students - your own peer mentor.
In fact, that last one is actually pretty close to my heart, since as a peer mentor myself, I've seen first-hand the good a simple reassuring chat can do. Peer mentors are currently based in all Humanities subjects (although it's possible that other variations of the scheme are available to students from other disciplines) and our role is to basically act as a student liaison for new students. Working in small teams, we are paired with a number of new undergraduates to help ensure that they're comfortable with all aspects of university life - but with the pairings being subject-specific - there is a focus on work.
Peer mentoring even required some training - here’s a sneak peek.
Understanding what is expected of you isn't always clear to everyone in the beginning, and it's perfectly natural to ultimately feel a little lost; we've all been there. Just remember that soon enough, you'll adjust, and if you're at all worried about that adjustment, there are literally dozens of people whose sole purpose is to help you.
So whether you're ready and raring to go, or you're still finding your feet when it comes to work, there's now even more reason to get excited. It might mean that we all have to get up a little bit earlier than we're used to, but this is what university is really all about. The true experience starts here.
Ben
No comments:
Post a Comment