Introducing myself

So here it finally is – my first ever blog for Life at Southampton! I suppose I’d better get introducing myself…

My name is Paul, I’m 21 years old and I’m from South East England, in East Sussex or Eastbourne to be precise, which is around two hours from Southampton.

Now in the fourth and final year of my BA French and Spanish degree, I was in the fortunate position of being able to spend a year abroad as part of my course in the last academic year. Firstly, I was in Grenoble in France for 9 months and then in Malaga in Spain for 6 weeks doing an internship, both of which were fantastic opportunities and will be the perfect preparation for this role.

I feel both delighted and humbled to be blogging this year for Life at Southampton and equally, I’m proud to be representing my subject area of Modern Languages on such a prestigious platform. I know it will be a challenge to live up to the high standards that previous bloggers have set but I’ll do my utmost best to maintain them!

Like many other fourth-year languages students, returning to the University of Southampton has been a truly surreal feeling, especially when I see how different Avenue Campus looks all of a sudden! That said, after a whole year away, I can’t wait to get back up and running again with university life in England.

 Back at Avenue Campus!

My three years have already whizzed by at a lightning pace and it’s safe to say that it has been an up-and-down journey so far to get where I am today. If I had just one piece of advice for the newest intake of Freshers, I would just say to you that everyone is in the same boat now but if you put in the effort, you can really get the most out of your university experience!

Since setting foot on campus for the very first time many years ago on an open day, I’ve always appreciated the relaxed, welcoming atmosphere that the University provides, especially when I get to meet other students from all over the world as part of my role as one of the Buddy Scheme Coordinators for the Erasmus Society, which pairs up home and international students. It is this environment that makes Southampton such a unique place to study in my honest opinion.

 A snap from my year abroad

Moving into my final year is admittedly a daunting prospect right now with all the work it will bring (!) but all I can say is…bring it on!

Through my blogs, I’d like to provide a personal insight into life at the University of Southampton as well as some pertinent advice that many of you can find useful, no matter whether you’re a first-year student or higher, alumnus or local resident.

It’s my intention to make this a blog for everyone and I’ve got some fantastic ideas for posts lined up for this year that I can’t wait to share with you!

Paul