I know I've been insanely bad at posting anything on here but I'm going to try posting every month!
I had an idea to start a new series on my YouTube channel (click here to go to it) but as I filmed the video I realised what I want to say is better in text format. It's called "Let's Talk About". I wanted to discuss things I've been asked about and my personal advice. There will hopefully be a few more posts in this series so keep your eyes peeled!
This post is dedicated to my gap year that I did in 2015-2016. I have about 6 points to make on this topic because I think they're super important if you want to take a gap year.So, let me give you guys a brief summary of my year out. I finished school in July 2015 and didn't really have a massive idea of what I wanted to do. I'd applied for deferred entry for my uni and so I had a year to do what I wanted. I knew I wanted to travel and go to Australia as I had never been before and it was a country I was really interested in. I told my mum that I needed a year away from school and education to really see what life is like (being in the same school for 7 years really puts things out of perspective).
So from there on I began to save, I sold stuff on eBay and at car boot sales to raise money. I sold my car *cries* and I made enough money. Now, I was originally going to go with a girl in my class at school but after a messy fall out I went alone.
This brings me onto my first point:1. It's always better to travel with someone.
I know this now, as I spent a 23 hour flight next to a stranger. I am an independent person so things like that didn't massively bother me but I did get lonely ever so often and that is when I would have benefitted from having a friend from home. I was lucky enough to meet some lovely people in Sydney who I still stay in touch with to this day and they were very supportive and kind while I was out there. But there were still days where I felt down and because of time difference I rarely could just FaceTime a friend whenever I wanted to. I planned to stay in Sydney for 6 months but I cut my trip short and came home after 3 mainly because I missed my family and friends, had I had someone with me it might have gone differently.
2. Plan your year.
Omg, I cannot emphasise enough how much you need to do this. Like most things in life, planning makes it more fun and much less stressful. I know a few people who didn't plan their gap years and they just stayed at home all day and maybe got a job about 4 months into the year. PLAN PLAN PLAN! After I came back from Aus, Tomi and I planned to fly to America so I went out and got a 2 jobs to help me save up for that trip which meant I wasn't sitting at home bored.
3. Pay for everything yourself.
Okay so, I know these seems like a stupid idea when Bank of Mum and Dad can finance your trip right? NO! If you go to an interview and they ask you how you funded your trip to some far away country that requires expensive flights, you're going to look like a right idiot when you say that your parents paid for everything. Also, you have absolutely no sense of achievement when it's all paid for by someone else, that feeling of 'I've paid for everything so I deserve to have fun' is completely absent so PAY YOURSELF even if it means slaving away at a job you hate, I promise it will be worth it in the end.
So, enough of that gap year stuff, if you have any questions then don't forget to comment. Onto leaving home and living at uni.
I've realised with moving into my uni accommodation that there a few steps that I needed to take in order to meet people but unlike school where you just make friends, in adult life you have to try a little harder. My first point is:
1. Do stuff to meet people.
So when I moved in on my first day at my accommodation, I left my door open all day to see if anyone who lived in my corridor wanted to say hi or anything. That was a no show so I decided to post a note in my neighbour's letter box and see if she wanted to meet. At first, I had no reply although I could clearly hear her in her room next door. I thought maybe she had friends and didn't want to chat to me. I came home one day and there was a little note and a package by my door, it was from my neighbour and she'd left me some cakes! We went out a few weeks later to a nice bar and we still stay in touch. So that brings me onto my second point which is:
2. Be there first person.
In my instance, being the first person kept me in good stead. I know it can be scary when you don't know anyone and everyone seems to know each other but trust me, when you sit down next to that person, they are going to be as scared as you are, maybe even more! So always, always be the first person to say hi and introduce yourself.
3. Don't be on your own.
This is a hard one to talk about because being alone is important sometimes but also finding someone to spend time with is too. So if you're someone who finds it difficult to be alone, then go and seek out friends. I created a group chat for a few friends in my accommodation and we hang out on weekends and it's good, especially if you're home sick, to be distracted and hang out with people.
So, I hope you all enjoyed this post about uni and life, let me know if you'd like more posts in this series!
Until next time,
Beffy xo ♡
No comments:
Post a Comment