The reality of being a student

The trials and tribulations of living in student halls. The photos look inviting and the guided tour on induction day makes them seem like the best thing. Even for the first few weeks they seem like paradise. But then it changes. The europhic feeling of freedom passes and the reality that your trapped in a box room surrounded by the worst kind of people. Students. Though it seems like a small aspect of university life, finding the right accommodation is very important. The university of Portsmouth has lots of options for student housing but which is best? There are multiple choices, catered self-catered, near town, further away and private rent or halls of residence. I have personal experience with the trials and tribulations of halls of residence. One of the main issues with halls of residence are the ever-rising costs. This is a huge issue for student’s as costs sometimes make the choice for them. For first year’s halls of residence are a good idea as it’s a gentle introduct...

The summer holidays. The long awaited and much anticipated break from studying- Sun, sea and, picnics by the shore, catching up with old and new friends. Idyllic holidays exploring the world. That’s the picture that’s painted. Some of it happens, and it can be a lovely break. But for some students the reality is three months of idle boredom, low paid work and the occasional trip to the local beach. With limited funds, the big summer break eludes most students. They bide themselves over with jobs in retail, giving up all free time and forgoing fun days out with friends and family. I myself had illusions of grandeur, plans for an exotic holiday in the sun. My reality was very different. The only job I could find was a horribly early morning shift putting together online deliveries at my local Supermarket. As for fun days, out well I almost succeeded. On a rare day, off I planned a trip to Brighton, not too far but far enough to feel like a bit of a holiday. Plans set and my bes...

What to do when you have an essay due. The obvious thing to do would be to head down to the library and write the essay, leaving yourself plenty of time to edit and print the piece before it's due. However, most student's don't tend to do this. This is what i wish i had done with my recent essay. But i decided not to. Instead i made cookies, cleaned my flat (much needed and in all honesty very overdue) and invited my friends over to watch Disney films, before having a mass pillow fight. Because that's obviously the best way to get an essay done and ensure that you get a good grade. In the end i was awake at 1 am the day the essay was due, frantically writing before begging a friend to print it for me and running down to the office to hand it in before 12. My recommendation for all other students tempted to do the same would be to avoid the urge. try not to procrastinate and get the essay done at least a week before the deadline. This will allow for a relaxed submiss...

Moving on to when I was slightly older. Disney remained a main feature in my life, though now at the age of eight it managed to get me into a bit of bother.  I was stood in the doorway of my older sister’s bedroom. I was all dressed up as snow white, I even had a big red bow in my short black hair. My two best friends were waiting for me downstairs, each dressed as Cinderella and Aurora respectively. They were waiting on me to begin our game. I’d told them I had a surprise that would make us look like proper princess’s. My sister had a ginormous collection of high heeled shoes, most of which she happily let me borrow, I often used them for such games and the two pairs in my arms were old and I knew they wouldn’t be missed. But they weren’t the problem. In the corner of the room, displayed prettily on top of their box were my sisters brand new ruby red heels. They were the most beautiful shoes I had ever seen, they were smothered in glitter and they seemed to glow in the light. The...

When hearing about fresher’s week people mainly talk about the drinking and the parties. People complain about the hangovers, and you see zombies in the back rows of the lecture halls, half asleep and nursing bottled water. But the week-long hangover of fresher’s week isn’t the lowest point you will reach. Freshers flu is real. And it sucks. It starts off with a basic cold, not to bad but enough to cause discomfort. Then it stays and stays, each time you think you’re in the clear you get re-infected. The cold weather kicks in and you realize you don’t own a coat or decent clothing. It develops into a cough an all your friends avoid you to stay healthy themselves. You walk around constantly cold and Starbucks becomes your new best friend (and your bank accounts worst enemy). When you’ve been ill for over a month and your living off cold and flu tablets you decide it’s time to call a Doctor. This is when the real fun starts. At this point you begin to understand why everyone a...

I wrote this little piece today after a conversation with a friend. We were talking about the trees and it mad me think about the way we describe things and how some things are defined by words or colour's. One of the mantras that keeps cropping up in my seminars and lectures is the phrase 'show don't tell'. I'd been beginning to find it annoying but today I began to understand it, Green, one simple word that describes so much. But does it capture the essence of the grass, the boldness of a stem , that shade between green and blue that made up the sea. It can’t possibly. But it does. We look at the grass the stems and the sea and the word we choose to describe these things is green. But they are so much more. The grass is vibrant and smooth, the needle like blades flow together in the breeze like a blanket. The stems are dark and strong, each wiry muscle supporting the delicate flower petals. The sea is a watercolor mix of turquoise. Nothing is just green.

I looked at my little world, it was small and dull but it was safe. Big walls of twigs and leaves soaring high above me, keeping me safe cocooned in my home. I can see long branches surrounded by busy green leaves when I look up, and the sky’s blue water paints leak through the cracks in the leaves. The sky. Mums told me about it. She goes there some times, she can be gone for hours but she always brings back food. She told me that when I’m bigger my brothers and sisters and I will be able to go to the sky with her. I’m excited but I’m scared too, what if I can’t fly, what if I fall. Today, today were going to the sky. We’ve all climbed to the edge of the nest and were ready to go. There’s a bundled knot of nerves in my stomach and my heart is beating erratically as if it’s about to burst through my chest. Before I knew I was the only one left, everyone was singing happily and flying around in happy circles. Mums gaze was on me her eyes expectantly watching my every move. I moved ...

I sat at the pond side, my nostrils were burning, the foul aroma of the waste filled water almost palpable on my tongue. The other frogs were happily sunbathing in the putrid green waters. I tried to stay by the flowers hoping they would help to permeate the air by my head. It did not work. I’d read the story books about princess’ and frog prince’s when I was younger, but I had never believed them to be true.  They were all from the point of view of the poor lonely princess’, the books never delved into the traumatic journey that princes had to go through. I was slimy and stinky and my webbed feet were sticking to every surface. How was I supposed to get a princess to kiss me if I looked like this? I was murky brown and my mouth was full of flies. Id tried to stop myself from eating them, but my long curling tongue shot out of its own accord.  I’d been determined to avoid the water but as my scales dried the pain forced me to inch closer to the algae filled muck....

When preparing to leave for university you spend lots of time imagining what life will be like. Purchasing everything you think you will need, from cutlery to bedding. However, it isn't until you reach your new home, be it halls of residence or private accommodation, that you realize how woefully unprepared you are. You end up dying to go home, begging your surprised mother for home cooked vegetables and calculating how long you can avoid going back to the adult world. Everyone has a breakdown at some point when attending university, for some it’s in the first weeks. For some it doesn’t happen until the second or even the third year. I was convinced this moment wasn’t going to happen. The first few months passed by without incident, I was floating along in a nice little bubble of security. Then the moment hit me. It had been a long week, the weather was once again dismal and I hadn't ventured to the shops. I looked upon the almost bare fridge and spotted the eggs that m...

It comes to something when the highlight of your week is a toss-up between seeing a dog at the local tea shop, and listening to your lecturer sing about adultery and murder. The student life isn't the glamorous party that it claims to be. The hype from past students is enough to make any freshers excited. Everyone you speak to has tales of the amazing parties they attended and the lifelong friends they made. There’s always a funny tale of someone falling over in the club, a wardrobe malfunction or some other form of drunken mistake. But when you get to university you realize it was all lies. The clubs are small and dimly lit, and any sober person would deem them too unsanitary for use. There always crammed full with far too many people and the music is too loud. Instead most of the time at university is spent napping, managing to over boil pasta and watching Netflix instead of doing your work. Granted there is the occasional party that you think will be awesome. But in rea...