Hello 2016!

Hi everybody and welcome to the first Berrysmiles blog post for 2016!

I always love the start of a new year as it does feel like a fresh start. Everything that happened in the past 12 months is now fully in the past and you've got a full new 12 months to look forward to. It feels different, even though it is just the start of another normal day. With the build up to the new year and since it's turned 2016 I've been thinking about the year ahead, what I want to achieve and what my plans are and I'm hear today to share them all with you. So here goes...

January to March

I'm very excited for the first three months of the year. Although work is going to be busy, and I have an exam coming up in March, there's some fun stuff happening too. I'm starting a new contemporary dance class this week which I'm really looking forward to. I love contemporary dance and can't wait to meet some new people and learn some new technique. It's also my Dad's and Mum's birthdays in the first 3 months of the year. We're already beginning to plan the celebrations for my Dad's birthday which I'm really looking forward to, and I'm sure we'll end up with something exciting for my Mum's too when we get to it. It's also Valentines day coming up and I'm hoping to do a couple of posts in the lead up with some ideas and inspirations for dates, presents and food. And finally, to finish off the first quarter of the year, I'm heading off to see Shane Filan in concert with my Mum. The tickets were part of my Christmas present and I can't wait to go. His last concert was amazing.

April to June

April starts the countdown to my final CIMA exam. I'll be back at college studying again ready for the final exam in May. It's probably going to be a very quiet few months as I make sure I pass that last exam, but once it's over I get to enjoy myself. The plan is once the exams are over to go to the Harry Potter Studio Tours. Harry Potter has been such an important part of my life for so long I can't wait to go and visit the studios. I'm also hoping to do a series of tips and tricks for exams and assignment writing as I know a lot of readers out there will be going through some really important exams around this time.

July to September

I love this time of year as it's summer and that means it's my birthday! I'll be 25 this year....which is a very scary thought. It's also Omar's birthday a few weeks before mine which means we get double celebrations. But firstly we have to survive July which is when I find out the results to my CIMA case study exam. I'll either be delighted or devastated! Fingers crossed for the first one and then I'm free. I'm also thinking about having a little trip to Leeds in the summer for a dance summer school. I love the idea of a week long intensive learning technique and routines but it's all dependent on cash and being able to get the time off work at the moment. I've also got some ideas planned for some blog posts on life after university and what to expect when starting university.

October to December

This seems so long away now but I'm sure it'll come around quickly. At the moment I have no confirmed plans, I'll be just getting ready for the build up to Christmas. It'll be mine and Omar's 6 year anniversary in November, we didn't get to celebrate our 5th anniversary very much last year as there was so much else going on, so hopefully we'll be able to celebrate this year. And it's also my best friend's birthday in November too, so another celebration to look forward too. If I get myself organised, I'd love to participate in Blogmas this year. I really enjoyed reading everyone else's blogs and have some ideas I'd love to do for this Christmas.

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As I said the other day, 2015 wasn't a good year for me but I have learnt a lot, and I want to carry some of what I learnt forward into 2016. I want to stop putting myself under so much pressure and getting so worked up over everything. 2015 taught me it's ok to admit that things are getting too much, and to ask for help rather than struggling through. I want to make sure that I keep pushing myself to achieve more, but that I don't let people take advantage of my willingness to do more and to help.

In 2016, I want to achieve everything on my 25 things list and I want to enjoy myself. I want to get back into my gym routine and healthy eating that I did so well with last summer and get back feeling confident and comfortable in my body. I want to save some money to be able to afford nice new things for my house, but not restrict myself by missing out on things with my friends and family. I want to read more books, see my films and catch up on all my TV shows.

I want to grow my blog over the next 12 months, build up my following, post more regularly and come up with some new content. I want to be more engaged in social media and start to interact a lot more with my readers. I have some ideas for content already in the pipeline, and I've shared some of them above, but if there's anything you would like me to blog about, please let me know in the comments below.

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So 2016, we've got a lot to do this year. Let's work together and have a good year. Let's make this one of the best years we've had.

Sarah x

A Stay at Home Student’s Guide to Starting University

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It’s that time of the year again where thousands of people make the big jump into the world of university. It doesn’t seem five minutes since I got my university offer and went to my enrolment day. How time flies!

For many people going to university is the first chance they’ve had to live completely independent from their families, to discover a new town, and try new experiences. It’s pretty much expected that if you’re going to university that you will move into student accommodation in your first year. But that just isn’t the right choice for everyone.

I knew when I applied for university that I wasn’t ready to move out. I knew I’d miss my home comforts far too much. So, for my Fresher’s year, I stayed at home and went to a university 20 miles away from my front door. For me, it was the right choice.

But staying at home doesn’t mean you don’t get to enjoy the same level of independence, new experiences and discoveries that your fellow students might. You get to enjoy all of that, with the added bonus of being able to save some cash by not paying rent (or a reduced rate rent anyway!)

Here are my top tips for enjoying Freshers year as a stay at home student:

Use social media to meet your classmates

For students living in halls, by the time it comes to the first activity of orientation, they probably already know a few people. As a stay at home student, you may not have had that chance. I know I didn’t. I turned up for my first day and didn’t know anyone. I was on my own until I found another student on their own to chat with.

When I started uni, social media wasn’t anywhere near as popular as it is now, and the only way we really had to interact with our classmates was through UCAS discussion board. But now the majority of universities and student unions use Facebook as a way to get Freshers to interact with each other before they arrive on campus.

It gives you the chance to meet your classmates, meet other students living at home, and ask any questions you have in advance of your arrival. Take advantage of the groups/pages/events they offer. It can put you in touch with other people in a similar situation, and make that first day much more enjoyable.

Get involved with your union

Being a stay at home student can limit the people you meet just because you don’t get to interact with flat mates and their classmates, and expand your friendship circles that way. But a great way to meet new people, and try out new things is to get involved with your union.

I didn’t get involved with my union until I was in my final year and became a Student Trustee. Looking back now, I regret that. In that one-year I got to meet a range of new people I’d never have met otherwise, learnt some new skills and have something different to put on my CV for when I graduated (I appreciate as a fresher, graduation seems a long time away, but it’ll come round sooner than you think). Even just being in a society gives you something to write about when the time for CVs comes and can make you stand out from the crowd.

Find out when your Freshers Fair is and see what your union has to offer. You might just find your new hobby or best friend there.

Avoid the temptation to stay at home

If you’ve got a long commute to get to your lectures there’s a lot more temptation just to stay at home, particularly when the weather is rubbish and your bed is nice and warm. If you get into the habit of skipping lectures, you’ll soon find you miss more than you attend. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you have to attend every lecture/seminar (although it is recommended!). You will miss some, as will all of your friends who live 2 minutes away from the building, but avoid the temptation as much as you can.

Be organised

Organisation is the key to being a stay at home student. Not being able to go home in between each lecture means you have to make sure you have everything you need that day with you when you leave the house. The last thing you want to do is turn up to a class without your prep work, or without the textbook you need. Or turn up with a text book for a module you don’t have that day. Not only are uni textbooks expensive, they are also big and heavy. You don’t want to end up carrying around an unnecessary book all day.

Buy a planner and make sure you note down what lectures you have on what day and what books/files you need to bring. Not only will it save your arms from all those heavy books, it’ll save you from turning up without what you need.

Don’t feel obliged to stay at home every year

Just because you made the decision to stay at home in your first year, doesn’t mean you have to stick by that for every other year. I did a four-year course and lived in student accommodation in my second and third year. I moved back home for final year. I enjoyed getting to experience both ways of life.

If you want to stay at home every year, then there is nothing wrong with that. But if you change your mind and want to move in with your friends, then go for it! Do what’s right for you.

Enjoy it

Yes you have lectures, yes you have work to do, but first year is supposed to be fun. Make sure you enjoy it. Once you move up to second year there’s more expectations on you to do more work, and then in final year it’s even worse. Enjoy yourself as much as you can and as well as you can.

Sarah x

Study Tips

It’s that time of year again where a lot of people end up locked in a room, forcing themselves to study. I’m one of those people. But after being in this position for over 9 years now, I’ve learnt a few tips and want to help those out there who may be struggling.

Work out a timetable

If you know the dates of your exams use this as a starting point to work out how many days/weeks/months you’ve got to revise. Then budget this time out to cover all the topics in the exam. Try not to leave everything till the last minute, cram revision doesn’t suit everyone and may make you panic more than prepare you.

Just remember not to push yourself too hard and budget for breaks, exercise, making food, seeing friends etc. Yes you may have to cut back on fun time for a little while to make sure you pass, but don’t cut all the fun out of your diary. 

Find the right time/surroundings to revise

Some people revise better first thing in the morning, some last thing at night. Some prefer silence, whereas some people prefer some background noise. No two people are alike so find what suits you. If you’re uncomfortable or there are too many distractions you would work as hard as you may need to.

I can’t revise unless I’m fully awake, feel clean (I have to shower and wash my hair to be comfortable), have the TV/radio on in the background, and have put my phone on silent and removed it from the area I’m in. If I’m doing paper revision I remove my laptop too so I don’t get distracted. When I was at uni and was struggling to keep myself concentrated on my assignments I ended up blocking all non-educational sites from my website.

Make notes

Start by making notes of the key facts/points/formulas you need to remember. Spider diagrams are a great way to do this. Don’t worry if on your first attempt at looking at a topic you write down hundreds of key points. Writing things down is more likely to make things stick in your mind than just reading it. Over time test yourself to see how many of the key points you can remember, re-write the ones you can’t remember and repeat the process. They should all be memorable after a few attempts.

Highlighters are a great way of adding more depth to your notes, colour coding related points or topics and making extra important stuff easy to spot.

Practice with past papers

Many exam boards provide past papers and there answers for students to look out. If you can get access to some use these to familiarise yourself with how questions are written and what the exam answers are you’ll be more relaxed and confident on the day. You may even be lucky and find some of the exam questions you’ve practiced come up again.

I’ve found with some of my accountancy exams that the questions given to me in the college textbooks are completely different in the way they’re structured and what they ask for to what the exam board questions are. For one of my last exams I didn’t look at any past exams, only used college books and was panicking because I thought they were really hard and I was convinced I was going to fail. On the day, the exam questions were much more comfortable to work from and I ended up passing.

Food and drink 

Like anything, it’s important to keep your body energised and hydrated whilst you’re studying. Avoid eating a big meal and studying at the same time. Use your lunch/dinner times as a break time, but keep by you a bowl of fruit, or sweets that you can munch on as and when you feel the need. Make sure you remember to keep drinking water too. 

Ask for help

If you don’t understand something, don’t suffer in silence. Ask for help. It doesn’t have to be your teacher, ask your friends or family if they can help. Check out forums online to see if there’s anyone else having similar problems. If you’re really struggling see if you can find a personal tutor to explain things.

I’ve found that some of my accountancy exams didn’t make sense when I tried to work it out myself, or when my college teacher explained it. My boss sat me down one day and taught me the theory, applied it to something I was doing it in my job and all of a sudden I understood it completely. Sometimes a new voice telling you something is all you need. 

Relax

I must admit, I’m the worst person for doing this, but it’s important not to panic. The more you panic the more stressed you’ll become. Take a few deep breaths whenever you feel yourself getting worked up, walk away from what you’re doing if you have to, and just remember it’s pointless getting stressed.

From my experience, being stressed tends to make you less likely to remember things and preoccupies your mind in the exam making it harder to find the information you need. It can also lead to a very negative outlook before you’ve even sat the exam, which doesn’t help.

It can be hard to remain positive and relaxed if you’re a natural born worrier, like I am. But just remind yourself why you’re doing this and how good you’ll feel when it’s all over.

Good luck all, I hope it does well.