University Year 1? Completed it mate.

Gabrielle Hammond

gabsbitesizeblogs@gmail.com

A proper bitesize blog for you all today and it is all about my first year at University. I have pretty much finished my first year already (with the exception of only one week at a placement left) and it has gone super fast - I just can’t quite believe it.

I have been studying Speech and Language Therapy at University of Essex since October and it has been great. No more exams left, no more lectures left and thank goodness… no more ghastly essays left (well, until next year).

When I picked this subject I thought I had made the correct decision; it combined my two loves, English and some science/healthcare. After I got an amazing grade that I was not expecting on my English Literature A-level I questioned my choice and was thinking I was better off doing something with literature. But after lots of thinking I decided to do speech and language after weighing up what either course could offer me in the future. And I am so thankful I trusted my intuition because I have loved my course this year so very much.

It has so many subjects and vast modules combined into one course; all are so interesting. I have been doing phonetics (a personal favourite of mine), linguistics, developmental psychology, child language theorists, eating, drinking and swallowing, in depth anatomy and physiology, knowledge of the upper half of the human body (as that’s what we are interested in as SLT’s), culture of communication and so much more. Speech and language has so many different areas of interest and things we need to know. It isn’t just about speech and language anymore, it’s so much more compelling and you can really understand why it is a bachelor of science.

I have also completed a two week placement at a local primary school which I loved and doing a week-long placement in a day-centre for learning difficulties soon too. These are really great as you can get hands on with what you are learning in lectures and additional readings. Next year comes more clinical and I am super excited for that!

One thing that really surprised me about Uni is (well this could be an original experience), how easy it is compared to what I had imagined. I don’t think easy is the exact right word but it’s all I can think of right now. Compared to year 13/A-levels, the first year of Uni has been a breeze. Maybe because of the freedom we get and time we get to revise and digest information or maybe because of the lesser pressures Uni put on you. Uni really focuses on the point that if you don’t do extra work, that’s on you. There are no expectations either way which puts less pressure on you and for me, works so well in managing my stress.

What also surprised me about Uni is how involved our lecturers actually are. I know this is probably because my course is quite small but our lecturers really care about us and our learning as well as ensuring our mental health and well being is obtained and good.

Meeting so many like minded people has been lovely as well l, both in and out of my course. I really appreciate the people I have made friends with and didn’t realise how friendly the group would be. Shout out to Lily, Sasha and Kate who have been the best in whatever capacity we have become friends with. I was really worried about making friends, well maybe not that, but I didn't want to make myself socially isolated but I definitely have not done that.

The only thing I have to do now is figure out how the hell I am going to not get bored with a 5 month summer break. Any suggestions are welcome…

I am so excited for the future of my course and in a couple of years being qualified as an SLT because I am so passionate about it.

Thank you for reading and if you have any questions about Uni please feel free to email me at gabsbitesizeblogs@gmail.com.