2017

So I know the 12th January is a bit late to do a classic new year reflection post, but hey, let’s go with it…I thought I would do a little update on how the end of 2016 went and what I have coming up in 2017:

First term of second year went SO fast. I know in a couple of posts from my first year I talked about how quickly the year went, but nothing could have prepared me for quite how quickly year two is going. I think being involved in a lot more things and having more work means the weeks just disappear!

In my ‘Second Year‘ post, I talked about being a bit apprehensive about last terms modules. My expectations turned out to be pretty spot on – I found Anglo-Saxons and Modern Germany quite tricky but I loved Tudor and Stuart Britain. Anglo-Saxon England was the module I most struggled with – I’ve never studied it before, and it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t an area of history that I particularly liked. Although it was a nice contrast studying something so new to me, it definitely won’t be a period of history I chose to study again, and all I can do is cross my fingers and hope for decent essay marks! On the other hand, studying Tudor and Stuart Britain more than made up for this. The Tudor period is probably my favourite period of history and the teaching was really good. I genuinely looked forward to seminars which is pretty unusual for me! For my summative essay, instead of picking from the list of questions I made up my own essay question – ‘what were the limitations of female monarchy in the Tudor period?’. This was really nice because it meant I could write about a topic that really interested me and take it into quite specific detail. Getting to study stuff like this reminds me why I love history!

Still managing a few lake walks in second year

So, looking forward to 2017, I’m excited about next term – but simultaneously kinda terrified by the amount of stuff that’s going to happen in one term! Last year the spring semester was really busy, and I don’t think this year will be any different. New term means new modules, and I’m a lot more hopeful about these modules than I was about last terms. I’m also more involved in society stuff than I was last year – in February the Christian Union has a big event, Story Norwich, coming up (more about this in a future post) and this will all take up a lot of my time. Spring semester also seems to bring a lot of peoples birthdays (including mine), and as the weather gets better, so does the opportunity for day trips. The end of this semester means exams, and that means lots of revision because second year marks count! As well as that, I would really like to try and get some kind of summer job/internship. A lot of applications for summer internships close in January/February time so I’m sure I’ll enjoy a month or so of frantically trying to find places to apply to.

Phew, that’s a lotta stuff.

2017 feels like quite an uncertain year for me but hopefully another year packed with oppurtunities. The end of my second year feels quite far away now, but I’m sure it won’t be long until I’m writing my next round up of the year!