Pets As Therapy (PAT)

Links included in this post can be found on and will direct you to the PAT website in a new tab.

Links to journal articles from various websites will be included also. Unfortunately, links to journal articles will not be open access and you will need a login to be able to read the whole article if you wish to do so. However, the abstracts should provide you will enough detail to get a general gist of aim(s) of the study, method(s), participants and results.


What is PAT?
Pet's As Therapy is a charity made up of volunteers, who through their services aim to have a positive impact on the wellbeing of those they visit. The services that they provide is very valuable to a range of people regardless of their age or any special requirements. That's of course unless you have a fear of dogs or cats!

The Benefits of Animal Therapy
We all love spending time with our beloved pets. They are something we can look forward to after a long day, they will sit there and listen to us rant on and you can trust them not to say anything to anyone else (expect maybe each other if they have a buddy to live with!), and they are too cute not to have cuddles with when you're feeling a bit low.

If you read last week's post or follow me on Instagram, you may remember coming across my own fluffy buddies. Bubbles (left) and Squeak (right) are my guinea piggies. I got them as a pressie for doing well in my GCSEs. They turned 3 this year!

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Cohen Research Group conducted a survey with 2,000 pet owners in 2016, with pet owners suggesting that owning a pet has positive benefits on their own mental health (74%) or that of a family member (75%). This survey also found that 88%  agreed that health professions should recommend getting a pet to encourage 'healthier living'.

Recently, you may have seen several news articles talking about the physical and psychological benefits of animals on humans. Researchers have found several benefits of pets and animal therapy, including:

• Releases calming hormones whilst reducing stress hormones
• Also helps to lower blood pressure as a result
• Can help to combat loneliness by providing social stimulation
• Increases use of motor coordination
• Encourages the development of social skills such as communication
• May aid in reducing the effects of negative mental health (e.g.: depression and anxiety)

Temperament Assessments
In order to become a volunteer with PAT, all dogs and cats must undergo a temperament assessment. Through testing how they may react to a range of scenarios and stimuli, it helps to ensure that they will be comfortable and suitable to cope with the environments in which they may volunteer within. This also assess the owner's ability to maintain control over their dog/cat, all of which is vital for the health and safety of volunteers and clients. These temperament assessments may be slightly more challenging for cats given their curious nature and possibly differing reactions to human contact in comparison to dogs. More can be found on the temperament assessments by clicking on the links below:

• Factsheet: PAT temperament assessment (dogs)
• Factsheet: PAT temperament assessment (cats)

Once volunteers are ready, they receive their official badges. I didn't realise this until one of the volunteers showed me, but the cats and dogs even have their own ID's attached to their collars (how cute!).

All dogs and cats must also have had certain vaccinations before volunteering and even have to be on a diet which does not consist of raw meat for further health and safety precautions. As you can tell PAT are strict on maintaining high standards of health and safety and safeguarding.

If you are interested, more information on these policies and further factsheets

can be found on the hyperlink attached.

PAT Sessions
I have been to 2 PAT sessions at Warwick, each lasting 10 minutes. The first time was in Term 1, arranged as part of the Study Happy initiative run by our library team at Warwick. I volunteered as a Wellbeing Ambassador where I helped to promote World Kindness Day during the PAT visit.

I can't remember the dog's name (oops...), but I will insert a photo of him on the left. I'm not going to lie, my memory of Term 1 and 2 is non-existent. All I remember is having a really nice conversation with the owner about something, although I have no memory of what it was about at all.

The second session I attended was in Term 3 a week before my first exam. This time it was arranged as an exam season destress activity by the Psychology Department. I thought that I would sign up to get myself out of my room since it was the first week of having no lectures and took it as a chance to be able to have a chat with someone. I had a great time hanging out with Daisy and her owner. I didn't manage to get a photo this time round but here is one of her taken by Warwick Library.

Daisy is a rescue dog, who is relatively new to the PAT team. She was found running around on a motorway somewhere in Hertfordshire. I think her owner mentioned that she was only 2 years old. Daisy was so calm and gentle.

Her owner was really friendly, and it was so lovely to be able to have a chat with someone as well. We spoke about the psychology department, first year of uni in general, volunteering and my difficulty with finding a volunteering placement for the Summer, and some more about Daisy. She told me how her and Daisy frequently visits care homes to provide the elderly some companionship. She also takes part in the Red2Dogs scheme, where she will sit to children and let them read to her. This helps children with their literacy skills and communication as reading to dogs is a lot less intimidating than reading to a human. Pet therapy has also been found to be beneficial for many SEND children who struggle with reading aloud.

If you're a Warwick student you will probably already know Ben-G. PAT volunteer Ben-G is probably the most famous PAT dog at Warwick. Along with campus cat, Rolf, he became one of the faces of Warwick's Library Study Happy campaign. We love having the PAT volunteers around!

I've never been to a PAT cat session, so in case you're not a dog person, here are some photos of cats!

They're not trained but spending time with any of your pets or favourite animals can make a good therapy session! Carmen (left) was my Aunt's cat who is now with an elderly lady in need of some companionship and Milly (right) is a neighbourhood cat who likes to sneak into our garden for some pats and cuddles! Aren't they both beautiful?

As PAT is a charity, any amount of donation can go a long way to support their services.

You can make donations through:

• Their JustGiving page on their website;
• Text message, by texting PATS01£(amount) to 70070, OR
• You can become a PAT Supporter.

Or if you have a cat or dog who may fit the role and you would like to get into some volunteering, why not consider joining the PAT team? Again, more information and their social media accounts can be located on their website.

🐟🐹🦆🐶 An animal can really be a person's best friend! 🐱🐇🐭🐸

30 Student Struggles

Note: I am aware that the placing of the images is a bit dodgy and that some of the numbers are overlapping with the
images to. I'm having a few technical issues on here at the moment and intend to sort it out eventually!

Besides the daunting moment of sitting in bed and suddenly remembering that we're only 18 and acquiring debts possibly up to £60,000+ until we're 50-years-old or so, there are many other struggles that all students can identify with.

Also, just to clarify before anyone gives me the talk about how being a student is nothing compared to being a 'proper adult', this is not a post intended to complain about student life. It is just a fun (though not fun at the times) post of some very classic (yet genuine) struggles that students can relate to and look back on.

With that  made clear, here are 30 struggles that the majority of students will encounter!

1. Price of Textbooks
   They are SO expensive. The shock that you get when an essential textbook for the module costs over £50 or even £100. Of course, the library resources are there for a reason. The issue here is that...
   
   
2. Borrowing Books from the Library
   They only have a 2 week loan (usually). Only a few days maximum for those in high demand. This isn't an issue if you can keep renewing them or if it's needed one-off, but when there are loads of students taking the module with only 6 or so textbooks available, they usually get recalled before you're able to do so. Let's be real, this isn't convenient when you need to read a chapter a week for a whole term.
   
   

   

   Peggy & Marco | Pixabay

3. Circuit Laundry
   
   Laundry was the least of my worries, yet it was a nightmare to deal with. Circuit Laundry didn't help the situation at all. They were constantly breaking down, so there was always at least one machine not functioning. When there's only 4 machines per a whole accommodation block (300+ students in some cases) you can imagine how difficult it is to find a free washing machine. Prepare to stand there and wait for 20 minutes for someone's cycle to finish because it's the only way you stand a chance of getting your clothes washed.
   
   
4. Research and (APA) Referencing
   Researching and finding the right material/ journal articles to include in assignments and as extra reading for exams is one of the most time-consuming parts of most degrees. Having to make sure that the material you pick out is relevant to the question and directly answers the question can be tricky to begin with. Then there's making sure that every reference and citation is perfectly written and formatted, especially when it comes to the nitty-gritty rules of APA. What parts needs to be italicised again? Is it '&' or 'and'?


5. Reading... Reading... Reading
   Probably the most time-consuming part of most degrees. There's so much reading to do that you will never be able to complete all the required reading for your modules every week. Not much else to say about this!
   
   

   

   via GIPHY

6. Drunk Students and Noisy Accommodation
   Those 9am lectures are difficult enough without drunk students shouting down your hallway or outside your accommodation block when you're trying to get enough sleep to make it through the day. Don't get me started on hearing doors slamming all through the night. Lectures can be very demanding so you want to be as alert as possible in order to grasp what you can to refrain from unnecessarily having to go through the whole entire lecture again. Definitely not something I am going to miss about living in student halls.
   
   
7. Cooking in a Crowded Kitchen
   I tended to avoid the kitchen if someone else was inside because it made me uncomfortable (anyone else?). Still, there will be times when you can't avoid that. There will be times when you need to cook and almost the whole flat is in the kitchen. It's not something you can plan either as students don't have clear schedules, for instance: your last lecture could end anywhere between 10am to 7pm.
   
   
8. Writing Essays is Really Complicated Task
   Despite having written essays for most of your academic life, you would think that you would know how to write a decent essay by the time you get to uni. Nevertheless, university changes that and you may realise that you don't actually know how to write a proper academic essay. Providing the balance of being concise, yet providing enough analysis and description takes several practises. Also, do I truly know the difference between an introduction vs. a conclusion and how to write them? Apparently not... We'll get there eventually. Each essay is step forward!
   
   
9. Word Counts
   Having to write up a content analysis research report in just 1,500 words... That was a struggle. Or when an essay is on your favourite section and you have so many good ideas you want to include but can't! Other times modules which are not your strong suit face the opposite challenge. Some university departments aren't too bothered, and others will penalise you for each percentage that student go over or under, so you will constantly be checking those word counts!
   
   
10. Synonyms
    You know when you're reading through an assignment and it seems that there's too many of one word and you think 'nah... I have to find another way to put that'? Then you have to start thinking of several different words to replace that one. Even with the basics like: 'and', 'the', and 'but' can seem too much!
    
    

11. 

    Nathan Dumlao  | Unsplash

    Not Being Able to Make It Through the Day Without Coffee/ Tea
    Not one I can relate to because I have a bit of a caffeine fear, however for my fellow students out there who can't live without coffee or tea, this one is for you! Every uni needs a Costa of some sort on campus, or we would end up with a lot of very angry students wandering around campus! Fun little story: I had a friend who tried to give up coffee for 1 week. She lasted 3 days (not bad!). Could you last longer than that?
    
    
12. Taking Notes
    There's two parts to this. First, the speed of lectures can be rough. In some cases, you may find yourself having trouble understanding the remainder of a lecture solely because you haven't understood something on slide 5. If you're confident enough you could put your hand up and ask for alliteration. Luckily for me the Psychology Department here makes use of lecture capture. To be honest, I can't imagine what I would do without it. Regardless, you will eventually get used to finding ways to combat that and you will learn to get quicker at grasping concepts and theories. I do have a post planned about taking notes, although I'm not sure when that will go up yet. Secondly, the distance between the seat and the table can be a struggle, but that's the least of your worries.
    
    
13. Sitting on a Squeaky Chair
    I suppose you could move, but when the lecture hall is almost full or there are other students sitting beside you and you don't want to make them move, you have to bear it. With any slight noise being heard by everyone, the desk usually too far from the seat, and sometimes lectures lasting 2 hours (or more!) it's not exactly the most comfortable position. Despite that, most of us would rather be stiff than irritating our (probably very tired) peers and possibly distracting the lecturer.
    
    
14. Noise in Lectures
    Fresher's flu is a real thing and kind of a pain during Term 1 lectures. Starting uni and not having  a clue what is going on makes it just a bit harder when the majority of students around you are ill. Sure, it's distracting, but it can't be helped. Other than that, you realise how irritating the constant clicking of someone typing on their keyboard is, especially when it's happening above your head. Then you get those students who spend the whole lecture whispering to each other. Please don't!
    
    
15. The Art of Speed Walking
    There are days where I have woken up early and was prepared well in advanced before leaving, only to realise that I have forgotten to do something 10 mins before I'm supposed to leave. Or there's getting paranoid about not making it on time, so you overestimate how long it will actually take to wherever you need to be. Then there's also the bus not turning up on time. The perks of this is that you will gradually manage to cut down the time it takes to get to your lectures by half, i.e.: you get faster at walking.
    
    
16. What Are You Doing After Uni?
    The dreaded question every student doesn't want to hear or answer. It fills us with so much panic. Even if we know, we're likely to not say anything in case things don't go the way they plan to, or if we change our minds. It's probably best to avoid asking it all together.
    
    
17. Work Experience Vs. Paid Work?
    You know that you need to save up for your placement year/ year abroad, to be able to fund a postgrad degree if you need one; accommodation costs. However, a lot of valuable work experience which relates to your career aspirations and which is required for many postgraduate degrees will more than likely be voluntary. Trying to balance academic demands with financial requirements is tricky and so stressful to deal with. 
    
    
18. Wi-Fi Down
    There are all these debates going on about young people being too dependent on the Internet but when you're student everything is on the Internet: all those journal articles we have to read, lecture PowerPoints, worksheets uploaded onto the university learning platforms; group work on Google drive. When the Wi-Fi shuts down when you need to get assignments and research done (or even worse, submit an assignment!) it is quite a big problem!
    
    
19. Sleep is Underrated
    9am lectures should be easy-peasy, right? Truth : they're not, and many lecturers will agree to. University work is demanding, which tires you out more than you can imagine. Then there's societies on top of that, each running for 2 hours in the evening (some more!), hours of rehearsals a week if you take part in performing arts, and there's also volunteering work. Some students also work on top of that. University halls don't help either. You learn to unconsciously suppress the tiredness until it hits you at the end of term. Anyone still recovering from the hours of lost sleep?
    
    
20. Overthinking MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions)
    I can't be the only one who always selects an answer knowing that it's wrong deep down, yet your brain tricks you into somehow logically thinking that it could be correct? MCQs are those which make you really doubt yourself and your understanding, usually as a consequence of overthinking what you already know.
    
    
21. Understanding Statistics
    There's rarely a 'sort of get it' moment when it comes to stats. It's quite black and white: 'I totally get this' or 'what in the world is happening right now' and it can change within less than a second from one to the other. If you're like me and statistics/ maths in general isn't a strong point of yours, when you do understand it, you begin to wonder whether you're just manipulating yourself that well into thinking you do understand when really you don't. I guess the assignment will conclude that.
    
    
22. Questioning Whether You Should Be Doing Something When You're Not
    Am I supposed to be doing an assignment right now? Should I start exam revision even though it's only week 2? Oh no, what deadline am I missing? There's always that paranoia of thinking that you should be doing something more important than, well, anything else other than work.
    
    
23. Tabula Notifications
    

    

    IO-Images |
    Pixabay

    If you're not familiar with what Tabula is, it's essentially a platform which is used foradministration purposes (managing student profiles, timetabling, attendance; all that stuff), submitting assignments and receiving feedback. It's usually connected to your uni/student app. It's a really useful tool. The only downside to it is that every time a notification comes up detailing that 'assignment feedback' has been uploaded, you get that sinking feeling that takes you back to those 'your UCAS application has been updated' emails. 
    
    
24. Emailing/ Addressing Academics
    First time is always scary, even with very friendly academics. Usually lecturers tell you how they prefer (or even how they don't want) to be addressed, whether that be by their forename, 'professor' or 'Dr. (surname)' when you first meet them. Choosing between 'dear' and 'hi', or maybe even a 'good morning/evening' and an introduction to start with and a 'many thanks', 'kind regards' or 'best wishes' to end proves more difficult than it should be. I kid you not when it has sometimes taken me 30 mins of reading back over and pondering over whether the email is too formal or needs to be more formal. This usually resolves itself from the reply you get. For instance, you know not to be too formal next time if you get sent a 'cheers' with a 😊 emoji. Eventually, it all comes down to who exactly it is you're emailing and the nature of the email.
    
    
25. Trying Not to Have a Breakdown in Your Personal Tutor's Office
    Do I need to say any more than that? This will happen to a majority of us at least once. It's not that uncommon, so don't be embarrassed!
    
    
26. SU and Society Elections
    Politics at Warwick is quite something. Particularly when it comes to SU elections, they are guaranteed to bring on some serious debates and competition. There's not even an excuse to miss it: speeches being made at the start of your lectures at least three times a week, any bit of clear wall around campus will be covered in candidates' slogans and manifestos, there are banners hanging from the library bridge, poster board stands everywhere, and even these little stringed bits of decorated paper hanging from our (were) pretty trees. It was quite the experience. Is it that intense at other universities to? I've asked some of my sixth form peers and they don't even realise that elections are happening. Or maybe it's another one of those Warwick things?
    
    
27. It Always Feels Like Winter
    If the uni you attend has a green campus, you will understand the satisfaction of seeing all the beautiful flowers blooming everywhere, the bright green trees, and cute little animals running around. It feels like a new place! The problem is that you only get this during the first few weeks of term 1 and during the last few weeks of exam season. Usually, we're treading in soggy leaves and walking into campus damp and cold or sitting in our rooms revising or in an exam hall wishing we could enjoy the bright weather whilst is lasts... Sad times.
    
    
28. Where Does All the Time Go?
    There doesn't seem to be enough hours in a day to get everything done! A lot of us find ourselves starting on a reading/ an assignment, only to look up at the clock to find that 2 hours have already passed by. Completing term 1 and realising that there's only one term left until exam season hits or that you're already halfway through your degree comes at  shock to! I'm not even that old, but I feel like the older I get the quicker time seems to fly by (especially in an exam!). Funny thing considering time doesn't change pace.
    
    
29. Plagiarism - Developing a Fear of Turnitin
    Anyone who has had a plagiarism lecture will understand this. Plagiarism isn't really something students are concerned with to begin with, until you have a whole lecture on it, how to avoid it (it's much more complex than you expect!), and how Turnitin works. From then on, I have had a genuine fear or Turnitin every time I submit an assignment, even knowing that I haven't purposefully plagiarised. Luckily, I haven't been called up for any plagiarism yet so let's hope it stays that way. (Tip: unless your university asks you to submit work through Turnitin DON'T do it. Otherwise, when your lecturers put your work through, it will come up as 100% plagiarised and you don't want that!).
    
    
30. When Secondary/ High School Pupils Relate to Student Memes
    It's a painful thing to see... You want to tell them that they have no clue what's waiting for them, but you decide that it's best to leave them ignorant of all of that for now. They will really understand eventually.

How many of these resonate with you? Are there any obvious ones I have missed? Let me know!

On another note, I hope that Results Day went well for you and that you're now enjoying your Summer! If you have just broken up for the Summer break and you are awaiting A-Level or GCSE results, try and keep yourself distracted to ease the nerves. Make the most out of your well-deserved break!

Next week there will be an extra mini post followed by a review of my year 1 modules the following week, and that's that!

1st Year of Uni

Those of you who personally know me know that I love musical theatre songs. Therefore, instead of simply writing about my first-year experiences and lessons learned, I thought why not do this through the help of some good ol' musical theatre songs?

I have made an attempt to make a generalisation, but as always, everyone will have very different experiences. You might relate to some of these points stronger than others, or maybe not at all!

Also, since this isn't a music theatre blog I have tried my best to include the classics that you will have heard of or recognise (apologies in advance if you happen to be a music theatre 'overdone' or 'songs to never sing at auditions' critic!). There will be a few not so well-known ones to. To help you out, hyperlinks have been attached onto the song title headings, which (if all goes right) should open a new window to a lyric video on YouTube so that you can listen along if you wish to. Knowing the general background of the songs will probably make this post more understandable.

🎵 I hope you enjoy! 🎵

Those first steps onto campus is like walking into the Emerald City of Oz. It's a place which seems 'grand' (and possibly even 'all green' in some cases!) with 'so much to do'. Every single day at uni seems like  One Short Day (Wicked). There will be times when it feels like it drags on forever. However, the end of term comes around before you even know it and with all those assignments and essays to write you will start wondering why time flies by so quickly and question why there aren't more hours in a day. Many will realise that they will 'call it home to' by the end of their university journey - even if that's something that you never thought that you would be able to relate to. Despite not having had the ideal start, most of the people in the Midlands are so welcoming and friendly (in comparison to where I'm from anyway!), and that's more than enough to make it the least a bit homely. 

rawpixel.com | Pexels

You also go into uni with all the images that people out into your mind about student life at university, but you soon realise that you're 'flying blind' and 'making this up as [you] go'. Then you begin to wonder: does Anybody Have a Map? (Dear Evan Hansen) - both literally and figuratively. Despite having been at Warwick for a year, 'it's a puzzle, it's a maze'! I am still constantly getting lost on campus whilst exploring new places and routes, even with the campus map directions which is helpfully installed onto the university app. Then there's the academic side of getting lost. you're sitting in a lecture with no clue what is happening. The information doesn't make sense, even though you know full well it does, and everything all sounds jibber-jabber. Sound familiar? I'm sure that every student has been there... Probably more than once! It can be scary. Try not to freak out (I know. It's easier said than done) and figure out why this is the case. It may well solely be a signal of needing a rest. Take one and look over the lecture afterwards and you may find that it magically makes sense all of a sudden!


If you're not already at university you may be thinking that less contact hours than college/ sixth form (well, usually...) surely means that there's more time to focus on hobbies, socialising, and all that fun stuff, right? You would think so, but university workload is one of those things which people will warn you about, though you won't properly comprehend until you're sitting at your desk drowning in assignments and reading. Initially, it appears that you have  'very little time to rest'. However, as the famous phrase goes: 'In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun!'. Have you got it yet? Yes, that's right! Sometimes all you need it a Spoonful of Sugar (Mary Poppins). I'm not encouraging you to take that literally, but if you want to treat yourself to a sweet treat as part of the routine, why not? Read, draw, do some yoga, play an instrument, dance, take a walk, bake - do whatever takes you mind off university/work. Setting aside certain times every evening or several hours dotted around the week for some 'me-time' to just wind-down and relax is essential. I have learned that although taking a whole entire day off can seem too much, if you need it, do it. Better that then to slowly burnout and spend weeks not being able to function at a satisfactory standard.

via GIPHY

As we're in the UK, I can't leave this post without mentioning the weather. I'm not sure about other regions, but if you're going to uni in the West Midlands you're going to need a raincoat and an umbrella. It's probably best to also bring a spare one to in case it breaks. It pretty much rains all the time, except for in September and late Summer months which is often filled with sunshine. However, this doesn't stop people from Singing In The Rain (Singin' In The Rain) no matter the time of year. For me, there's something about walking round campus and seeing students around you smiling and relaxing with their peers which makes me feel... warm. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it's a very moving feeling. I get it when I see little kiddies running around the Art's Centre to. Either it doesn't take much to brighten up a gloomy day or maybe I'm just emotionally sensitive, who knows?


However, there were also times when singing and dancing in the rain didn't even seem possible. There were days and weeks when I just sat in In My Own Little Corner (Cinderella) feeling very lost, 'alone and unarmed'. Unlike Cinderella's little corner, mine wasn't a safe space filled with optimism where I could escape from reality. Sure, it was a safe place from the outside world at times, although not in the right way. It was far from a place where I thought that I could 'be whatever I want to be' or where I felt that 'the world will open its arms to me'. It was quite the opposite. Here, the world became a terrifying place... A lot more than it should have. Even knowing that shutting myself out would be a mistake, I did it anyway. There may be times where you feel completely lost and disconnected from yourself and the environment around you. Don't get me wrong, sometimes you need time for yourself to sit and reflect but learning to be aware of when those sorts of behaviours become too much is a challenge. You gradually learn what normal for you and what's not. However, admitting when something doesn't seem right is the most challenging part of it all. Nevertheless, you do learn a lot about yourself in your first year of university and this will hopefully increase self-awareness and it helps with recognising your own strengths and weaknesses.


Moving onto something that every student struggles through: constantly questioning whether they are doing good enough, especially after academic setbacks. This point lightly resonates with one of my recent post's. There's this constant cycle of being 'so near the top' yet still having 'so many mountains to climb'. There will be those drastic changes between having that One Perfect Moment (Bring It On) where you feel so proud of yourself and then suddenly feeling yourself 'start to fall' from that peak moment. On the one hand, you tell yourself that as long as you 'can just stick the landing' and make that 40% pass mark, you will be okay. On the other hand, you also have the drive to want to 'go above and beyond' to prove yourself. This will happen multiple times, but you have to remind yourself that falling after a peak doesn't mean that you will stay at a low. Especially in first-year which is 'full of mysteries', it's bound to be a bumpy ride. Also remember that first year is there for you to make mistakes so that you don't make them when the marks really count. You want to be making mistakes now rather than later.

Orna Wachman | Pixabay

Warwick students will get me on this one. If I could assign an anthem to Warwick students it would be Do You Hear The People Sing (Les Misérables). If there's one thing that you can guarantee it is that if Warwick students are unhappy about a situation or a decision, they will make it very clear. They will get their voices heard. Sometimes it an really touching thing to see everyone unite and stand up about issues they feel deeply passionate about. Conversely, there are some situations where this can get a bit too much and I'm sure this is the case at most universities. Students are stubborn and know what they want. Nonetheless, there should also be a line of respect to.

Despite many of us going 'down an unknown road' and feeling like we're battling a steep 'uphill slope', to survive first year and to  Go The Distance (Hercules) is an aim of every Fresher. Every student has had that fearful thought of: what if this doesn't go the right way? Is it really worth it? Will this get me to where I need to be? It's scary not knowing what's going to happen after you graduate and not knowing what you want to do afterwards. You can only 'hope that every mile, will be worth my while' and that you 'will find [your] way' eventually.

via GIPHY

Like Little Red Riding Hood was a naïve little girl walking into the depth of the forest, I reluctantly walked into uni as a naive little Fresher where 'everything familiar seemed to disappear forever'. It's safe to say that although there's still so much in store I Know Things Now (Into the Woods). I have definitely learnt a lot more about society in general and how to deal with certain dilemmas effectively. I've mentioned this previously, but meeting people from such a diverse range of background and coming to a place like Warwick has also really opened my eyes to how applicable sociological theories are to reality. There are things I learned in A-Level sociology, for instance, which I thought I had understood, but being able to physically witness and experience these issues first-hand provides you with a completely different level of understanding. There are also things which I would probably rather stay naïve about, to be honest. I guess sometimes it's 'nice to know a lot...And a little bit not'!

Finally, to end this off university has definitely had A Change in Me (Beauty & the Beast). It changes people in many ways because of how much you learn through the experience. It may impact some people more than others, and whilst not all experiences will be positive as this song suggests, you will also learn so many valuable lessons from the negative ones to. You won't always be 'where and who [you] want to be', but it's okay to lose yourself a bit as you adjust and try to figure out your next steps. There was nothing that would have been able to prepare me for that.

In conclusion, being a Fresher or a student in general is an extremely confusing period. As you can tell from this post, a lot of it is filled with uncertainty and you are constantly attempting to go with the flow as you try to find your ground. There's a lot of 'but's' in this post, which says it all. Whilst you will make mistakes and you may struggle through parts of the academic year, there are definitely a lot of positives that you take away from it to regardless of whether you choose to stay on or not.

However, it's only the very beginning and I know that there is much more to come. I don't know what (basically I don't know anything right now 😂), but (there's another one!) we'll take it step by step.

Even in the midst of the unknown, there is one thing that I can be certain of: It's been one crazy ride.