We all know that the reason we come to university is our degree. We want to study something we like and at the end of our time at uni we want to graduate with a first class honours and find an amazing job. This is the end goal…
But, once you start uni you will realise that academia alone will not result in a complete university experience. I adore history, but without my extracurricular activities, friends and memories, my experience would not be as good as it has been so far.
In this blog I thought it would be nice to use lots of images and create my version of a picture blog, in an attempt to showcase a ‘real’ university experience. I’ll be describing these images, but unlike previous blogs I’ll try and keep the dialogue to a minimum.
Firstly, my friends. Without these people I would struggle. I came from home not knowing anybody and I now have the best friends I could hope for…
This is the first photo that was taken of me at York. It was from freshers week and shows me as happy as ever.
P.S. My ‘unhappy’ expression is not a reflection of my experience!!!
This picture was from our flat before we went to a Halloween event on campus.
This was taken at our ‘flat Christmas’ in first year and second year. I can’t think why they gave me that hat!?
This picture was from the Alcuin Winter Formal in first year.
This image was taken outside our college in first year. We were about to go to Summer Ball which is an end-of-year event at York Racecourse. As you can see by all the images above, I made some amazing friends in first year and I carried this through to this year. The people around you really do help make your experience.
DARTS!
Another massive part of my life is sport. In first year I played pool, cricket, table tennis and darts. I love all these sports, but the one which has had the biggest impact on me is darts. The club is so welcoming. Although I’m focusing on darts, any sport club, society or activity is a perfect way to try something new. We’re not robots! It’s very hard to work all day everyday. As a history student, playing darts is a great way to relax from reading or essay writing. If you’ve ever wanted to try something new then go for it… three years will be over sooner than you think.
This was Alcuin College darts team in my first year. College sport is much more relaxed than University-level sport, so it’s great for beginners.
This was some of the darts club on one of our socials. Most sports clubs hold regular socials, particularly on a Wednesday night. They’re great ways to socialise and meet new people within the club.
These images shows me playing in Roses 2016. Roses is a massive sports and society contest between the universities of York and Lancaster. It is the largest inter-university sports competition in Europe. Hundreds of students compete every year. This image is a photograph of a livestream that my housemates were watching back in York, as last year the tournament was in Lancaster.
I’ve met many of my closest friends through darts.
I hope this edition of my blog has given you an indication of university life through the perspective of a student. Just remember, it’s about more than your degree!
Mark
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