Festivities, Forge and fantastic decisions

Hiiiii.

So a very busy start to Second Year means that I have zero time :( 

So I got up extra early this morning (10am.....) and decided to write a lil blog post. I start work at 11 so this could be a bit rushed but we will give it a go.

So what's been going on....apart from the classic extreme lack of sleep which has made another appearance after First Year, I have been working a lot of hours (more than I am doing Uni work which is a questionable decision on my part but heyho.)

I am currently saving for Madrid next February, which is getting veeery close now! After weeks of scrolling through renting websites I have finally found someone to take my room in Sheffield whilst I'm abroad which is a great relief, so all I need to do now is find somewhere to live when I get there....Luckily I am looking with 3 other gals from my course so I'm not totally in the dark. 

Also I recently became Lifestyle Editor of the Uni newspaper Forge Press, which is super exciting! It's a lot of work but really rewarding too when you finally see everything in print around the Uni. 

Surprisingly, this year hasn't been as demanding as I thought so far- I have had one deadline which wasn't too stressful at all. We had to do a location voicer for radio, which is where you go out to an event and record yourself describing what it's like etc. I went to a guide dog fundraising event with my friend Rachel- picked purely on the basis that we would get to see some puppies- a FANTASTIC decision. They were v cute. I also did a vox pop about what the people of Sheffield thought about Donald Trump...safe to say he will never be a popular guy over here, thank god. I couldn't make it through the election night without dying of sleep deprivation, but I'm kinda glad because those of my friends who did watch it said it was terribly depressing. 

I went home a few weekends ago to see Catfish and the Bottlemen with my little bro and spend some time with my family which was super nice.  Also I would definitely recommend a Christmassy day out in Leeds, I visited my friend there this week and it was the perfect way to embrace all those festive feelings.

My boyfriend visited yesterday too and we achieved our biggest relationship success to date....sparkler pictures!!

I hope you have enjoyed this post! 

If you want to vote for me as Blogger of the Month, click here. Thank you!

Anna x

The End of the Very Christmas-y Tunnel

Hello!

Hope everyone is all good and looking forward to CHRISTMAAAAS! I certainly am. My Christmas spotify playlist is in FULL SWING. Mariah can't get enough of my singing. Or the other way round.

I was super stressed at the start of the week because I have a presentation to do tomorrow in front of my seminar group, a Spanish project thing (WHICH COUNTS FOR NOTHING. Don't get me started.) and a Spanish speaking exam- which we have to record ourselves, making sure our face can be seen so we can't cheat and read it :( But I've got most of it done now Y A Y.

I can now see the light at the end of the very Christmas-y tunnel.

I spent last weekend at home putting the Christmas tree up with the fam which was FAB but I didn't get much work done. Obvs. 

Also saw one of my besties from home at the weekend and introduced her to the night-life in Sheff...and went to work the next day. Not a good idea.

Yesterday I saw my Auntie who's home from South Africa, and my cousin Josh! I was a very bad tour guide but we had a BRILL day.

I hope you're all having a good last few weeks of Uni! How fast a semester has gone eh. I will most likely do another very nostalgic post about how fast everything is going next week. I am so predictable....

P.s You can vote for me to be Blogger of the Month here! Muchas Gracias :)

Anna x

Freshers, Flatmates and Friends Box Sets

Hiya!!

I am officially here! Despite most people's predictions, I actually made it through Freshers Week unscathed -apart from a slight case of Freshers Flu....

Where to start...well my flatmates are super cute!! There are 10 of us altogether, so cooking is slightly hectic (but we mainly cook pasta/pizza/jacket potato so it's not too bad...) and otherwise it's brilllllliant! In Freshers we went 'out out' some nights, and other nights we had flat parties (some successful...some not..that's another story).

Mostly we were getting to sleep at around 5am and waking up at 1pm the next day. SO, last week, when I found out that my shorthand classes are at EIGHT AM which means getting up at SIX FOURTY FIVE...Well you can imagine my reaction. It wasn't pretty. It was grumbly (if that's not a word, it should be). I was (and still am) extremely saddened at the thought of my flatmates enjoying their lie-ins, whilst I eat my cereal zombie-style and watch the News in the hope that I'll pass the 'news quiz' for the week. (Which I inevitably will not. I got 1.5/10 in my first Lecture, OOPS).

Overall it has been a fab two weeks! I was told to prepare for homesickness (good advice...but how do you prepare for moving in to a new place in a new city with 9 new people?)...Obviously it'll hit everybody at different times, but as long as you have good people around you (and a Friends box set) it's fiiiiine. Everybody's going through the same thing after all. (Plus it helps if you're close to home...I've already been back once!)

I hope you're all enjoying Uni so far!! And if you're in Year 12...power through the pain, it's all worth it once you get here! I feel weirdly old and responsible, doing my own washing, shopping and cooking (if making jacket potatoes and beans counts as cooking), but I'm also loving the independence of it, and finally being able to study such an interesting subject!

Anna x

Sheffield Steels my Vote

Hiya!

Wednesday 11th February marked the day of my second visit to Sheffield University (and the one year anniversary of me and my friend seeing Taylor Swift's Red Tour..but I guess that's besides the point).

My Dad's first impression of the Uni was "Oh my god, why is there a dual carriageway going through it", and to be fair, he had a point. At first sight Sheffield may not be the most picturesque uni -especially when compared to Lincoln- but it compensates in so many ways. After he had come to terms with the fact that the road was fairly large and consequently difficult to ignore (it takes time) we went on an accommodation tour. The student villages, Endcliffe and Ranmoor, are a 15 minute bus journey away- or 25 minute walk. My favourite thing about them is the homely atmosphere, which I'm sure will be comforting to many when battling the "I miss my boyfriend " blues. Aw.

Endcliffe Halls



ISN'T IT CUTE

We then went on a campus tour, run by a very fidgety man. He was so fidgety that I can't actually remember anything that he said...but basically the buildings were all really interesting, I especially liked this one below...the architecture was pretty snazzy.

Lunch in the Students Union cafe (CoffeeRevolution) was amazing...I'd go to Sheffield purely for a chicken tikka sandwich everyday. The lights in the cafe provided me with a good excuse to snap an arty photo too...

Since all I've talked about so far is food and nice buildings....in the afternoon we had some Journalism workshops with the course leaders. We got to see the Journalism building with the famous TV sofa and green screen, which was exciting! I also saw a girl who I remembered from my Lincoln interview...very comforting to see a familiar face.

As we have done after every open day, on the way home Dad and I talked about the Uni we had been to. We both agreed that overall, it's the best. The course is incredible, the Uni is part of the Russell Group, the accommodation is gorgeous, it's a vibrant city with loads of opportunities....and I'll only be 40 minutes away from my friend, who'll be in Leeds. So hopefully, that's me sorted for now...Sheffield's got to be a winner, right?

p.s... I hope all your uni-related things are coming together now! If you still can't decide though, definitely give an applicant day a try- they're really useful in helping you come to a decision (as demonstrated by moi). 
And Year 12's...get booking some open days, the earlier the better!

p.p.s, if the title didn't make sense, Sheffield is world-famous for the production of steel...geddit?

Anna x