You know in High School when you reach the last couple of weeks of term and all your teachers have simultaneously decided to give you all your assessments and tests at once? That is exactly what seems to be happening to me. Now I have to count my blessings as one of my tests did get postponed until the second half of the semester so that was one thing off my plate and anything to make this week easier is very much so welcome. It is only a matter of days before the Easter break comes along and I say goodbye to the big city to fly back home for a well deserved holiday.

When you are your friend summarize Law, you take up three whiteboards…

Though celebratory moment, I just sat my first Uni test which was my Law essay. It was the one that I just wanted to see where I was at and what a Law test looked like so I could get a better understanding for the end of semester exam. I have to say overall I am quite stoked. It’s so hard to know what they are looking for when you come to Uni, everything seems to be on a whole new level from High School and NCEA but when it comes to it, it is really a lot easier than you think. I haven’t got my results for this test back so only time will tell if my feelings of ease were right but I feel a lot more confident now that I’ve actually sat a test now. The experience in itself feels a lot like walking into your first NCEA exam but you know that every one from this point onwards is going to be that much easier.

I think I was slowly starting to lose my mind leading up to this test because it felt like I had so much to do but I just didn’t know how to tackle it all. I would say that I study well but if I feel pressured then even though I may do a few hours of study I don’t think I take anything in, just because I’m in the wrong mindset.  Definitely learning more and more about smart study and knowing that it doesn’t just rely on how you study but also what mindset you’re in when you do. Unfortunately in High School I was one of those students who couldn’t make really good progress on an assignment until the night before something was due because in the wise words of almost everyone in Uni hall “Diamonds are made under pressure”. I hate this trait if I’m being honest and I’ve been trying really hard to snap myself out of it but I struggle to motivate myself enough to consistently do the work when I know I have a week to do it or that I could be doing something else with my time (like procrastinating like crazy). My advice to those who are like me, get out of your place of comfort to study. Avoid doing things like studying in your room or even in a communal area where your friends can distract you too much. I find studying in our Studypod on our floor the best thing because it is just quiet and set up with whiteboards for you to just write or draw what you’re thinking. I am quite a visual learner so this helps me. I could also go to a park and just sit there reading a chapter for a class, as long as I was away from places of comfort where I would normally chill or sleep then I can be productive.

Things that help in times of stress:

Food – Now a probably unorthodox approach and I shouldn’t be telling you to spend up large on food especially when like me you live in a hall where all your meals are provided for BUT sometimes you have to treat. Yo. Self. In times of stress what can possibly be better than fatty comfort food? Maybe try not to answer that question and just continue eating that fatty goodness. All the photos below are my food ventures, people even realised how much I needed food and gave me FREE FOOD VOUCHERS FOR FREE! Loving life.

Call home – I have found myself calling my mother on various occasions mainly just to hear her tell me that I stress too much and need to just get on with it but as we all know “a mother always knows best” so her advice is one that I must always adhere to. It is nice though in times of stress just to get that sense of familiarity as well. I think especially when you move away from home (move cities to be exact) you don’t realise how almost alone you can feel sometimes. Even in a Hall when you’re surrounded by people they aren’t your dear loved ones that surrounded you for the years prior to bringing you here.

Surround yourself with good people – I am very blessed to have found myself a great group of friends who support me and just know how to take my mind off the stress. Even through this blog I had Tate a fellow blogger to vent to, talk about the blog, our studies, being able to joke about our situations always makes the day brighter and easier. I think this one is important especially if you decide that next year you want to fly away from the nest, knowing who to surround yourself with can be the difference between you succeeding or failing. When you have the right people around you, you feel better about everything and then everything else will just be easier. Yes uni involves a lot of study and just knuckling down and doing it, but if you have no one to share your struggles or even enjoy your achievements with you, it will be a long year of Uni.

QUICK UPDATE: Now if you read my last blog you would remember that I was partaking in Assassins week at UniHall and I was doing my utmost to survive. Well after killing two people (like a boss) I was removed from the game by a cheeky ploy from the RA’s to cut down the numbers. So it is fair to say that I was cheated but I’m not bitter…

Enjoy the cheeky photos of some of my important life events like putting on a lab coat to pretend that I wasn’t a Law student. Until next time.

Hakuna Matata.