We are now getting well into semester 2 and it is flying by. The first couple of weeks were a whirlwind of getting into the new subjects, finding out results and reviewing the first semester. The next couple of weeks allowed a brief respite as we had the lectures and independent study task, but we were not waiting for results and did not have any assignments to do.
Now the assignments are starting to come in thick and fast and the exams at the end of term are starting to get very real. The second semester for me has the same number of exams as the first semester, but more assignments so it is going to be much busier. Currently we have our lab report to be getting on with, which I have and I am over half way through it now, but I have definitely done the easy half of it. During the next week I will also have to begin revising for the exams, start my case study, design, write and present a group presentation, and begin to write a reflection on some of my work. This semester it seems that February is where we get everything and April is when it is all due in and May brings the exams.
Last semester I made the mistake of getting scared by the workload so I left the work for a couple of weeks which set me back a lot. This time as soon as I got the lab report I started it and I intend to do the same with the others. Time management is something that I have been working on with my mentor and she has helped me to write down all the due dates and work out what I need to do.
That is not to say that the term so far has not been interesting and fun. The lectures themselves have been really interesting especially as last term was learning the basic theories, but this term is applying those theories. I realise not everyone reading this will enjoy psychology, but for example learning about social theory is good, but being able to take the theory and apply part of it to understand criminals is much more fascinating. Outside of uni life, I celebrated my 21st birthday a couple of weeks ago and within the celebrations I went out to explore the countryside surrounding the University. Within a half an hour drive from the university there are country parks and countryside which is truly breath-taking and wonderful to walk round. I took my dog to walk there, but I would love to go back on my own to explore more.
