A scarily accurate depiction of what the paths in my life feel like right now.
IT’S BEEN an… interesting start to the year, to say the least. We’ve been ridiculously busy here at ASM, particularly with bringing you all the coverage of the devastation and destruction the high tides have brought to Aberystwyth this year. It feels horrible to say this, but I’ve loved every minute of it: the reaction we’ve got from you guys has been incredible.
I’ve not been around much since November, having been in hospital, then at home, then at various interviews. Seeing the storms from afar, with Aberystwyth being battered to within an inch of its life, I genuinely wondered if there was going to be anything to come back to!
Thankfully, there still is, and our resilient little university town is fighting back. Hopefully we’ll find out more about the regeneration soon, but it looks like everything should be fixed in time for the summer season, when we can all crack out those ‘daisy dukes bikinis on top’.
I love Aberystwyth when the sun comes out – as I’m writing this, the sun’s actually come out and I’m actually in a good mood for once. Now the weather is getting better, and I’m looking forward to chilling out on the beach with good friends, a book, and some lovely food.
Although, it’s really hit me recently that this will (most probably) be my last summer in Aber, I don’t like that thought. At all. I’m not old enough to graduate and move on! Nope. I want to stay here please – if someone fancies forking over for a Master’s that’d be fabulous, thanks!
I’ve now got to that worrying stage where all the scared freshers are looking for houses, second years are starting to worry about their dissertations, and I have come to the realisation that this is it for me. I’m done with university, pretty much, and that thought terrifies me. I’ve been travelling around the country since January for PGCE (post-grad teaching qualification) interviews. Thankfully – I’ve had an offer. Yeay! I thought that’d be it – but I can’t help but look longingly at job offers elsewhere, and Master’s courses… I still have no idea what I want to do.
It doesn’t help that the Students’ Union Elections have opened – for the best part of last year I was convinced I was going to run for something. I’m not – but now that nominations have closed, and there’s no chance of me having a drastic change of mind, I’ve come down with a severe case of the ‘might-have-beens’. It’s going to be weird, following it all, but I think I’m OK with that. Get involved yourselves, one way or another, even if it’s just following our coverage on here, run by our dedicated Elections Team.
Once the elections are out of the way though, it’s plain sailing until the end of the year. A few essays, a dissertation (don’t get me started on that…) and we’re done. Aah. Into the abyss, the worry that jobs won’t come and I’ll be lonely and poor and scared… but I don’t want to worry about that yet please. I’ve got another semester to get through first.
What I’m really trying to say is no matter what year you’re in, even if you’ve graduated, don’t worry about the future. It’s not worth it, the stress and the worrying and all the other emotions – you’ll just end up with a headache.