First Impressions

Hi all!

I was walking through the centre of town yesterday and I kept noticing parents and students carrying the classic ‘open day’ bag from Cardiff. When I got home my Twitter feed was filled with retweets from @CardiffUniThrive to say how brilliant Cardiff was, and that people can’t wait to come here. It made me think that two years ago that was me. Two years! It feels like only yesterday. I remember the day I visited Cardiff for the first time. It was the first uni I visited, so I had no idea what to expect. It was absolutely bright sunshine, the kind of day you see in those prospectus photos that make the uni look like it’s come from a climate very different to that of Wales! I remember that I had exactly the same attitude as everyone who tweeted yesterday. I had fallen in love.

…and did so for good reason. The way the Psychology department ran their Open Day was second to none. (As I was find out from countless more visits to other unis across the country) Cardiff was unique in how they ran the day. The talks they gave weren’t just on finance and accommodation, which after you’ve heard one, you’ve preeetty much heard them all! They gave talks on actual psychology. They put on talks such as brain imaging, face recognition and the psychology behind it, environmental psychology, and my personal favourite: psychopaths. Not only was this unique to Cardiff, more engaging and not to mention far more interesting than managing finance, but it meant you also got a feel for the style of lecturing. You got to trial run being a student. I left feeling energised, motivated and above all excited for what would be, and what is, turning out to be the best few years of my life.

I thought i’d write this for all those who tweeted about loving life in Cardiff. I promise that it only gets better! I hope you got the chance to have a look around the student union as well, because let me tell you it is incredible! Some unis have a bar for their union, some may even have a shop, Cardiff has 5 floors! This includes shops (plural) a restaurant, a pub, a lounge and a 2200 capacity nightclub. It is officially the largest in Wales. In addition, the town is perfect as well. It’s only a 10 minute walk from the uni, and once in the town centre, everything you need is within a 20 minute walking radius. Girls – the shopping is incredible 😉

For me Cardiff was the only choice and I have not looked back since. The course, the department, the union, the town…everything is perfect…..all you gotta bring is wellies! As the prospectus style weather is very rare!

I fell in love then, and am still just as in love now. Hopefully see y’all soon for further blogs on what independent life is like and the crazy stuff that goes on when you’re here. Right now, however, work is calling…and I probably should answer it! Hope to see you all around Cardiff soon!

Han