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Dim ond yng Nghaerdydd

Is this real life?

30 Tachwedd 2014

Sorry it’s been a while since I last blogged…I’ve been held tightly in the clutches of the aforementioned 3rd Year Fear.

I promised myself that I would drop all of the extra curricular activities that I had going on in 2nd year, in order to really concentrate on my degree in my final year. Instead, however, I find myself juggling said degree, a part time job, weekly radio show and newly acquired internship. And then theres my over active social life to consider… It all leaves me feeling a bit like David after dentist

I’ve also been applying for those scary graduate schemes. It takes me back to what feels like only yesterday, where I too was applying for the terrifying ordeal that is university. I thought the days of writing applications trying to “sell” yourself were long gone, but oh how wrong I was. If anything, the application processes for some of the firms I’m applying to are far more toe-curlingly cringe-worthy than anything UCAS can throw at you. It’s just not a natural thing to want to blow your own trumpet and shout from the rooftops about how brilliant you are. Unless you’re a candidate from The Apprentice of course, in which case you’ll be more than capable of thinking you’re God’s gift.

And not to mention how ridiculously tedious and long the application forms are! Most take at least a few days to complete, when you’ve done all the psychometric tests etc. I knew there would be a day when I counted my lucky stars that I did the Cardiff Award last year, and here it is! The award is genuinely so helpful in preparing you for applying for jobs, and takes the phrase “transferrable skills” to a whole new level. To complete the award I also had to do a 30 minute presentation, which basically taught me that I’m pretty good a blagging things- an entirely essential attribute when applying for jobs!

So all of this job stuff has got me seriously pondering the future, and at the moment life post-uni seems to be an apocalyptic nightmare. How the hell, at 22 years of age, am I supposed to know what I want to do for the rest of my life?? Okay so 22 actually sounds pretty old… Which is why, if at 18, you don’t know what you wanna do…then do not worry at all, and take it all in your stride. For me, university has opened up so many new opportunities and given me access to things I would never have considered before. For instance, getting involved in student media has been one of the most rewarding experiences at uni, and gives me a real sense of achievement after I work on a really great radio show. And getting involved with Cardiff Snowsports society and going on the uni ski trips is definitely the most fun extracurricular activity you could possibly engage in! And being affiliated with snowsports led me to spending the summer in New Zealand…so you never know where you might end up.

Even though I don’t really have much of a clue about what I’m going to do after the uni dream is over, it’s still exciting to think about all the opportunities and possibilities that the next few years will bring. So if you’re feeling a bit confused about what uni to apply to/what course to apply for/whether to go to uni at all, then just think of the whole process as a positive experience that could and will lead you down the most interesting path!

And in the words of a cliched pinterest post; it’s not about the destination it’s about the journey!