Throwing coins in wishing wells and living a semi-charmed kinda life (Sophie)

I kept meaning to update last week but the days have been rushing by so fast. Uni life is crazy in the sense that things are so incredible fast-paced. You really have to be so organised or everything will collapse beneath your feet.

Since my last post I went through a few days where I started to doubt my ability to manage everything but soon enough I realised that despite how challenging I’ve been finding Uni life, I wouldn’t change it for anything. My whole life I hated the structure of primary and high school, and the only place I ever wanted to be was university; where I could be my own person and completely in control and responsible for everything. It’s a great feeling to finally on the path to where I want to be.

So with that said, I handed in my first Accounting assignment last week which was incredibly nerve-racking, handed in my first lot Quantitative Methods homework the other day and did my first piece of assessment (and online multiple choice test) for Microeconomics. I have received positive feedback on my QM1 homework and Microeconomics online test, so fingers crossed all goes well with the Accounting assignment!

This week I have to hand in an assignment for Microeconomics and the three 800 words essays for Management. I must admit, I have been writing the Management essays during the weekend. I think by now anyone reading this knows that Management is my least favourite subject at this point. HOWEVER! Last week we had the first of a series of guest lecturers. His name is Dr Adam Barsky and he is a great speaker with the cutest American accent (please note: I am very partial to American accents!). So with that said, he has managed to grab my attention and keep me focused. His specialty is human resource management and I am looking forward to hearing him speak over the next few weeks. I don’t know what it is, but perhaps because he is obviously not Australian, he works just a little bit harder to keep the attention of the class?

So what else have my days been filled with? Despite the fact I only have 12 contact hours of Commerce a week, I have found I have been spending 5 days a week on campus so far; usually from about 9am or 11am in the morning til about 1 or 2pm in the afternoon….so it definitely feels like I am there a lot more than I expected.

Mainly this has been due to my committal to some of the free first year programs/events they have been running on campus. I have been on library tours, information lectures on facilities available and academic writing classes being run through the Teaching and Learning Unit of the Commerce department. Some people might ignore the idea of attending any of these things, thinking that they can’t be bothered or that they’ll figure it out themselves, but I feel for the small amount of personal time I have sacrificed, it has given me great value in return. For a start I now know where everything in the Ballieu Library is and I have my friends (who didn’t go on the tour) asking ME for help to find things! I felt confident enough the other day to easily find a series of books in the library to use as references for my management essays, where as a lot of my friends have just turned to the internet for information (a source that is not always as highly regarded as published books). The academic writing class I have attended over the last few weeks has been the most invaluable so far. Even if you received a great score in VCE English, this is definitely worth attending for a number of reasons. Firstly it helped me brush up on my writing skills after the massive break between high school and the commencement of Uni. This gave me a great confidence boost when it came to writing my first essays for assessment. Secondly the quality and style of writing expected at a university level can be a bit different to what is expected in VCE level writing. This class helps you understand the different expectations. Thirdly, it’s another way to meet people and make new friends. I met a lovely girl here who later happened to be in my QM1 tute class, so it was great when attending my first QM1 tute where I thought I knew no one, to see a friendly face. Lastly, it helped me truly understand what help is available with your writing when you are having trouble – knowledge that I know will be useful for years to come.

Surrounding these activities, my schedule is still constantly full of meetings with friends and catching up with people I met at one place or another. I really feel so privileged to have met so many great people so far. I continually find people to be so openly friendly in behaviour.

This is quite different to my experience of high school where there was a very strong competitive element to do with academic scores that placed great pressure on the ability for people to feel relaxed and comfortable in their environment. I tried to avoid falling prey to this pressure as much as possible and did make some life-long friends at my school, but it seemed someone was always trying to out-do you in something….kind of like Survivor but High School style- “Outwit, outplay and outlast”!

In comparison, I feel university is much more of a relaxed environment where people are much more comfortable in their own skin, and there is much more of a “We’re in this together” attitude- one where people help each other out, rather than the individualistic attitude of high school (which I feel can be very much attributed to the fact you are ranked against other students for your VCE scores).

So overall, the last week has been quite enjoyable. I have particularly enjoyed the company of my friend J whom I met through the Melbourne University Liberal Club (I insist I am NOT and NEVER will be a member no matter how much they try to convince me to join!). J and I saw the film “Crash” together last week at the Nova on Lygon Street and I must say it was truly breath-taking. There was a reason it won an Oscar!!!! If you enjoy a deeply thought-provoking movie that makes you go “WOW” then see it!

Another reason why I mentioned this experience, (that some may term trivial), is to make a case in point. I’d never been to Lygon St in my whole life despite attending a city based high school! I love how University gives you this opportunity to meet so many different people from so many different places who can teach you about things you don’t know, or take you places you haven’t been before. With that said, I would have probably never gone to Lygon St if J hadn’t taken me!

Anyhow,
I must end this chit-chat for now.
There is work to be done!

Have a great week everyone!

Sophie