- Do you like to write?
- Do you want to help current & future students understand what uni is all about?
- Do you want to be part of an online community, sharing advice (and getting advice) about how to settle into & succeed in first year?
The First Year Diaries blog is currently in its 18th year of giving first years the space to share their experiences of starting and surviving uni with others. Future students and fellow first years from Melbourne and around the world read the blog to find out what uni is really like, day to day.
To apply to become a blogger, write a 100-word mini-blog about why you’d be a great first year blogger and submit it via the application form by Monday 6th March, 2023.
Application form: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/s3ns
Hi everyone, I am the hidden character that is the last to be revealed. My pseudonym (which is my English name) is Thomas. My classmates back when I was in school used to call me tank engine. I must admit that I randomly chose the name around 8 years old when I saw a steam engine with a smiley face printed on the cover of a rip off notebook. What can this little me do when my foreign English teacher kept telling me from time to time to get an English name? All the kids in my primary school had it and I was the odd one out. To be honest, I hardly met any person of my age that didn’t have one. Thinking back, I don’t understand why those people really stress on that. Everyday folks there (including me back then) rarely speak English anyway. Well, this is Hong Kong, a place that I grew up during my childhood years. When I came to Australia, I noticed there’s a lot of Thomas’ around, especially in rural towns. And that’s pretty much it. People no longer care whether or not I named myself after the tank engine.
I kind of feel like I am still in my first year because the university is constantly upgrading the campus. It gives a feeling that there’s always something new. I am not certain whether this is an upside or a downside, but at least I can write some new content for this blog.
A few months back on a weekday evening, I was wandering around the Parkville campus like a tourist. For all these years of studies, I still hadn’t had a chance to explore the north of Tin Alley. As I walked further north, the gothic castle went into my eyes. A thin orange glow from the evening sun smoothed out the stone fortress. The tall bark tree next to the walkway waved gracefully at me. I took a picture from my phone to capture the moment. Unfortunately, the quality was not good enough.
These small moments really give the fulfillment that sometimes cannot be sought through endless pursuits. The things that we have at the present moment can as well be satisfactory. I cannot fully describe them in words, but if you have time during this mid semester break, try it yourselves by feeling it to refresh yourselves from the stresses. Hope you all will have a great break!
Now playing:
The Paper Kites – On the Train Ride Home
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Happy Sunday!
It’s been a while >v< How has everyone been?
I’m feeling beyond ecstatic knowing that mid-sem break is just round the corner! It has been an eventful week for me, filled with finishing assessments, connecting with family, awkward times on campus…where shall we begin?
My week started off slightly rough – my sugar-fuelled brain mixed up the time of my Monday practical, so I ended up at the anatomy lab at 9:30am instead of 1pm (big ick). It got better from there though - I managed to somehow meet a classmate I knew in first year in the very same class! It did not click until we saw each other’s names during the classic social media add (post-acquainting ofc), and I know it doesn’t sound like much but it really did feel like this spiderman meme at the time!!
After writing about the Mooncake Festival in my last entry, I was thrilled to discover that there would be a celebration at the university on the same day! I had celebrated the festival with family over the weekend but there can never be too much celebrating (●’◡’●)! This was probably the highlight of my week – it felt somewhat heart-warming yet nostalgic to see so many people immersed in the blend of cultures, music, food and company~ The mooncakes were perfect and so were the activities, with Vietnamese face-painting being my personal favourite!!
I finished a number of assessments by Thursday, and really enjoyed my Psychology prac on Friday! The focus of the class was young adulthood, where we discussed Havighurt’s Developmental Tasks for Young Adults (idk why, but it kind of sounds like Hogwarts textbook). I thought it was super interesting, particularly how a large majority of tasks remain applicable to young adults in this day and age, despite the vast differences in time and context. It also got me wondering if and how might the pandemic may have changed these standards for us nowadays - have we started living with a greater sense of urgency and appreciation due to the recent influx of changes, or have we collectively lowered our expectations for the future as a result?
AAAnywho~ with break coming up, I thought my challenge for Week 9/break could be slightly relaxing – picking up a new hobby!! It would be a great pause from uni, and fun to try out things I have never attempted before – looking forward to it!
That’s it from me so far – all the best for Week 9 as we get ready to kick into (our MUCH-deserved) break period!!
Until next post,
Cherie
I've joined so many clubs at university and it's literally saved my post-covid loneliness!
So many clubs plan weekly meetups (sometimes even involving free food!!! Who could say no to that?) and it's such an amazing way to meet likeminded people and friends! I've joined a couple of club committees it's been so nice to just talk to people again!!
It's also an amazing way to find new opportunities! It's so important to network and chat with people over lunch! I know a lot of us undergraduates find the task of finding internships and job opportunities extremely daunting, but so many of these opportunities actually travel by word of mouth. Besides, it never hurts to make a new friend over a couple of coffee!
Joining a club has been the best thing ever! Making friends is the best part of uni life and I highly recommend this to everyone!!
I got my badge on Badgr!!
You may ask what a Badgr is. So Badgr is the University’s digital credentialing platform. Once you set up an account you will have permanent access to your digital credentials, even after you graduate.
So you may still be confused with what the badge on Badgr can show.Once you complete an activity, your Melbourne Plus digital credential will be stored through a badge on Badgr.
I got my badge from attending Science Case Competition, which is a dual delivery event, with each workshop and presentation taking place in person and online. My group members and I worked in teams to pitch a solution to the Case identified by The Dirt Company. Our team was selected for progression to Heats! We made a presentation for our solutions. Unfortunately, we did not pass the Final Judges. But we stilled enjoyed free pizza together heheh.
I am honored to be able to complete this activity with some unfamiliar but friendly team members. In this activity, I have gained a lot of friends, and I have also felt everyone's rigorous attitude towards a task. My role was to brainstorm my topics and keep refining our solutions to make them implementable and creative. In the process, we collected a lot of data and opinions from the general public. We hope to have a science-based solution. I realized that everyday items are often the products that consume the most or waste plastic the most, so we finally settled on working with supermarkets to recycle plastic packaging.
What I learned from this situation was I have to learn more about the needs of each partner so that they will have a stronger incentive to cooperate with our actions. The biggest challenge I faced was when I was giving presentations, I didn't have the confidence to explain our action plan to everyone. I was reading more because I didn't prepare enough. I felt most of the time, I only try when I'm sure I can succeed, but I should try my best first.
Anyway, come for your onw badges on Badgr next time!!
Now playing:
Doris Day – Que Sera Sera
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I survived the shenanigans of Week 6 🥳!
Updates from last week - I went and thoroughly enjoyed the club event – Save the Children and Film Society’s Movie Night at Arts West’s Interactive Cinema Space! It was a fundraiser for Save the Children’s Ukraine Relief fund, where Ukrainian film “Lethal Kittens” was screened. Although the film was slightly confusing with lots (I mean LOTS) of Ukraine-based folklore, I appreciated the free pizza (yum yum) and the efforts from both clubs!! It was slightly daunting at first as most people came in groups but I was able to speak to a few new faces and learn more about both clubs!
My sleep schedule is still as messed up as before so really got to fix that this week - quite desperate for a mid-semester break right now – Week 7 seems to be just as chaotic for me with 2 MSTs and an assignment due (very funnnn) 💀
Majority of Masters applications were also due this week and GRRR not feeling great about them tbh! Mainly worried about not getting accepted or not knowing whether its right for me… I do feel kind of in a pickle with future career plans as there are so many options and I can be a very indecisive person at times, but I guess it is a part of life that everyone has to face at some point! There’s only so much I can do so just gonna cross my fingers and hope for the best – good luck to everyone in a similar spot, you’ve got this 🙏!
Something I am looking forward to this week though, is the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as Mooncake Festival)!! For those who have not heard of it before, it’s a Chinese tradition where family members gather together to drink tea and eat mooncakes (truly tasty lil thangs, I recommend the flavours red bean or yam for beginners) and that’s about i- just kidding, there’s a really cool tale behind the festival so do read up about it if you’re curious! I remember playing with lanterns on the festival as a child – it was probably more fun than eating mooncakes at the time, but now that I’m legally considered an adult, the judgement is real if I keep the lantern thing up XD
As this week is pretty intense, I thought my challenge for this week could be meeting up with friends for a study session!! I definitely need to get on top of my unwatched lectures and what better way than to do it while catching up with familiar faces?
Until next post,
Cherie
Now playing:
Anthony Lazaro – Life could be so simple
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As someone who has pictured themselves in a great deal of eccentric situations (like having hands for feet and feet for hands), I never once pictured myself writing a blog post, so here we go!! Here’s a quick little self-intro~
Pseudonym: Cherie
Year: Third
Course: Bachelor of Science
MBTI: INFP
Wig: Snatched
Hotel: Trivago
:D
With all jokes aside, here is a little brain dump I’ve decided to type up on my notes app at 1:51AM in my snug, floofy blanket (one of the best inventions of all time, I rest my case).
As the little girl loses her yellow basket in the song (I am not insane just yet, see title for reference), I am quite literally losing my sanity (AHA! all in the span of a sentence geez) with the attack of assessments and lectures piling up! These days, it always seems like there is something to do; the tidying up of a desk, the mental planning for tomorrow, the overthinking before replying a text, as if our lives have an incessant heartbeat screaming at us to keep going.
However, in the midst of this (admittedly) self-induced chaos, I have started feeling sentimental about my university experience. Maybe it’s the “romanticizing studying” tiktoks that keep appearing on my social media feed, or the recurring reminder that it is my final year before I delve into “adulting”, but I have come to appreciate the homely, albeit short (screw you Covid), pockets of time on campus. From staring at the Zambrero lines in awe to getting a cute stamp on a Castro card, I realise how important it is to immerse yourself with your surroundings as moments are fleeting and life goes on☹ so here’s a timely reminder to me (and maybe you too!) to stay grounded and grateful.
DUN DUN DUN! I thus declare my personal challenge this week to be participate in a club event! I blame the 2AM epiphany (seriously though, why does this happen @scientists), but I’ve decided it’s a great idea to try something new every week for the remaining… 6 (!!!) weeks (!!!) I have left. And update each week for accountability or public shame should I fail to attain accomplishment hohoho >:) Just looking at the website, there are so many events (https://umsu.unimelb.edu.au/things-to-do/events/) to choose from AHHHHHHH
To all the extroverts out there, I truly am envious of your ability to literally SPEAK and have WORDS come out of your mouth (…where else would words come from ahfipdnwfs) – this is coming from someone who gives “have you ever had a dream” vibes in public 24/7 (T o T)/~~
Anyways - join me on my snack-infused journey as I attempt to stubbornly make up my lost years to Covid with the heart, mind and soul of an enthusiastic first year throughout the rest of 2022! And as we bid this chilly winter goodbye, let’s welcome spring (and September!) with open arms 🌸
Until next post,
Cherie
Hi everyone!
I am Captain Hook. I am a second year Bachelor of Biomed student. I am an international student here, from a country that is 8689 kms away from Melbourne (I will leave it with you guys to guess the country! hint: super famous for the garments industry).
Now, you guys might be curious to know why I have "Captain Hook" as a pseudonym; honestly, I have been using this pseudonym for a REALLY LONG time, maybe from when I was in first grade. But that is a story that I will share with you guys some other day. I will be sharing small snippets of my life here in First Year Diaries.
As I write this, I am literally standing in the SUPER long queue for Barry the Bear on Open Day (though feeling like an imposter since I am a second year! ). So, I will leave you guys to it and go take my little buddy Barry home.
Signing off,
Captain Hook (I know the name sounds super cool! )
I am honored that I can contribute my EEG information to the development of neuroscience, although this experiment took me 3 hours. The happiest thing is that I got a $30 voucher:)
As a psychological student, it is easy to find experimental recruitment information on a website called REP. So some of the experiments will offer some benefits like a voucher or subject credits. But for psychological students, nothing is more interesting than participating in the experiment itself and observing their EEG in a lab. Also, you can communicate with researchers, if you are interested in what kind of study they are conducting.
However, your hair may be covered with glue. And most experiments are strict with subjects. You cannot move your body and head during the experiment. And you may boring and sleepy with boring and repetitive experimental content like giving a response to some images and clicking the button. But experimenters who record data tend to be more tired and dull.
Anyway, I encourage you to make some money from being volunteers in experiments. And some experiments may only ask you to participate online and will not take a lot of time. So you can choose whatever you want to try on the REP website.
My last exam is tomorrow and then I'll no longer be a doe-eyed fresher 🤩 Thought I'll write my last post while I am still technically a first year.
So, it's been an amazing experience here, working with some amazing students and learning from such great professors.... yeah, now it's sounding like a graduation speech. I'll save it for the podium 😝
Cat is off meds for now, has shed a few kilos and learned some new management concepts like servant-leadership, micro-management and follow-up. She is actively practicing them on me by following me around the house 🤣 #BossCat
As for me, I am busy planning vacation activities. There won't be any cookbooks this time but I'll be working on my latest discovery - instant noodles. They have been around since time immemorial 😆 but I recently got over my childhood trauma of overcooked maggi (no offence mom, you know I hated it 🥴) and entered the wonderful world of slurpy noodles 🍜 Can't get enough!
My other project will be winter soups, something that's healthy and hearty enough to pass off as lunch. I'll be travelling to work now and can't spend too much time on 4-course meals 😑
And finally, the biggest and baddest of them all, preparation for job interviews 😣 My experience rules me out of the internship and grad job race and I have got my eyes set on mid-level management roles in the most competitive financial institutions in the world, who hire only the best 🙄
Unimelb has been the perfect launchpad to get me started on this journey and I got my resume sorted, I even got to attend workshops and sessions with these companies 😁 But now I'll have to start preparing for the dreaded technical tests and that will be taking up most of my time this break and the next semester.
Speaking of the next semester, I have a few classes that are on-campus, looking forward.
Hope to see you soon.
love,
MoneyOverMen
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