Mermaid Christmas Social

Привет, friends! (“Привет” is Russian for “Hello”, fyi) :)

Soooo 14/12/12 was the night of the Mermaids’ Christmas Social!! And the theme? FAIRIES!! :D

Think wings, tutus and wands!! And *glitterrrrrrr*Please see pretty pictures below :D

A few days later was the Mermaids’ Christmas Meal!! But not many pictures have been uploaded yet, so I shall have to post some for you later! :)

Right, now all the fun and games are over, it’s back to coursework! I’m really looking forward to breaking up for Christmas this week :) I’ve just submitted my 2,000 word Strategic Management report and my Ethics Form for my Dissertation…now I’m on a mission to complete my 1,500 word Psychology report and  3,000 word Dissertation Literature Review by this Friday! Eeeeek ><

Ooh, I don’t know if you know, but I am a TOTAL grammar Nazi! I know that in my blogs I always use punctuation marks to make faces and I often add extra letters to words for emphasis (Hiiiiiiiiii, for example :P) BUT, in essays, formal conversation and LIFE, I think grammar, spelling and punctuation are SO important!! Nothing gets me more riled up than seeing “Christmas wreath’s for sale” written outside my local florist -.- It frustrates me so much because it’s so simple! Okay, so fully understanding the differences between a hyphen, en dash and em dash may not be of paramount importance, but the difference between “there”, “their” and “they’re” should have been learnt in primary school! OOF!! Little gets me more fuming than poor grammar!! ANYWAY, I am going somewhere with this rant, I promise – the other day whilst browsing online, I stumbled across this wonderful website:

http://www.grammarbook.com/

I LOVE IT! It explains everything the average person ought to know about the grammar of the English language, and you can even buy it in book form!! Christmas is coming, so if any of you lovely people would like to buy me the book I’d be most grateful :D

Speaking of Christmas again, I am very excited! I promise to take as many photos as I can for my next blog :) There will be lots of photos of food, and as usual, I know I’m going to overindulge; food is my life!! In the New Year I plan on joining the University of Greenwich’s climbing society and going swimming one evening a week!! The weight I’ve gained since summer is not seriousssss!! Still, it is winter…HA!

Ooh, so far in my blogs I’ve mentioned a number of the University’s sports clubs and societies; full lists of what the university offers can be found here:

http://www.suug.co.uk/activities/

Hopefully all of my photos updates and links will keep you going until January, but if not, here’s a website I often visit to kill time (as if I have nothing better to do! Ahaaaaa!)  :

http://iwastesomuchtime.com/

Until the New Year, chickens…

Пока! (<<That means “bye!”)

Christmas is nearly here!

¡Hola! ¿Como estas, people? :) 

Can you believe Christmas is less than two weeks away!? When did THAT happen!? Whew! 

Well, I’m quite aware that the majority of my blogs thus far have focused quite a lot on the social side of my university life, so I thought it was high time I gave you all a better insight to my academic life :) I’m currently in the middle of finishing off a 2,000 word Strategic Management report due tomorrow (eek! ><) and once that’s done I have a 1,500 word reflective report for a group activity I did in Psychology (Human Performance in Organisations) due at the end of term (which is a mere week and a half away!) plus my 3,000 word Dissertation Literature Review (also due the end of term!! Busy busy bee!! *buzz buzz* All of that between cheer, celebrating various birthdays, Christmas parties and Christmas meals! When will I rest!? Well, I say that, but when I have nothing to do I go out of my mind! I’m sure by the end of the Christmas break I’ll be desperate to come back to the heavy workload and hustle and bustle of university life! :)

So I've been thinking, why don’t I give you all an insight into what I enjoy the most and least about my course? Business Psychology isn't a very popular degree, so I’d love to generate some interest in any of you potential students who may have stumbled across my blog! Now, please bear in mind that as we are all different, other Business Psychology students may not feel the same way as I do about all aspects of this degree, but I’m hoping to provide you with a first-hand perspective of the types of things to expect :)

Year one: This year was, in terms of psychology, particularly useful to me; I had never studied psychology before, so this was very interesting! However, for students who held A Levels in Psychology, this aspect of the course was more of a recap than a lesson in something new. Similarly, the rest of the course was more of a refresher for me – we covered most of what I had already done in GCSE and A Level Business; whilst this was a little useful as I had taken a gap year, it was arguably a little dull as I didn't feel intellectually challenged.

Year two: This year was far more interesting; the psychology aspect directly linked to the world of business (we looked at, for example, mental health issues in the workplace, management styles and how different childhood experiences could affect the type of personality an adult would have). Two courses I found particularly interesting were Business Ethics in term one and Cross Cultural Management in term two. Both of these courses were very thought-provoking, and often case studies required what I like to call “real thinking” as opposed to just taking the knowledge I’d been fed and applying it to the given situation. One thing I will say: the more you enjoy a topic, the better you are likely to perform on the exams and coursework! 

Year three: So, I’m already a third of the way through this academic year, I can’t say it isn't challenging! The workload is noticeably heavier than in second year, and to compare the workload to first year would be an absolute joke! Still, I’m not complaining – once I have my degree it will all be worth it! I must admit I haven’t found anything but my dissertation especially interesting thus far this year, but I shall keep you posted; next term I’m starting a new psychology module, Mental Health in Adulthood, and I’m really looking forward to that! I think it will make me sad, though :(; as part of the course we’ll be visiting an elderly people’s home to see older adults with conditions such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc. :(

Three years seems like such a long time when you start your degree, but TRUST ME it zooms by so fast!! 

The best piece of advice I would possibly give would be to ENJOY IT!! Prioritise and get your work done, but take some time to stop and really make the most of the experience! No environment compares to that at university, and I honestly feel that joining a sports team is the best decision I ever made since joining. I've made some amazing friends who I never would have met otherwise, and because of them not only do I have the best social life here, but I also have a great support network if I feel down about my course, or if I need people to talk to besides my course mates. A great number of my course mates have never been to the Students’ Union at Avery Hill (Sparrow’s – my playground! :D) and literally only know the people on our programme or programmes we've shared lectures/tutorials with; those individuals, in my opinion, have not truly gotten the most out of their university experience. Yes, they will have a degree, but in addition to my degree I know for a fact I will have gained some wonderful memories and lifelong best friends once I graduate.

Of course, all of the above is just me! Different people want different things out of life, so I’d definitely take the time to read the other student experience blogs to get a more balanced view of student life here at the University of Greenwich :)

I hope you've enjoyed this blog! Until next time, folks - ¡Adiós! ¡Hasta pronto!