Hi everyone! I hope you're all well.
My name is Megan and I'm a first year Geography student here at the University of Nottingham.
Today I'm just going to be talking about what it was like starting university this year.
Before I came I'd spoken to a few people online but I didn't know if we'd click in person.
I'm so glad that we clicked! It was so nice to eventually meet and thank god we're still
friends now. It was really important meeting people online, I did that through Facebook pages
and the WhatsApp groups. Although I definitely haven't met as many people as other years because
they've been able to meet through their course or on like spontaneous nights out.
This year it's a bit hard to randomly meet people because you have the rule of six,
you have to wear a mask, there's social distancing involved.
Although it's been harder to meet as many people I feel the friends that I have met I've really been
able to develop a deep bond with them. Because I'm spending so much time with them I've been able
to really get to know them. This year especially we've had so much time in halls. Therefore I found
that I adapted to hall life quite quickly because I was in my room so much after Freshers and I was
just in the hall, whether that was eating or socialising in the JCR. All halls on campus
at Nottingham are catered so that gives your day a bit more structure. I've had some of the
best conversations over the dinner table. In the evenings after dinner within the first couple of
weeks we'd usually sit in the JCR and socialise, it's a great way to meet new people in the hall
who you hadn't met already. My hall has over 200 people in it so that's a lot of people to meet,
but when the restrictions got tighter and they were quite strict about only having six people
in there it was a shame, but we've definitely utilised our rooms being able to have up to six in
there. I feel so at home in my hall and it really does feel like a little community and I think
everyone has a sense of pride about their hall as well, like you rarely find people dissing their
hall. Everyone says that their hall is the best and it is honestly like a home away from home.
Although my room is lovely I have found it quite hard to concentrate because a
lot of the time is my socialising space, it's my space to chill out and relax,
so then mentally going from that to being in a study space is quite hard. There are
other spaces to study around campus, my favourite is the Monica Partridge Building. Each hall has a
study space as well, some halls like Hugh Stewart or Rutland even have their own libraries which is
pretty cool. These do tend to get quite busy and quite filled up during the day which is a shame,
so I've had to get into a routine of getting up early and making sure that I get a space.
My favourite places to go for lunch are in the Portland Building. When many places outside the
university closed during lockdown, all of these foodie places were open for takeaway which was
great because I could safely get food on campus, whether that was a pizza or a chicken wrap from
Love Joe. Portland Café, I've been there so many times as well. I love going with friends,
it just has such a lovely cute vibe in there. They do such good hot chocolate.
And the halls themselves, a lot of them have cafes. I love Cav Café for a salad and Hugh
Stew to do a really good katsu curry, and Cripps I've had a Chinese from there before.
When things were a bit safer and there weren't as many restrictions
I loved also going outside the campus and seeing what the city of Nottingham had to offer.
My absolute favourite night during Freshers was when there wasn't a 10pm curfew and we went to
Cucamara, Baa Bar and Bunk. I've also been to Rock City a few times, Revolution, Coco Tang,
Slug and Lettuce, and one of the three Spoons also make for a really good night out. I also went to
Penny Lane once, I really enjoyed it there. The day I get to go back to the city I can't wait!
Even though nights out and day trips to the city have been quite limited,
I think most of the fun of this year is just making your own fun in halls because that's
what we've had to do for a lot of the time. I've had honestly some of my best nights just
sat in someone's room and it's been so much better for my bank account, I've saved so
much money. The Uni Park campus is situated on a lake and it's so stunning. I can't even explain to
you how many times I've walked round that lake. I've also made frequent trips to Wollaton Park.
I also frequently, or not so frequently some weeks, went to the David Ross gym. It's just
a shame that I'm not really getting my use out of it this year. Despite all of the restrictions some
society events are still being able to happen. I went to a little Geography socially distanced
one which was really nice. I have some friends who do NU Dance which is like the dance society
and they do so many good online socials and dance classes for really cheap or they're free.
Honestly life at uni this year hasn't been perfect every single day,
it's tough knowing that you can't really go home and see your family as often as you'd like,
home friends can't visit. Motivation is sometimes hard to maintain when you're doing
lectures online. There have been some days that it's been a struggle to stay positive and I've
had some down days, but one thing I wish that I knew before I came is that that's actually quite
normal and a lot of people are experiencing the same thing. For so long I thought it was just me
but I think when you open up to people, even if they're just new friends that you've made and
you're a bit worried, like people are so lovely and you'll often find that a lot of students
are in the same boat and feeling a little bit anxious like you. I've learned that talking to
those around you is such a good starting point, I've been so lucky to have such lovely friends.
Academic staff seem quite helpful too, my tutor has asked like 'am
I okay?' like my well-being and all that. Cripps Medical Centre are also really good.
Even if you're not on campus and you're at home you can still access their services.
It honestly, it it's been such a crazy term, I just can't wait to get back,
I am so excited to be reunited with my friends! I hope you're staying as
happy and healthy as you can at the moment. Bye, thank you for watching!