Cameron - Week at a glance

Once upon a time, before this current pandemic, there was such thing as a “normal week” at university. As hard is it may be, it is important to cast out minds back to such times. I hope my account of one such week is good to reminisce over and hopefully give you some insight into what kind of a lifestyle you can look forward to.

My weeks would normally start busy, with Monday and Tuesday being mainly full of lectures. Usually, my spare time in the day would be used to run home and grab some food, before running back across the town to get to the next lecture. In the evenings, I would go to the climbing club on Monday and St Johns on Tuesday. These are a good way to relax after long days of lectures.

Wednesdays are quite good, in the way that half the day is taken up with sports. The first half of the day was usually a lecture, then I would go to the climbing club then usually to the pub afterwards with a few friends.

Thursdays always a day for practical sessions, which are the best lectures we have. Its where you get to try out procedures and examination techniques you learned earlier in the week, which I think every student Health Care Professionals (HCPs) will agree is the main reason they are on the course, to begin with. The rest of the day I would usually spend in the library writing essays and reading around the topics covered earlier in the week, as well as dealing with any smaller admin tasks, such as meetings with lecturers.

Fridays there weren’t usually any lectures, so the day was mainly taken up with working on course content from home, so a mix of going over covered content, finding new content or writing essays.

Saturday and Sunday were free time and that’s something I don’t think people generally consider with the university. There are copious amounts of free time with no one telling you what to do. Coming straight from college to that is a frightening concept, having no real accountability except to yourself for vast amounts of the week. It’s not just weekends, but all the time you’re not in lectures, there’s no one forcing you to do anything specific.

Self-motivation is key here, so I would always try to push myself into doing something at least somewhat productive. One thing I tried to do as much as I could be pick up hours of work or volunteering. I also tried to refine my cooking in terms of taste and price (You would be amazed how cheap you can make good food for with a bit of practice). I’d also exercise as much as possible at the climbing wall, trying to go an extra three times a week on top of the two normal sessions. There’s also the obvious part of doing as much self-lead study as possible, aiming for the best grades I could.

And even when I wasn’t being productive, that’s ok. No one can be going 100% all the time because that’s how you burn out and then you stop being productive, which is just working against yourself. Relaxation is just as key to success as hard work. I’d relax by doing stuff with friends, calling friends and family and spending time on my computer and watching Netflix.

Whilst my week is undoubtedly different to others, I hope it’s a useful insight into a student paramedic life (While not on placement, that’s a WHOLE different world). I’m sure everyone has their own way of doing stuff but that’s my take on a week.

University is unlike any other time in your life. There are so many cultures all around you, both internationally and localised to courses; lifestyles ranging from those with courses in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), healthcare and the arts. It's an experience I wholeheartedly recommend because you learn to take care of yourself, grow in maturity and independence while gaining an unparalleled view of the world.