Starting University: Stationary Haul!

Hey guys,

So in a couple of weeks I start University as a Fresher! 

What's more exciting than buying new stationary! I'm a real stationary geek, you know the person who checks the GSM (thickness) of the paper before buying the notepad? Yeah thats me. 

I mainly got my stuff from ASDA because I find you get better stationary from supermarkets and they're cheap too. ASDA had some really cute stuff in this term with the 'back to school' range so I couldn't help myself.

A lot of the basic stationary was under £1, such as rulers, pencils etc. The most expensive thing I bought was the planner or the folder, which were around £3-£4, everything else was below that.

I'm just going to insert lots of images as I doubt i'll need to explain what most of the stuff is!

 

This planner looks so useful as its not an ordinary diary, it lists the days and makes it easier to plan what you need to do!

I already have a lot of useful and barely used stationary bits in my house, so i'm also taking them with me, as well as some new pens that I bought. 

I also bought what looks like a pencil pot but its actually a bathroom pot what you're meant to put your toothbrushes and things in, but it was so cute and on sale, I thought i'd use it for my bits and bobs!

I'm also using a Cath Kidston hand bag that I got as a gift for christmas, as a place to store all my stationary until I get to uni, because I still need to buy some more pots to put things in as well as some more notepads, etc...

Well thanks for clicking on this post, I hope you like what i've bought and find buying stationary as fun as I do!

I've also bought the majority of my flat things now, so if you'd like a similar post on them bits then let me know below in the comments. 

Choosing What To Do With Your Future...

Sorry I haven't posted in quite a while, i'm in the middle of moving house so our wifi has been cut off so i'm having to resort to college and internet cafe's to do my work!

Recently I've had a change in direction with what I want to do with myself. Originally I wanted to go with Primary Teaching in University but then I started second guessing myself and thought I wasn't capable of achieving what I needed to pursue that, basically I chickened out. So I cancelled my UCAS and decided that i'd look for an apprenticeship or even a full time job once I leave college.

But now I've went back to my original idea of journalism, which I did want to do ever since I was young I don't really know why I changed my mind to primary teaching as creative writing is definitely for me!
I'm now applying through UCAS extra and going for magazine journalism and I have never been so excited!

So enough about me, I thought i'd do a small section on what you can do with yourself, either if you're due to finish your GCSE's or finish your A Levels, remember that the world is so big and full of so many opportunities now compared to what there used to be, that the world is literally your oyster and you should never be stuck for options.

Finishing GCSE's.

Finishing your GCSE's is such an important time, but also a very stressful one! But don't worry, if you don't think you have done very well with your exams, its not the end of the world! 

You can resit your exams in college which is a very popular option, or sometimes colleges accept that you may have struggled and help you to pursue what you want to do regardless of your results, as A-Levels aren't always the next option.

Of course you can do what a lot of people do and go onto college and Further Education to do A-Levels, which can eventually get you into University, but that's not the only option.

• There's more practical choices like going into apprenticeships, which are basically courses which you get paid to do and you finish in a year or two with money and you gain qualifications from it. If you do really well in the apprenticeship they can often keep you on for full-time employment, which is brilliant if you love what you've been doing!
• Of course if you're wanting to finish and go straight for the money option then that's fine too, there's often part-time jobs which you can apply for, given that you have a good CV and an idea on what you want to do, although you can job hop to find what job best suits you, which is exactly what I did when I left school! Nothing stops you from going into employment if you go for A-Levels but you have to be aware that they're a lot more intense than what your GCSE's were and you should only do minimum hours in a job so that you can keep on track with your college work!

                                               

Finishing A-Levels.

Now this is where it gets a little more serious, because before hand you could push off the idea that you don't know what to do 'when you get bigger'. By now you should sort of have a mild idea on what you want to be or do!

• There's the option that most people go for, and that's applying for UCAS (during college years) and going to University. Now this can be a scary idea as a lot of people think 'It's really expensive', 'I'll end up with loads of debt' 'is it worth it?' 'what if I don't want to do anything with the course once I finish University' well... University may look really expensive as all you see is the ££££ when you apply, but you don't have to pay upfront and you actually don't have to start paying any of it back until you earn over £21,000 and still then they only take small percentages monthly, so you won't end up with no money! I'd say University is worth it and I haven't got there yet! It's were you meet the people who you will be friends with for the rest of your life! It's such a huge adventure and you will grow so much independence, that's what I'm excited for, being able to grow and come home and not rely on my Mam any more! Also if you don't want to do anything related to your chosen course once you finish, it still looks awesome to any employer to say you have a degree in the first place! I'm quite sad in the way of I'm really excited for my own little room and desk and new stationary because what's not to love about new stationary?!
• Then there's the option of full-time employment. With your A-Levels its pretty easy to get a full-time job now! So get yourself on the job websites and explore what you'd like to do! Often they look for experience so you could volunteer at many places or get a small job first just to get some experience behind you.
• Apprenticeships are very popular, they're found in nearly every industry and every part of the country, its just a case of finding them! Make sure on the Apprenticeship website that you put up a strong CV/Profile about yourself so the employers know what you're about!

So remember guys, if you don't know what you want to do, it's not the end of the world, I'm sure adults with families and full time jobs may not even enjoy their job, so make sure you get one that best suits you because you always work better when you enjoy what you're doing!

For me it's a case of trying to find work experience to help me with my Uni choice!

Never give up guys, there's definitely something for you out there!

I hope you like this post, it's abit different but something I know quite a lot about!

Feel free to leave comments if you have any questions or need any help!

Good luck with your futures!!

Amie

xx