3 more months to go!

So as you all know from my last blog, I went to Amiens, France, last week from Monday to Wednesday for the research project I’m involved with. The research was on widening participation and social cohesion and involved research fellows, student mentors (one of them was me), teachers (English and French) and a large number of English and French children/teens! The trip was awesome and we did a lot considering we were only there for 3 days! The kids loved it too, although they seemed shattered by the time we were back in England!  Speaking of which, I think everyone was tired by the time we were back, and us mentors only got about 5/4 hours sleep every night as we worked from 7:30 in the morning until about 11 at night! The first day was exciting as we had to be at the Greenwich campus at 4am (which meant us lot had to be up at 2:30ish, some even earlier!), we went to pick up the kids at 6am and then we were on our way to the Eurotunnel and off to Amiens. We met with the French children in a university Business school which was interesting to see, we sat and had lunch with them and had an ‘ice-breaker’ exercise so that we could get to know them. Later that day we had numerous tasks to do and place’s to visit in the town which was interesting! Here’s me and the other mentor’s (I’m at the front!) ---------------------------------->

<--------------------- The second day was good too; all of us, around 40 of us, went to a WW1 battlefield, the battle of Somme, which was really interesting and I think it opened up not only the children’s eyes but ours too! We saw no man’s land and the front lines. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t great; this was the North of France so it was bitter cold with sleet and snow! We also went to a museum for a bit of education on the battle of Somme, looking at trenches and the machinery/ weapons they used. That night we all got together (English and French) in the hostel we were staying at and had ‘free time’ all evening. There were loads of games and snacks and it was really relaxed, which was nice as we had to stick to a strict schedule for both days! It was lovely getting to know the French children and I think the English kids loved it, just to get out of their home town and go on a free trip! :P 

The next day was more relaxed, half of us went to a French sixth form nearby Amiens and the other half attended a secondary school. We got to learn all about the different subjects they get taught as well as their culture and foods they eat for breakfast/ lunch. After attending the schools we all met up again and were on our way back to England! Overall it was an amazing experience; we mentors had an amazing time and such a laugh! I have never experienced anything like it and was a great opportunity for all of us to be involved within such a large scale EU funded project. There will be an English exchange too in March; the French children we met are coming over to us for three days, so that will be awesome! I’m sure I’ll update you all on that ;)

As for university work, I came back from France and had to conduct my focus groups that week. The first group was 5 girls and the second group involved 6 boys. I got a lot of useful data for my analysis, which I’ll be starting next week (scary stuff). I saw with my supervisor yesterday, who is extremely helpful, and both decided that I will finish my analysis and my discussion (so around 4000 words) in 4 weeks! Once they’re done I have the introduction and abstract to do which isn’t so bad. However, I have to edit EVERYTHING as I need it all to be perfect! Not only do I have this to worry about, as for third year that would be letting us off lightly :P, I have a 3000 word essay to do AND 3 exams in May, 2 of which are worth 100% of my 15 credit modules *cry*. I will miss uni but I really need a break which involves a nice long holiday sunbathing on the beach! 

Other than all of that, I have had a bit of a social life :P. As it was Valentine’s yesterday I was treated to TGI’s in central London which was nice J and next week I’m seeing some friends who I haven’t seen in forever! Oh and I’m going to Coventry university in a couple of weeks with all my college friends to visit a friend who’s there at the moment, so that will be really good!

I will inform you all soon on how I’m getting along with all this work and what I’m getting up to next time!

Speak soon J

Exciting times!

I don’t think I can quite get over that it’s now the end of January, how fast is this year going already?! Everyone has been super busy with deadlines and dissertations and the thought of finishing my last exam in 4 months time scares me a tad, but the thing that is motivating me through all of it is the thought of come July I’ll be sitting on a nice beach in Spain with no more deadlines woo! Thankfully, I’ve finished my methodology section on my dissertation, well I say finished I’ve done my first draft so I have to amend it here and there, but at least them 3000 words are no longer lingering on my mind! Oh and another lift off my shoulders was that I found out I got high 2:1’s in both my modules for last term J so now it’s the worry of these three modules and my dissertation (so not much then! :P).

As you know I am a research assistant and mentor for the psychology department and as part of the project we’re on I am required to go to France, Amiens to be exact, and it’s come around so unbelievably fast that I’m going there on Monday woo! We had a session on it this week about what we’re doing out there and what we get paid (which gave me a massive smile!) and what times we’re leaving, etc. The bad bit about it is that we have to be at the Greenwich campus at 4am on Monday, yes you read that right – 4am K. So realistically I’ll have to get up at 2:30, what kind of joke are they playing at? – is that I first thought, but then they told us we have to go to Kent first to pick up the kids (who we’re mentoring) and then we’re going through the Eurotunnel and then to Amiens, so we probably won’t get there until 12! So maybe 4am is an okay(ish) time to get there :P. Every since I was a child I have been prone to travel sickness so I definitely have to bring joy rides and sit near the front, especially if we’re going to be on it for 8 hours! I’m going there from Monday to Wednesday which is a good time I think, and although I’m working out there, I look at it as though it’s a paid holiday ;).

Apart from work related stuff, I have been succumbed to the vampire diaries fan club, I don’t know why I never watched it before but I was flicking through Netflix one night and thought ‘yeah I’ll give that a go’, ever since - I have been addicted to it! So if you’ve never watched it and you’re into the whole Twilight/ Charmed thing then get onto the vampire diaries bandwagon as you’ll soon find that your face is glued to the TV all night.

Thinking future wise and all and I’ll be finishing my BSc degree this year, I’ve been thinking about postgraduate study. Almost everyone I’ve spoken to has said ‘I can’t wait to be free of education forever!’ and although I agree with them in a way, I kind of want to do a masters degree to train me in psychological research methods which would be funded by the ESRC (Economic and Social Research Council), as it would open up so many doors into research and that’s what I’d like to do really, or work in academia. If I have the master’s degree, then I could go onto a PhD which would follow on from my masters so that it’s funded by the ESRC too. I’m saying all of this, but these programmes are so competitive let alone to be funded and I’d have to create a PhD thesis :P but it’s always an option, plus can you imagine the amount of research jobs that I would be opened up to if I did do it! I think I’ll work for a year and see how it goes first though ;).

I guess my next blog will be telling you about France, expect a big blog! Speak soon! J

Happy new year everyone!

Well as it’s now 2013 (still don’t know where 2012 went!), we can make a fresh start on everything! As per every year, I make my new year’s resolution to stop biting my nails, do well in my work, etc, but this year is slightly different to any other year before… I’m turning 21 (scary!), I’m finishing my degree in May (only 5 months), I’m graduating and I’m going to be in a full time job! So a lot is happening this year but I’m really excited!

Apart from thinking about my future plans, I have loads of work to do this month, including my sociology essay, my methodology for my dissertation and conducting my focus groups for my research, I really hope it goes well! I found out that I got a 1^st on my Health Psychology exam woo! So that was a nice surprise over the Christmas break! J I think coming back to Uni its hit me how much I need to do as I had a rather lazy one over the holidays, kind of wish I did a bit more but I’m getting there! So glad I don’t have any exams until May now though, the week before we broke up for Christmas was ridiculously busy… I had 2 exams and a big deadline in one week! But I think I did well and that 1^st I got made it worth it!

As for outside of University, I’m doing some extra shifts over the holiday which helps a lot! I've also been really busy seeing friends who I haven’t seen in so long as they go to different universities around the country, so that was nice! I've also been out a lot, for new year’s we had a house party with all my friends from home, it was so good, definitely a great way to start the year! I think I’m going to the cinema next week to see Les Miserables, actually can’t wait it looks so good! They filmed part of it at this university, Greenwich campus, and apparently (I didn't see it) but there were elephant statues there and Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman and Amanda Seyfried were spotted walking around the campus for filming! So look out for the university if you watch the film. >>>>>>

Also, I really want to see Gangster Squad, it has Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in it! There are so many other films I want to see!

I’m actually applying for jobs at the moment (can never be too early I suppose), so when I have the time I’m working my way through application forms and information packs! I just hope I get called for an interview soon, it would make me relax a little as I know how hard it is for students to get a job that quickly (fingers crossed!). I’m applying for research assistant/ officer jobs and marketing assistant roles at the moment. Some people say it’s way too early to apply but it’s only 5 months away!! *Panicking*

I hope you all had a great Christmas and new year, will speak soon!

Hayley

x

Nearly there!

Hey people, sorry it’s been forever since I last blogged! I've been stupidly busy over the past month with exams, essays, dissertation and revision! I can tell you that this term has been the most hectic and hardest I have ever faced since starting Uni, hopefully next term will ease the pressure off a bit.

So I’ll start off talking about work (actual work not coursework!). I went to the Isle of Sheppey again for some mentoring, it’s making all of us excited to go to France for the mentoring trip in February as well as the kids from France coming over to London! I've been working with the research fellow’s quite a lot with some admin for the project, it’s pretty interesting but I think the best part will be when we actually mentor them! 

I've also been working quite a lot in the Enquiry unit, and if I’m not revising or have lectures, I take up any overtime I can! (As it’s Christmas and yet again I have no money haha). I literally cannot wait until Christmas now, the only bad thing is I have to tackle two exams before I break up for the holidays L which I’m really not prepared for, I only have one more week which I need to cram everything in. To be honest, I think it’s quite mean having two exams on the last two days of term (considering by then it’s only 4 days until Christmas day!). I have been revising my bum off lately though, and the exam I did a few weeks ago (which I thought went terribly) came back with a nice surprise, I got 68! I was so shocked but it’s given me some confidence for the next ones J.

Apart from work and university assignments I've been doing Christmas shopping, seeing friends, being festive in central London AND guess what!? I saw my favourite band ever on Tuesday – Mumford and Sons!! Believe it or not, the doors at the o2 for the gig opened at 6:30pm, and I was sitting in my dressing gown at 6:50pm, and my boyfriend said ‘there’s tickets going still for £40 shall we go?!’ I was like ‘hell yeah!’ so we got our coats on and got our bags together super-fast and ran out the door onto the DLR and got to the o2 in half an hour, thankfully Mumford wasn't on until 8:30 so we saw the band before them too. It was one of the best gig’s I've been to, I recommend seeing them! 

As for Christmas holidays, I think I will be mooching around all day every day for 2 weeks (as well as writing 5000 words but I’d rather not think about that). I've almost got everyone’s presents now, thank goodness as I can’t face the last minute Christmas shoppers!

I’m really looking forward to next term though, as I’m studying developmental psychology, educational psychology, gender race and crime and my dissertation, which are pretty interesting subjects! Plus, the assignments don’t seem to be too full on, which is good as I need to finish my dissertation by April. But, once the Christmas hols get here, I’m going to forget about assignments for a while and just have a break!

Will speak to you soon hope you have a good Christmas and enjoy the festivities!

x

Busy busy busy!

So since I last spoke to you all, I’ve had a ridiculous amount of deadlines and revision which have clogged up most of my time, however it’s also been an exciting month and I’ve somehow managed to go out with friends quite a lot!

I had an exam last week which I revised loads for (even went to the library on the Sunday before!), but typically, almost everything that came up in the exam was not what I had memorised and had drummed into my brain… which meant it was a really painful hour of my life! I managed to answer most of them with some confidence, but some of them I really did not have a clue on L. I answered them all though so I’m now praying that I get a good grade! I also finished my literature review for my dissertation (relief!) and my supervisor said I’ve done really well on it J. Only another 7000 words to go haha! I’ve had to fill in my ethics form, start my essay plan for my crime course anddd start my humungous essay for my parapsychology course… lord give me strength.

With some miracle I have had some spare time to enjoy myself with my friends. I went to Surrey a couple of weekends ago to visit my friends at Surrey University, there was loads of us who went and we attended a Harry Potter party at their union! It was so much fun, I went as Hermoine (easy enough outfit!). I’ve also been out with my uni friends chilling round their houses, which was a nice getaway from all this work!

I’ve also been working loads (actual work) in the enquiry unit and the research centre. I’m going to the Isle of Sheppey again this week to visit the schools and mentor the kids. It was a laugh last time so I’m sure this week will be good! All the mentors are lovely and we all have a laugh so I’m really looking forward to going France with everyone and the kids in Feb! It’s for 3 days in total, it might be hard work but I’m going with my best friends (who are also mentors) and the others I met at work so I can see it’s going to be good!

OH and how can I forget, Chris Hemsworth (Yes, the good looking guy who plays Thor) was at the Greenwich campus last week, and I think this week, filming Thor 2! My friends on Facebook were posting statuses about it and I got so excited that I couldn’t help myself but go and have a look myself! The set is huge and we can’t walk through the uni as they’ve put massive boulders in the middle! Not going to lie, Chris looked good in his Thor costume…

x

Flying by!

So the last few weeks have flown by and I’m trying to keep up with all the work that third year has thrown at me! I’ve been doing a lot of work on my literature review and gave in my first draft a week ago. My supervisor said it’s a strong start (thank god!) so I’m now doing my second draft. There’s definitely a lot more work to be done this year, but it is the final year so I suppose it makes sense!

I’m really enjoying my modules; all of the lecturers are really enthusiastic and want all of us to do really well. The sociology department have set up workshops for us to attend which involve tips on how to get a 1^st class in your essays and exams, that’s been really helpful so far and has made me aim for a 1^st in my dissertation, or even overall but let’s start with the dissertation :P.

Over the last couple of weeks I began my mentoring in the psychology research centre that I work for. So far it’s been fantastic and all of the other mentors are great! I went to the Isle of Sheppey on Wednesday and mentored the Year 9’s in a school there; they were all really happy to see us and got excited about the project we’re all working on. We told them about the France trip that we’ll all be going on in February and they all got really excited about that (which made me all excited too!).

I’ve now been living in my flat for about a month now, me and my boyfriend have bought canvas’s and a big rug for the living room to make it more cosy so it feels like home now! I’ve been pretty busy since Uni has begun, but it’s been so much fun and I’ve really enjoyed third year so far! I’ve been going round my friends’ houses/ flats a lot as they all live down the road around the Greenwich campus which is handy!

This weekend I am going to see the new Bond film ‘Skyfall’, I’ve heard that it’s one of the best Bond films but I’ll let you know next time I write to you! Apart from that, I think my weekend will be filled with essay writing and revision… fun, fun, fun!

Speak to you soon! J

My first blog

So, about a week ago I moved into my flat in Greenwich with my boyfriend! It’s a lovely place and we’ve made it really homely now, as it initially felt too empty and plain. It’s only a 20 minute walk away from university and Blackheath is only up the road too which is great! It’s also right next to the DLR which is handy for my boyfriend as he works in central London.

It’s been pretty hectic over the past couple of months. I worked full time at the university’s enquiry unit during clearing from August to September and saved most of the money for the flat deposit (which was a miracle as I’m not usually good at saving!). I applied for term time Enquiry Unit work as I enjoyed it there so much and after interviews I was told I got the job! I work 8 hours a week which is perfect as I have some work experience jobs too and of course my monstrous load of university work to be getting on with!

I have worked in the Research Centre for Children, Schools and Families in the psychology department since April 2012 and will work there until I finish my studies next year. I work as a research assistant and help the research fellows with their projects, such as doing data collection in schools and then helping with data entry and data analysis. I love working there and the research fellows are all so friendly! It was weird working there at first as I was working alongside some of the lecturers I have on my modules but I got used to it after a while! I worked on a project looking at bullying and anti-social behaviour in schools which was really interesting. The data collection was the most fun part as I got to work with kids from South East London in a range of schools! I’m now going to be working on a couple of projects, including a big EU one involving England and France and a smaller one focusing on children in Greenwich. If you haven’t already guessed I want to work as a research assistant either in developmental, social or clinical psychology when I graduate!

If any of you are doing psychology at the university I would definitely recommend looking out for research support worker/ research assistant job opportunities on the university’s JobShop vacancies website! The work experience you gain is amazing and will look great on your CV.

This week I’ve been working on my literature review for my dissertation. I was scared starting it, but now I’ve got most of the theories and research together its okay, still a daunting piece of work though! I also started my new modules last week and they’re all good so far! Other than my studies and work, I met up with some old friends who I used to live with in halls at their house party this week. It was really good and lovely to see them as I haven’t seen them all summer as we all live in different parts of the country! This weekend I’ll be slaving away on my dissertation and might actually get some revision for my health psychology exam in there too (might as well start early!), and I’ll also be going to central London to get some flat bits. I might also be going out for lunch this Sunday with some friends which will be nice. J

That’s all for now guys, but I’ll be telling you about my third year adventures again soon! J  x