Student Blog: Back to School: The Highs and Lows

After a whole summer apart, the return to school can prove to be a daunting experience for anyone. Often there is a feeling of dread as you think about all those upcoming assignments and the fact that you have a hundred things to get done but there isn’t enough time in the day. Maybe you are feeling overwhelmed? Excited? Unsure?

The return to school hits us when we are least expecting it. After so much time away from this familiarity, it becomes an absent thought at the back of our minds. For myself, the college semester ended last April so after a solid four months, describing the return as overwhelming would be an understatement.

However, it has felt like I have only blinked and we are already halfway through semester one. The thing with school or college is that no matter where you go the time really flies and before you know it you will be leaving this place for good and looking back on all the memories that you have made over the last number of years.

The last few months have allowed me to really immerse myself in all the things that make me me. My love of music, film, and theatre has immensely grown over the summer and this will play a part in how I approach my studies this year. Education is not only about what you learn within the classroom but also taking the information you find there and finding it somewhere else in the real world in your skills and hobbies. As a film student, often looking at the practices of film and theatre reinforces the ideas presented to us within the classroom.

Now that we are over four weeks back into the new semester, it is right to say that we are surely back into the swing of things. Summer went by without our knowing and it was over before we knew it. Now we are back into our regular routine and there is something comforting with this. Despite the freedom we are given there is something nice about being back in the lecture hall with your classmates and returning to the degree that you are passionate about because why else would you be here?

Second year has started and for me, it has proved to be significantly different compared to first year. I mean, all the assignments piling up the minute you walk in through those doors. Queues going in and out of the library makes you think what possibly could you be working on? The reality of transitioning between first year and second year is that merely a pass does not suffice anymore, our future is now in our hands and to get the grades we rightfully deserve, the time must be dedicated to these bore some assignments.

This semester I am studying a diverse range of modules. In my major, I am learning the essence and practicality of documentary filmmaking combined with the basis of film theory and early American cinema. Then within my minor, I am studying some content-heavy subjects such as race and ethnicity as well as women and confinement. So far I am enjoying it all and taking everything one day at a time trying to find a balance between my college schedule and my leisure time.

This semester I am focusing on my own practical skills as well as academia. For instance, I am looking to progress my writing even further, especially when I have the time to do so as well as developing my camerawork skills before I undertake our big end-of-year film project this year. With the run-up to Christmas, there will be lots of theatre performances taking place in the locality, and in my leisure time I intend to see this to give myself the well-deserved break I need from my studies before exam season kicks off.