Today, the gifs have been provided by the iconic J*, because when you want a sassy gif… they’re of J*.
Happy Thursday beautiful people, and happy A level results day!
I feel like it’s tradition for me to talk about my degree journey at least once a year. Lots of people may be going to uni and have received their results today, and some people may be unsure if they want to go.
Just to be clear – a degree is not a ‘must’ in this kind of world. There are plenty of paths into things now a days, unless you’re doing something vocational like medicine, law or teaching etc (don’t quote me on that).
However, I am here to tell you things that a degree gave me or taught me, that weren’t just thousands pounds of debt or just a piece of paper at the end or crippling mental stress for three years…
Aside from some of the negatives, a degree definitely gave me a lot of lessons and I think the whole uni experience shaped me into who I am today.
Don’t expect to be treated the way you treat people.
I met some very different people at uni, and most of them were lovely but a few really did grind me up sometimes.. most of the time… all the time. Anyway, the lesson is that people will not always be nice, and they might be slightly manipulative and treat you like they’re better than you … I could carry on with this lesson, but..
Just understand you won’t get along with everyone and you won’t like everyone- that’s perfectly fine. We’re not all perfect, and not everyone is going to be your friend.
You might meet some strange people, and you might deal with some difficult people, but, you will have some great stories to tell in the future.
Let’s face it, everyone had that housemate or flatmate who seemed to make their life hell.
It’s okay to have opinions.
Uni and your degree is all about finding yourself… not in that jetting off to Thailand for three weeks way, but in the way that you can really figure out who you are.
You might realise you have huge opinions on one certain subject or one certain part of society (big up Keele for the hugely left wing student union). And, the best place to explore these things is at uni. You can join societies of people who all feel the same way you feel or have the same beliefs.
At my uni, any kind of society you could think of probably existed, and if it didn’t it was fairly easy to set that society up.
You might have been holding back on finding your voice when you were at home, but uni is the place where you turn into an adult… or you make your way towards becoming a slightly functioning member of society.

Alcohol is the devils work.
My first real time getting absolutely smashed were at uni, and I do regret some of those nights. Hangovers when you have a 9am the next day are not the way to do life.
It seems like a normal part of uni culture to drink until you almost die.
I would just like to point out that there is no pressure to drink and if that’s not for you then that’s perfectly fine. I had friends who didn’t drink and it wasn’t a big deal; you don’t need to drink to have a good time.
Plus, you won’t have a hangover the next day, and your liver will thank you for it… and you don’t have delete terrible snapchat stories the next day.

You will do things you regret… but you will learn from it.
Maybe you’ll kiss that boy and realise it was the pink gin that made you do it.
Or, you might set off a fire alarm the second night of freshers… Fyi, I do not recommend that one.
Fresher boys are only acceptable when you’re a fresher.
Uni is all about making mistakes and learning from them.
Go through as many relationships as you want, break up with someone, drink so much you’re puking all night, but learn from it.
It’s okay to do things you regret, because it’s all a learning curve.

Uni will be one of the best experiences of your life.
Don’t waste the opportunities you are given.
Take everything you are offered… except for those dodgy drugs in the SU.
Grow, give and become an adult.