This week I have been packing up all my uni room ready to go home for the summer. I’m sure most of you are looking forward to the summer beginning with exams finishing and some of you heading off to university in September. I hope you all have a lovely summer and that you enjoy the adventures of university life that are ahead of you, especially if you are attending Edge Hill!

This week has been very busy with the handing in of assignments before second year comes to a close for me on Thursday. It has gone way too fast and I have enjoyed every aspect of being at university once again, and I have thoroughly enjoyed studying second year psychology as it has provided a more in depth look into the issues surrounding different psychological debates and issues, and even gave you a chance to design your own community initiative. I am already looking forward to what’s to come in September as we have had the option to chose the areas in which we would like to focus on within the future, and have a dissertation topic to investigate. These are all the different aspects of psychology you would have to look forward to if you are intending to come to Edge Hill in September.

This week I had the amazing opportunity to be invited too, two volunteer award nights for the volunteering I do with silent students happy homes campaign (SSHH). Monday nights event was for everyone that has volunteered throughout the year whether that’s being a head of a society, or a community police officer or being part of the SSHH campaign, there were also many more people who volunteer there as well. This included a presentation of certificates to everyone and a sit down three course meal which was lovely and everyone had an amazing evening. On Tuesday nights event the SSHH had been nominated as volunteer group of the year and I am very pleased to say that we came first. It was lovely to see over the two nights how many students were involved with volunteering and how it was recognized within the university.

Its the first week back after the Easter holidays for Edge Hill students, so everyone is back too it. This week I had too pick the modules that I want to study for next year and choose some dissertation proposals that I would also like to do in my third year. These were all very scary but exciting things to choose and I still can not believe that I am almost going into my third year, it has gone way too fast but I have loved every minute of studying at Edge Hill, and I’m sure anyone that does decide to study here will have as much fun as I have.

This weeks blog is again going to be quite a short one, I just wanted to say I hope everyone who has been reading my blogs over the past couple of months has had a very happy Easter and that if you are still looking at universities then some of my blogs have helped you to make an informed decision for your future. I hope you are all still enjoying eating your Easter eggs, and are filling yourselves full of chocolate!!

This week is going to be a short blog but I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Easter weekend and enjoy eating all of your Easter eggs!

For anyone that is looking at studying the area of psychology at degree level, then you may find this blog of interest especially if you are looking to study it at Edge Hill University. As part of a  second year assignment we were asked to complete a qualitative report, so that’s anything from interviews to open ended questions used within questionnaires. This had to investigate the experiences of students while going through university, so this could be anything from exam stress, to financial issues or even asking mature students how they find the university experience.  I chose to explore the issue of student experiences with binge drinking as this is a major and very relevent issue with students at the moment, I have found this issue very very interesting to explore further and even got to interview students to see what they felt their experiences with alcohol were. Hopefully this has given anyone who is hoping to take up a degree in a psychology a little insight into some of the assignments we have to complete.

Tonight is known to most students as “last night of the bar”, this is where most of the socials get together on the Thursday before the university finishes for the Easter break. However it is not just people that are involved with sports socials that go out, it is a good opportunity for a get together as it is seen to be the last chance for people to meet up before going home for a couple of weeks. It is one of the busiest nights in Ormskirk with most people heading out at around 3pm for the rest of the night, and it is definitely not a night to be missed!! So i would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of attending the University next year!!

This week I thought I would write a blog about finding journal articles, as this was one of the things I found difficult at first when I was given my first couple of assignments at University. When I first started looking round Universities one of the guides told me to start trying to find journal articles over the summer to get the hang of it before starting University, but I never really took any notice of this advise and I really wish I had now. Journal articles are useful for university assignments and going about finding them was something I found difficult at first. Edge Hill library has a vast range of online journals, which are very easy to use and find. Google scholar is also another useful resource to use. So I would definitely recommend having a quick look online different sorts of journals, any that may interest you as this will be very useful for when you begin university for most of you in September.

Hope this has been helpful

Tonight, I have prepared a meal for me and my housemate. This is one of the few times since coming to Uni that I have actually prepared a meal from scratch, as normally I cook frozen food such as chicken nuggets and chips. Tonight I decided to make Quorn Fajitas as my friend is a vegetarian with salad and garlic bread, it was all lovely (even if I do say so myself). Cooking for yourself for the first time when coming to Uni is a very scary prospect, I know it was for me as I was used to my family cooking meals for me, but do not worry you do get the hang of it and end up cooking all together in groups with your friends and housemates. You may even end up giving your family a shock by cooking for them when you visit home. I know I did when I went home and cooked for mine!