And now....the end is near......

I'm writing this entry from home, sat in my bed, and it is pretty late. I have spent all evening packing my bags ready for Camp- why is that task so difficult! It's like some Einstein theory, it doesn't matter how much stuff you have and how big the bag you have is- it will always be too small :( I didn't give up though, and many reshuffles later I'm done.

I'm going back to Aston tomorrow, more like in a few hours, I'm having a goodbye meal with close friends before I leave. Thats the thing I love about Aston- the friends I've made here are like family to me, I just couldn't leave for 3months without a proper goodbye and send off, I know there will be a few tears :'P

I packed up a my room last week, and you would not believe how much rubbish one accumulates in the 9months of being at uni! From plastic swords to frisbees, and a variety of other novelty items all with a story or memory attached. It took a mini bus to move me, and 2 car journeys and 2 train journeys to move me out- but it is finally done. My room looks bare and empty, not at all like the home I made whilst I was in residence. I'm not looking forward to handing over my keys on saturday- having that small room, in a 40 year old tower block, sharing a bath room and kitchen with far too many guys, has all been worth it for the freedom and independence it afforded me. It takes some adjustment when I'm at home,  my mum still feels the need to run my life for me, insist on my room being tidy and knowing when I will be home from nights out....I've just realised that I've signed my self up for a summer of strict regime and timekeeping and absolutely no privacy- oh dear :O

I'm really looking forward to my summer though- I couldn't stay in Birmingham all summer while everyone else was at home anyway, and I wasn't going to stay at home pulling my hair out over rows with my mum- so I've opted for the most out of this world, 100% original experience I can find and I'm going it alone. Speaking to a friend earlier on facebook, I described my summer as a detox, both mentally and physically, particularly without being able to drink :P I'm hoping it will do something to help me focus a bit more next year, get my priorities in order.

I'm doing something important, working for a charity. I've always contributed to my community, going to the US stretches that concept, but I don't think I would have the maintained that mind set if I hadn't have been at Aston this year- the societies, and school board, and project work, even this- they have all made me keep it up, which I'm pretty glad about :D

Well I'm not sure if I'll be blogging anymore now, but I might do it even in the Uni aren't fussed :D I shall give the odd update from the other side of the Atlantic when I can. Until then, I will see any new Astonites in September! Feel free to drop me a line and ask me questions, I'll be in the LGBT office all of fresher's week on the first floor of the guild, so don't be shy :D

More excuses.....

I'm really sorry that is has been so long since I blogged on here properly, all of May was pretty much a write off between stuff going on at home and my exams, and with the end of term I haven't really been up to much other than packing up and coming home. Regardless, sincere apologies to anyone who has been checking to see if I have blogged some more and has been disappointed.

So starting the furthest back- exams. When I last blogged I told you how difficult I was finding it to concentrate on revising- it didn't get easier!!! My many weeks of planned detailed revising got squashed into a fortnight of actual hard work hitting the books. I just assumed that what I could remember from lectures would act as a basic concept I would easily build upon, but in fact in my accounting and economics modules I needed to be practicing workings out and technique. 

The weather turned really nice the week before exams, and I found it distracting knowing everyone with a much kinder exam timetable was outside sunbathing by the lake. In order to focus, me and a close course mate decided to become nocturnal for a week- we literally spent all night studying in the library until 7 or 8 am then slept until after midday, when we went back to the library and started again- a hard slog but it felt much better than skim reading the powerpoints the night before the exam. I was actually picking up on things that I had missed or ignored in lectures. Thank god for the library being open 24/7!!!! Going to work at the pub a few nights week was nice break away from it, and have cocktails on the wednesday afternoon getting tipsy in Las Iguanas :P Unfortunately my new sleeping regime came with an unfortunate side effect- a dependency on junk food! My diet practically through itself out of the window, to make way for crisps, fizzy drinks and what I fondly remember as Boost o'clock- every night at midnight I would eat a Boost bar, it was a fun tradition to uphold, just don't tell the  security men because they weren't very impressed when they saw me scoffing a banana and walnut loaf cake :P A lesson to be learnt for my library visits next year is to avoid it during the day and early evening when it is packed, and go as late as possible- plug point access became a commodity in the library over the exam period.

I felt pretty confident about the exams given the amount of blood, sweat, tears and sleeping time I had put into my revision, but 2 hours later when I was leaving each exam, that confidence was shattered, I never would have thought that multiple choice questions could be such a stressful ordeal!  Open book exams are the easiest- it all about preparation of notes for the exam, making sure I had everything in the right order and easy to find- I failed the open book exam in January because I only took half the notes in, stupid mistake really :( 

I think I probably failed an exam this term as-well, Principles of Operations Management,  it was 9am on the friday of my 5 day exam week, and I made the stupid mistake of trying to pull an all nighter but then going to bed 2 hours before! 3 alarms and 6 missed calls from my coursemate later and I'm running down to the exam hall with only a few minutes to spare, I may as well have been asleep for the exam, would have been much more productive I'm sure. If I have failed this module, then it will be my 3rd and I will have to cut my travels in the US short and come back for the referral week. The rule is fail two and you can go through to the second year, fail 3 or 4 and you have to re-sit before you can go through, and fail more than 4 you must redo the year again. I'm sure I wont be redoing the year, but I'm going to be gutted if I have to come home early- I find out the results just before my birthday while I'm in the US :( Wish me copious amounts of luck!!!!

After exams were over, and we had all celebrated/commiserated the end of an era, the was still work to be done. LGBT Aston have several big events, one already gone, and it was partly my responsibility as a member of committee to get it sorted it out- particularly pressing for me as I won't be around all summer. We had a summer BBQ by the lake for all students, which went without hitch, except for the rain :( 

Also, we had to plan our Astonbury festival stall. Astonbury is the Guild's annual music festival, and was quite spectacular, even though I had paid for my entrance I didn't see much of it as I was working the stall for 7 hours solid! Aston LGBT had a facepaint stall (none of us had done it before, but thought what the heck) we were surprised how much people wanted to have every inch of the their face covered in pain- I did one girl as a lion, but we both knew she looked like an oompa lumpa :P I did get chance to go on the free bumper cars, and enjoyed the dunking of certain people into the water tank. I didn't catch any of Zane Lowe as I left early, but stayed around long enough to see the amazing firework display- made it well worth the hard work during the day. I think the budget came to £65,000 in the end, but every penny was well spent had to said :D

The next big on the whole Uni's agenda is fresher's week. We have got a bouncy castle and more face painting planned, as well as our welfare info packs and a great fresher's pubcrawl- so for all of you coming to Aston next year, LGBT or not, come and enjoy a bounce and an ooompa lumpa facepaint :P Shame I'm not around to organise it all though eh?!? 

Unfortunately I wasn't successful in applying to be an Auntie next year. I was genuinely gutted about it, even more so than when I wasn't elected to AT editor. I wanted to prove a point after having such an awful Auntie myself, but now I kinda feel rejected even more. I wont stop giving Aston my all though, next year I'm even going to try a bit harder with my degree! :P

I think this (looooong) post is going to be my penultimate one :(