Second Year Highlights

No one ever tells you how short University truly feels. Well, maybe they do but I guess I just never listened. It's so strange to think that I'm halfway done with University, and that many of older friends are even graduating this month. It just goes to show that it all really does fly by, and you should try your best to cherish every moment (even the stressful ones!).

I'm going to try to not be too cheesy or gushy with this post, but I think that might be hard considering so many wonderful things have come out of this year. I wish I could write an entire post on each of these "highlights," breaking down every little detail of why they matter to me. But for the purposes of this post, I'll keep it short and sweet, focusing on the most important things that have happened this academic year.

Running // My improvement in running actually started over this past summer. I trained hard over those few months, and signed up for a fair few races. I was really worried that come the new cross country season, I wouldn't have been able to keep it up. But, I was pleasantly surprised when my times improved and I was able to keep up with girls that I definitely wouldn't have been able to run with last year. I'm also proud to say that I signed up for many more races this year than last, and have enjoyed every single one of them. Okay, maybe not the race at BUCS where we were trudging through 2 feet of mud and 3 feet of water. At least the social was good ;)

Academics // This year has been a strange one when it comes to academics- I've definitely improved overall, but I've also faced a lot of frustration with certain courses. But I think that's okay- because academics (and life) isn't an upward trajectory. When I was doing very well in one class, I was struggling to earn high marks in another. It isn't always going to be smooth sailing, but you have to learn to pick yourself up and move on. And let me tell you, I learned that the hard way. On a positive note though, I want to give a special shout out to my ethnography course (and my project mates) from this semester. This was a phenomenal class where I felt like I was not only learning how to plan, conduct, and ultimately write an ethnography, but I was actually doing it for myself! It's not too often that a course as good as this comes around.

Trying New Things // As you get older, I feel like it's really hard to have the opportunity to try new things and follow through with them. Sure, you may sign up for some crazy adventurer society, but do you ever do anything beyond scanning the emails? I'm so guilty of this (sorry "Come Dine with Me" society). But this year, I put myself out there more and tried out some new activities that I really ended up enjoying. From learning to reel and swing dance, to trying out skiing for the first time since I was a child, this year was all about taking the leap to try new things.

Cooking // Is it a surprise to anyone that this is on my list? Living in a flat and being "forced" to cook for myself has been such an great experience. Honestly, I'm so glad I know how to cook (from my mom teaching me) and have been able to practice and develop those skills (from cooking on my own). I've tried out so many new recipes this year, from learning how to put together a proper British roast dinner to making Iranian food for the first time last week. I think it's important to not just cook the same few things all the time (okay, you can never go wrong with fajitas), and to always challenge yourself with new and exciting recipes. And over the next few months I'm going to try a bit harder to share some of my favorite student-friendly recipes here on the blog!

Friendships // I'm so glad that this year has brought about so many new friendships as well as the strengthening of old ones. Living with my three flatmates this year has been such a learning experience, and has also made me realize that I live with such wonderful people. We're each so different from one another, but we get along so well. I'm also so happy that even as a second year, I've been able to meet new people. Even if I had known "of" them from halls last year, or had seen them around before, it's been great expand my friend group from what it was in first year. And finally, I'm so incredibly lucky to have met my boyfriend at the beginning of this year. I can't even begin to express how grateful I am to him for making each and every day so special for me- whether we're together or apart.

Despite it's up and downs, this year has been truly remarkable. I'm sad to see it end, but I'm hopeful that my next year in Edinburgh will be just as good- if not better! Until then, I'll be hanging out at home, leaving my school-related worries behind me, and reminiscing about a wonderful school-year gone by.