FAQ Part 3

It's that time of year again! You know what I'm talking about. The time when nosey family-friends, old classmates you run into at CVS, and summer co-workers start asking you questions about the coming year. While these questions are almost always both polite and relevant, I often find myself getting asked the same questions repeatedly. Why? Because these are the questions that most people actually care about hearing the answers to (and hope you'll ask them as well so they can gab on about their respective schools). So here are my answers to some of my most frequently asked questions as of recent:   

What's your housing situation for next year?

Starting in early September I'll be living in an off-campus flat with three other girls, and I couldn't be more thrilled! We each get to have our own room (thank God), and our flat also has a small kitchen, a lounge for a dining table and a couch, and a bathroom of course. The location of our flat is ideal since it's a bit closer to University than our halls last year. Not to mention, it's in the Marchmont area which is where pretty much all Edinburgh Uni students aim to end up once they move to a flat. 

Image credit: Dave Henniker

How did you decide on your flat/flatmates?

You can read more about our flat hunt here, but to put it quite simply, we were looking for a flat in which we each had our own bedroom that came at a reasonable price. Luckily, we managed to check off both of those boxes (and more!) after an extensive, exhausting, and emotional search. As for my flatmates? Well, to make a long story short, we all met during Fresher's week (basically the "orientation week" of UK schools). We all lived in Grant House last year, and made the effort to get together for dinners and nights out during that first week. Since then, they've become my go-to gals for pretty much anything- from study sessions outside when we've got a case of cabin fever, to discussing the ins and outs of dating at Uni. While these girls are definitely my besties, I'm always surprised as to how we managed to become friends considering that we're all so different from one another. But maybe that's the key to good friendships- if you're too similar you might get on each other's nerves. We'll have to see how living together next year affects our friendships- hopefully in the best way possible! 

Are you going to have to cook for yourself next year?

Yes! I'm on my own for every single meal next year. And this isn't by choice- after first year at University, there is no option for any type of meal plan. Essentially, I've been thrust into the adult world way before I ever expected to. Thankfully, my mom is an incredible cook- and an even better baker- and has taught me the art of creating cheap and easy meals that somehow taste like you spent hours slaving away in the kitchen. I've spent time each week brushing up on my skills, and while I sometimes still forget to put the onion-half on the flat side while dicing it, I'd say I've improved quite a lot since the beginning of the summer. Oh, and this past Sunday I managed to put together an entire brunch for my friends- drinks, flowers, food and all! While I'd say that's a pretty good accomplishment, my mom did point out that while I did a great job with the cooking, I didn't do so hot on the cleaning up part. Oops.    

#brunchgoals

What are you most looking forward to as you head back to school?

Strangely enough, I'm looking forward to getting back to running and racing with my team the most. I say "strangely" not because I don't totally adore the Haries (because I do!), but because of my attitude toward the start of the formal running season back when I was in high school. During those years, the coming of the last few weeks of August meant one thing: pre-season. And I absolutely dreaded it. We all knew what was coming: a 90 degree day, a three mile lydiard on the track (we're talking 12 laps of race pace), and the gut-wrenching fear that you wouldn't be as in-shape as your fellow teammates. To be honest, pre-season had to be the most physically and mentally difficult few weeks of training out of the whole year. Luckily, I don't have to deal with that anymore- giving me all the more reason to eagerly anticipate the start of cross country season. And while running isn't as high-pressure as it used to be, I'd have to say that my more relaxed and positive attitude has contributed to this being my best summer ever in terms of training. Last month I knocked three and a half minutes off my 5 mile PR from this past March, and that's definitely giving me a big confidence boost for this coming season. Plus, I've even already signed up for a 10k in Stirling in September!

Just being incredibly happy/sassy after finishing that 5-miler in July.

What classes are you taking this year?*

So I only have one required class for my second year and that's Sociology 2 (surprise, surprise). Along with that course I'll be taking Social Anthropology 2 as well as Ethnography to fulfill half of my remaining credits. I took Social Anthropology 1 last year, and enjoyed it maybe even a little bit more than Sociology at times! I think it's really cool that the curriculum for anthropology becomes more hands on with the addition of ethnography as a class- this way I can delve deeper into actually learning how to study groups of people, rather than just reading about researchers who have already done the fieldwork for us. And the real curveball class this year? Scottish Studies! I was really struggling to fill the other half of my credits because for some reason all of the classes I was considering (Education, American History, Italian) all clashed with either my class schedule or my running schedule. And so I happened to stumble upon Scottish Studies in my desperate search and thought it would be a perfect way to not sound like an uninformed American when I'm around Scottish people. As they say- when in Rome!    

*Disclaimer: my classes aren't completely finalized yet. 

So those are some frequently asked questions for ya! If you want to enjoy my previous FAQs then have a read right here: 

FAQ Part 1 // FAQ Part 2