Natalie: My week in review

It has been an insanely busy week for me, but a busy week also means a productive and rewarding one! So what did I get up this week?

Monday (the day I missed the bus)
During my 6-hour break between my morning lecture and afternoon tutorial I journeyed from Clayton to Caulfield, and back again, via the shuttle bus service to attend a training session for my club, VGen Monash, where the VGen Uni Leader ran us through the detail of our campaigns and upcoming events and responsibilities.

Tuesday
I don’t have any classes on Tuesdays so I spent most of the day working on my part of a group assignment. I also had a social netball game at night.

Wednesday
My Wednesday classes are just about as spread out as my Monday classes, except it’s a five-hour break instead of six hours. During this time, I attended a Dean’s Scholar Meeting as part of the Monash Business School Scholars Program where the Scholars cohort had a discussion with the Dean and Head of the School, Professor Colm Kearney. I finished my day at uni with an after-class VGen meeting, where we planned our upcoming event and other goals for the year. On Wednesday nights, I would normally attend dog school with my dog, Poppy, but we ‘wagged’ this week so I could work on my two assignments due this week (she didn’t mind).

Thursday
Thursday is my second day off from classes. In the morning, I had an ‘Assessment Centre’ for one of the graduate programs I have applied for. It is quite daunting to be almost at the end of my time at university, but job-seeking is the natural next step for me and I am genuinely excited to see where my career will take me. After the Assessment Centre, I had a meeting for a student consulting group that I recently became involved with.

Friday (today)
I have an assignment due tonight so I will be spending my morning finalising that before my afternoon classes.

Tomorrow I have work – I have a part-time job in hospitality – followed by a friend’s 21st tomorrow night, which I’m excited for. On Sunday, I plan on meeting up with some friends for brunch, and a family dinner in the evening.

Phew!

In my previous post, I promised to explain why being a university student is the greatest. So, to end the week, here is my quick list:

• Freedom!
  You won’t have as many hours of classes as you do in high school and that allows you to fill up the rest of your time as you please. I highly recommend getting involved with things on campus, for example sports and student societies. It also means you have the time to pursue your hobbies and find out what you are interested in. For me, this was raising my dog who I adopted as a puppy last year, and who is now the most important thing in my life. 
• Friends!
  Although you may already have a close-knit group of school friends, uni gives you the chance to meet so many new people that are studying an array of interesting and different things. 
• Summers and Winter breaks!
  End of year exams for uni typically finish in November and classes don’t resume until late February or early March, meaning you have roughly three months off, not to mention the additional month off between semesters. People like to spend their time off in their own ways but travel is definitely really popular among university students. I myself have a trip to Japan booked for the end of June and, if the stars align, I also hope to travel to the States either late this year or early next year. 
• Being Independent!
  At university, you will likely have more independence than you ever had before and this is brilliant because you learn to be responsible for yourself as you become a ‘real adult’.