So this term has been a bit crazy, but as it draws to a close I thought I might (briefly!) reflect on my time here at Cambridge as a university student.
Straight off the bat; first year is strange. And not the easy kind of strange either! :-P It's just so different to life before uni. To begin with, I really struggled to make friends; fresher's week was a terrible amalgamation of trying to force "friendships" on people, usually amidst alcohol fueled antics. And I just couldn't get on with the fact that I was going to something with the aim to make friends. After my first 5 weeks here, I wanted to leave - I didn't fit in, I didn't get on with anyone and I didn't like it one bit. But apparently I wasn't the only one feeling that way, so if you do, hang in there! I joined the rowing club with my college, because I've always loved being out on rivers or in the sea or on a lake, and a couple of the girls in my crew invited me back for pasta one evening after training. And that was the beginning of two beautiful friendships which I hope will remain with me forever! It also led to my introduction to other friends, and gradually - though I ended up attending less of my lectures! - I began to really enjoy being in Cambridge. Around that time I also found a church I could settle in to. Again, the first few weeks of "church touring" are really weird. I didn't really like how big and full the "student-y" churches were and I missed being with people who weren't all doing exactly the same thing I was. I found a church with all-ages, though at the time, no students, and it just felt like family. It was what I'd been missing; love, care, interest in what I was doing; and as I got to know them too, people to love and care about, people to be interested in what they were doing. Meeting on Sundays and during the week became like the time at the end of a day, when the family sits around and talks about what they did. I needed that. The rest of first year and second year flew by in a whirlwind of adventure and excitement. Looking back, it took me a while to work out who I was - to stop trying to be who I thought I was supposed to be and, often, pretending I was something I wasn't. But I certainly loved life! I was in love, I had a great group of friends around me, was part of a loving church family, I loved getting involved in all kinds of things, and I was enjoying my degree as well (even if still not attending quite as many lectures as I should have!)! Third year suddenly got more complicated, but still, having good friends around me kept me just about sane! Some difficult family news in first term, coupled with the way Cambridge's short terms are packed absolutely chocka, and some delay in supervisions starting the following term, meant that I've kind of been playing catch-up this whole year! So when my final exams came around, I didn't feel as prepared as I would've liked; possibly contributing to some stress and anxiety issues around that time. Thankfully, with the support of friends and the college particularly, exams have now been and gone, and weren't as terrible as I thought they'd have been! So now, I leave. Another time of transition and change. But I'm ready for it; I am so ready to do something that isn't a degree and I am excited for what the next year may hold. I will still be in Cambridge, and most of my friends are planning to stay on for another year of study, so some things will no doubt remain the same. But what I will be doing and how I will be living, will no doubt be different too. So watch this space - as this blog will probably change a little too! And anyway, before then I will be heading back out to the Dominican Republic again in July, which I am INCREDIBLY excited for - so there will be quite a few blog posts documenting my time out there! And I'm also finally getting the time to delve into the relationship between theology and art, so expect more posts along that kind of theme too! Exciting times!!! And speak soon! ;-D
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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