I'm going to start on a major cliche here; the first semester of my second year has been a roller coaster. It's been a tough one and I can't really sugarcoat that.
I started the second year of FCP on an okay note, because I didn't do too bad last year and I wanted to push myself to do even better this year. But it didn't completely turn out as planned, because I did almost drop out half way through. I can't pinpoint the exact problem, the spark just hasn't been there and I haven't felt engaged or connected to it.
Difficulties with my accommodation and my mental health have definitely made this term harder too.
I don't want this post to portray me as a massive Debbie Downer, but I do want to touch on the topic of depression. I've always had anxiety, but depression was something I was hesitant to label myself with. But about half way through the term my doctor concluded that my situation did fall under depression.
My experience with getting help this term has been shit. The whole experience has shown me how shocking the mental health situation in this country really is. Over the course of the term I'd tried to contact so many people about my situation and for the majority of the semester I felt like I was going around in circles, and it's hard to see positively when people are just ignoring you. I did eventually manage to see a member of the student services team though (the day before the end of term but we'll let that slide) and they were so helpful, so hopefully I can get back to my old self again.
I said I didn't want to be a Debbie Downer, and to be honest it wasn't all complete doom and gloom. There have been some really good moments throughout this semester.
I have made some really good friends this term, and it's strange to think that if I didn't go on the trip to London, and I almost didn't, I wouldn't have met the girls that I connect with so well. I've put a deposit on a house with some of them too! The house is really cosy, super close to uni, and I might actually have some student finance left over, finally!
You could probably say that in terms of FCP, I came full circle this semester. Despite not enjoying the majority of it, I started on a good note and I ended on a good note too. I feel like I've had a light bulb moment in the last few weeks. I'd hit a brick wall with my work but now I think I'm moving forward with it. Our group also won the competition for the COW Nottingham project. You can see my post on it here, but I can now say that we were chosen to install our idea as an actual window display for them in February!
So here's to a fresh start in 2018!
Georgia.xo
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