A slow return to normality

Coming back to university for my last term as a first year was definitely a more pleasant experience than second term. I didn’t have to scramble to get my things together and I could say goodbye to my family properly. I was also able to see some of my friends from home, which I hadn’t been able to do in so long! You could definitely tell the difference in restrictions between now and then, in particular by how many people my age were at the station to head back to (I assume) university. (No one with ironing boards this time though) 

I’m thrilled to be back and thoroughly looking forward to having in person interactions again! Last term was tough, made harder by having everything online. Even our field trips had to be delivered through video! Thankfully this term we are finally getting to have some field experience (and actually meet others on the course). I’m most looking forward to seeing the things explained to us so far in action! Fingers crossed the weather stays this lovely.

This term also kicked off with choosing our modules for next year, hopefully I get my first choice but even if I don’t they all seem so interesting and I can’t wait to experience whichever ones I get allocated (hopefully we will be able to have more in person teaching by next year!) Make sure to have a good look through the modules before you choose them so you are 100% sure of the order you rank them. If there’s anything that confuses you email asking for clarification, you don’t want to pick something you're not interested in or dislike by accident.

With the weather getting nicer it’s the perfect time to walk around campus. We at York are so lucky to have such a beautiful campus that is full with so much wildlife. Nisa sells little bags of bird seed and I encourage you to get some! It’s really sweet seeing all the different types of birds that live here. Though I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of the geese (they seem so angry!) Keep an eye out for York’s favourite birds, long boy and fancy boy, you don’t want to finish the year without seeing them!

With the loosening of restrictions means the opening of non-essential shops, we can finally go out again! Don’t forget to wear sunscreen in the day and rap up in the evening, it is shocking how fast the temperature drops!

 

Author information

Antonia Thompson White
University of York | atw524@york.ac.uk