I came to Birmingham City having so little journalism experience. I had plenty of writing experience, but really I was coming to university without knowing what I was in for (perhaps my fault for not going to an open day). It's been such a positive experience for me, though, especially considering my sixth form experience was definitely impacted heavily by Covid- I went off sick one Friday in March in year twelve. I then didn't step foot in the school building until I was starting year thirteen that September.
The first semester was so unexpected for me. Not just the 9am lectures (waking up for them on a Monday morning really did explain the whole uni experience), but actually getting the chance to understand some of the semantics of journalism and kind of get into the swing of everything. We did assignments in Law and Ethics, Journalism Landscapes, and Live Newsroom, and I really didn't expect to get the grades I did, which was such a pleasant surprise. Coming into something completely new and feeling like I was succeeding was such a positive feeling for me, and looking back on the first few months, I really do feel proud of myself.
Second semester really flew by, which I didn't expect at all. We came back after Christmas, and it felt like I blinked and suddenly I'm pressing 'submit' on my final assignment of the year and I'd finished first year. This semester presented more challenges than the first semester did, but I don't harbor any negativity about that. I got to understand the ways of working with groups (a whole different kind of challenge than high school group work presented), and I began to notice the changes in my progress. This semester, I was published on the BCU news site Eastside, which was a huge push forwards for me. I can really see how I've improved in not just my journalism, but my confidence, too.
I moved quite far away for uni, but I think that was such a good idea for me (sorry, Harrogate). Moving to a city from a little town was strange, obviously, but Birmingham presented me with so many new opportunities, and I had the chance to meet such a lovely group of friends. I will admit the absolute joy of submitting the final assignment was amazing and having already chosen my module for the second year (photojournalism), I think it'll be a really, really enjoyable university experience for me.
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