Balancing University, Blogging & A Social Life

LIFE UPDATE. It's time to give you the low down on all the crazy things happening in my life right now. I've left my hometown, moved to university and started my first few weeks of lectures. I'm currently living within halls of residence in the beautiful city of Lincoln and studying Forensic Science (BSc) at the University of Lincoln. Despite the drastic change in lifestyle, I'm adapting and learning about adulthood whilst in the midst of piles of reading and work to accomplish. Not going to lie, it has been a pretty stressful experience but it has been totally worth it. I'm completely obsessed with where I'm living; I've made some incredible friends, discovered some new places and have a ridiculous amount of new experiences within the space of a month. University is such a strange place and I cannot even explain why but I love it nonetheless. 

UNIVERSITY

In terms of balancing my lifestyle, it has not been easy. Freshers week not only helped me meet new people, it also gave me sleep deprivation and the well-renowned 'Fresher's Flu' (yes, it is a REAL thing!). After suffering from the worst flu I've ever had - and still recovering - it has been difficult to find a stable sleeping pattern that allows me to be as productive as I want to be during the day. I am yet to master this skill but I've been trying. University is obviously my priority, and everything that comes with it - I mean, I'm paying £9,250 for this...Thus, I've been making it a necessity to put my alarm on at 9am every weekday morning to ensure I'm active, even if my lectures do start at 1pm. If you know me well, there is always a planner in sight. I have a new university daily planner with all of my to-do's and chores in - it even has a specific section to ensure I'm receiving my five a day and drinking multiple glasses of water. This planner has guided me into a productive lifestyle, helping me to get the most out of my days. If you're new to the concept of university, you may be unaware that it involves LOTS of extra reading, no matter what course you're doing. Thus, I've decided to dedicate my weekends for reading and the weekdays for re-writing notes, doing my coursework and any online tests that need to be completed. This helps to spread the work overload, making it a little less stressful for myself. 

BLOGGING

As you may have noticed if you're an avid reader of mine, it seems I have had an unintentional vacation from my online space. This was completely unprecedented - life seemed to have got on top of me and I seem to have got lost in everything. I have so many new post ideas and I've been planning them over the weeks I've moved to university but haven't had the time or energy to get writing (any good content). Blogging is so important to me - I honestly treat it like a part time job. Whenever I am free, I always grab my camera to take photos for my next post, jot new ideas in my blogger planner, edit photos, spell-check or have a little re-design of my blog. If I'm not studying or chatting to my flat mates, I will simply be writing up a blog post or editing a youtube video. There is no rest for me. Sometimes, this can get a bit too much and it all gets on top of me. However, I'm pushing blogging up my priority list, especially as Halloween and Christmas are coming up, to share some new, quality content with everyone. 

SOCIAL

Having a social life was almost foreign to me before I moved to university. Studying A Levels was one of the biggest culprits for my lifestyle - I was constantly revising for my subjects, putting in extreme effort to ensure I achieved the best grades I physically could, which inevitably allowed me to get a place at university. However, back in my hometown, I struggled with friendships and a social life. I never completely clicked with anyone, friendships were very 'clique-y' and I found myself very lonely. Other than my family, my boyfriend and best friend, Megan (who went to a different secondary school and sixth form) where the only people I could turn to. I NEVER wanted a huge group of friends, as I already know that is a recipe for DISASTER, but I struggled not having a few close girls by my side throughout the stress of A Levels and my personal life. This alien concept of 'meeting new people' and 'making new friends' after retreating to a library for months was exciting, yet terrifying! I was beyond excited to find people with similar interests and to start a clean slate - a place where there were no rumours and no-one knew  thought they knew everything about you. Freshers was a crazy week but I've met the most lovely, genuine people ever. It will sound so stupid to people who haven't been forced to live with a random group of strangers but I can honestly say that my flat mates will be my friends for a very long time. My social life is now declining due to my student bank account and the amount of work piling up; I don't have quite as much free time as freshers or the money to go out every night to mingle. Thus, socialising has taken a back seat for now but I'm making sure that I don't bury my head in my room 24/7. Our flat have scheduled Sundays for pub quiz, Monday evenings for LIAR and flat dinners on Sundays so hopefully this will keep me socially sane whilst my reading list gets longer...

Outfit Details

Jumper - Primark (similar here)

Boots  - Cari's Closet

How do you balance your lifestyle? Do you find it as difficult as I do?

Lots of love

Char x

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The shoes were received as part of a PR package; however, all opinions are honest and my own.