As a tired yet excited new third year, coming back to Newcastle has felt like bubbles simmering underneath the surface of my drink all summer long. Patiently, I’ve been waiting to come back to my second-year house, to my favorite study spot on campus, the bar with the best live music with my friends, and yet I’m still absorbed with the third year scaries of trying to make every moment last.
The noise of Bigg Market on a Friday night full of middle aged men and smashed bottles of cheap beer is surprisingly something I’ve missed during my summer at home, the buzz of Ouseburn on a Saturday night stumbling down to Billy Bootleggers, and the energy of Phillip Robinson during mid module season have played like movie scenes at the back of my mind. These are all things I could have never imagined missing as a new student in Newcastle in September of 2024. Now, all these things sound, smell, and look, like home. But, I’ll admit, there’s definitely a few things I’ll be doing differently this year. Or at least, things I’m hoping to change.
As a new student, nothing was scarier than office hours. However, as someone approaching their final year, there is nothing I could encourage more than going to your lecturers office hours. It might not seem like it, but they are there to help you. Whether you don’t understand the reading, you missed the lecture, or you have worries about the upcoming module, your lecturers and seminar leaders are there to help you out. And if office hours are a little too scary, head on over to the library for expert help on referencing in your essays, and they will be happy to help you out.
When the library gets too scary during assessment season with people getting barricade for a desk, I’ll be taking advantage of the amazing spots around campus to do that essay I’ve been procrastinating for three weeks. Wether it’s the Percy Building, The Armstrong, or the Chemical Engineering Building, as a Newcastle student you have free roam of campus; The Phillip Robinson during mid module week in November is not your only option!
Coming back to Newcastle this Autumn also means, layers, hot coffee, and destroyed Uggs.
Coming back to Newcastle this Autumn also means, layers, hot coffee, and destroyed Uggs. I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve missed Newcastle’s harsh and unpredictable weather and its tendency to land me in big boots with a cup of hot moonshine on a Friday night. What’s not to like?
As a dancer, coming back to Newcastle means coming back to my second family at NUDC. Despite being a third year coming with a warning of ‘the great lock in’, I’ll be soaking up my Wednesday socials and weekly classes like no other this year. As a new student, it’s normal to not feel confident to venture out on your own, and so I’ll be replacing those missed Wednesday night’s as a fresher, with my best friends as a third year.
Did you know that Newcastle has beautiful green spaces? In first year, I didn’t. However, whenever I need 20 minutes to breathe and reset, Heaton Park whispers my name. This year I plan to take advantage of our cities beautiful nature more, wether that’s a stroll in Jesmond Dene, or jumping on the train to St Edward’s Bay, Newcastle offers so many places to reset and relax with the wind on your face, with of course many cute coffee stops along the way.
This year, the biggest thing I’ll be changing, is making sure that I don’t take a single second of it for granted.
Coming back to university can be unsettling, your mind and body have gotten used to your hometown and that part-time job you’ve grown to love again. First term throws a spanner in the works, you’re expected to read again, write again, and even worse you’re expected to get up at seven thirty in the morning on a cold Tuesday in November. But university is only temporary, a time where friends are on your doorstep, a campus full of welcoming faces, and a city of chatty Geordies. This year, the biggest thing I’ll be changing, is making sure that I don’t take a single second of it for granted.