Gracie Moore reflects on the end of yet another year of studying during the pandemic, but shares her hopes for a summer filled with fun, friends and flights abroad.

So there we have it. Another year of education nearly completed and it’s certainly been one to remember. I’m not completely sure what I expected from my first year of University but there were copious amounts of highs while my patience and integrity were also tested to the fullest. In many ways, it has been the best year of my life and I would argue that even the lowest points can be chalked up to “character building” (as my Mum kindly referred to them over the phone on those stressful, tear-filled weeknights).

I was thrown in the deep end during Freshers’ week – the pressures of moving away from home to a new city 250 miles away, the expectation to open up to anyone and everyone because “everyone makes their friends for life in Freshers’ week”, all with the bonus of being completely excluded by my flatmates and their new friends within 5 days of arriving. It wasn’t easy having my University experience only really begin in November when I was invited to an impromptu house party, leading to me forming the tightest bonds with the lovely people I met there. But I would have endured a lifetime of whispers behind my back and being patronised daily if only I had known who was waiting at that house party.

I’m not completely sure what I expected from my first year of University but there were copious amounts of highs while my patience and integrity were also tested to the fullest.

For many, the first year is the time to mature and begin to recognise your worth. So, next year, I am excited to continue this journey now that I know exactly what I require from my friendships and relationships. Starting University during the pandemic certainly didn’t ease the scary transition but I feel lucky that all the key moments such as then Freshers’ week events could still go ahead as planned.

This summer, with the removal of all Covid restrictions and the return to “normality”, I look forward to spending some much needed time abroad in Spain with family and friends, catching up on three years of missed two-for-one drinks during Happy Hour and maybe putting my pending Spanish degree to good use! As Sonia Cunico happily informed us in the September welcome lectures, speaking a foreign language is made much easier when you’ve had a few shots of Tequila. I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely not going to argue with her on that one.