Hello Third Year - What a Stress You Are
As the title suggests i'm in my third year of university now, which is awesome as i've finally made it to last and most important stage of my degree. But the overwhelming challenge is that I have to arrange everything I need which includes Finance and Transport. I was actually on the site of my university at half six this morning!!! And study no pressure there then.
Monday I had a really BAD DAY, I'm not going to lie the panic attacks I had were huge and also I went a little crazy because I had 24 hours to sort everything out. Also just got all the documentation I need for this semester and found out ... Hey you need to do Work Experience as apart of your assessment!
Now I have in the past done Work Ex placements, but finding them is difficult at the best of times and it also means contacting people, (which I've just done as a module i'm taking isn't appearing on the internet system we use at University!) That can be a difficult task at the best of times for any AS Person as people and us don't really mix. In the old days I used to get so stressed that i'd blister ... so I joked that I have an allergic reaction to people.
Dealing with change is always a struggle , I know I do this every year and panic as routines that you did establish have changed and getting back into that routine can be a massive battle. I've just downloaded my time table for this academic year and 1 module is missing!!!
Take a Look:
All my important information comes directly via the internet through something called Backboard which we use at the University. Unlike College or school (College in the UK is the 2 last years of High school in the USA where we study A-level) from module handbooks to handing in assessments is done directly online. The system works and should be easier for an AS student to do ... but with this does come with some problems.
Over the next few weeks I am planning to actually do some Video Dairy posts on my experiences of getting back into the mad world of university. I should at the moment be writing up a treatment (document outlining a programme or script) for my scriptwriting module but decided to blog instead! Keeping to deadlines is also a nightmare, this semester I have 4 Assignments to hand in. Here are some tips I should use myself:
. Note Down Assessment Deadlines
Kind of a simple thing to remember but with mountains of paper work and in my course ten tons of audio editing to do this might be hard. When you have got all your course information take your time to read through everything and put in your calendar key dates, some modules will have two hand in dates which usually applies to production type assessments where Pre-Production is handed in before your final Production.
. Make a mini Timetable or Calendar for the week for yourself
Again simple, but as we all know life gets in the way. With College(UK) and University you will have days off when you are not in university as well as your timetabled classes. In this case make that day a Study day. Grab an A4 Piece of paper, and draw a simple table, if you're fancy ... open a Word Document create a table and then put in the days of the week and times that correspond to your scheduled classes and then write in what you have classes wise and then on days off, allocate time for you to study. This might mean reading for an essay, production (although I would make a separate timetable for that as it will go into your production folder) or catching up on assessments and homework. This can also help with routines and make you feel more relaxed and in control of the situation.
. Talk to Lectures if possible
I know this might be a hard thing to do in reality, I'm doing this later on today. If you are feeling like you are struggling, find someone to help. This conversation doesnt have to be done face to face, it can be done via email if you feel more comfortable. Main tutors who teach you can be approachable you just need to ask them, usually do this in a break or after your lesson has ended. It makes it more simple and easy to do.
.Try and Stay Calm
Again stupid thing to say but with Aspergers and education comes stress and anxiety which can cause meltdowns, see a later post about the good old meltdown later on ... if I haven't collapsed with exhaustion later on today!
. Eat and Drink- Keep those Blood Sugar Levels up!
When stressed we don't normally eat, instead we find another vice to keep us entertained or go into switch off mode, but eating and keeping blood sugar levels normal can help with concentration and wellbeing. It doesn't have to be a full cooked meal but a chocolate bar and some water can tie you over until you want to eat some food. Alternatively you can go for the healthier option but an apple when stressed is not appetising!
Hopefully this has been helpful and I have to go to class so goodbye for now :)
Sophie x
Monday I had a really BAD DAY, I'm not going to lie the panic attacks I had were huge and also I went a little crazy because I had 24 hours to sort everything out. Also just got all the documentation I need for this semester and found out ... Hey you need to do Work Experience as apart of your assessment!
Now I have in the past done Work Ex placements, but finding them is difficult at the best of times and it also means contacting people, (which I've just done as a module i'm taking isn't appearing on the internet system we use at University!) That can be a difficult task at the best of times for any AS Person as people and us don't really mix. In the old days I used to get so stressed that i'd blister ... so I joked that I have an allergic reaction to people.
Dealing with change is always a struggle , I know I do this every year and panic as routines that you did establish have changed and getting back into that routine can be a massive battle. I've just downloaded my time table for this academic year and 1 module is missing!!!
Take a Look:
 |
| Missing important module: Scriptwriting |
Over the next few weeks I am planning to actually do some Video Dairy posts on my experiences of getting back into the mad world of university. I should at the moment be writing up a treatment (document outlining a programme or script) for my scriptwriting module but decided to blog instead! Keeping to deadlines is also a nightmare, this semester I have 4 Assignments to hand in. Here are some tips I should use myself:
. Note Down Assessment Deadlines
Kind of a simple thing to remember but with mountains of paper work and in my course ten tons of audio editing to do this might be hard. When you have got all your course information take your time to read through everything and put in your calendar key dates, some modules will have two hand in dates which usually applies to production type assessments where Pre-Production is handed in before your final Production.
. Make a mini Timetable or Calendar for the week for yourself
Again simple, but as we all know life gets in the way. With College(UK) and University you will have days off when you are not in university as well as your timetabled classes. In this case make that day a Study day. Grab an A4 Piece of paper, and draw a simple table, if you're fancy ... open a Word Document create a table and then put in the days of the week and times that correspond to your scheduled classes and then write in what you have classes wise and then on days off, allocate time for you to study. This might mean reading for an essay, production (although I would make a separate timetable for that as it will go into your production folder) or catching up on assessments and homework. This can also help with routines and make you feel more relaxed and in control of the situation.
. Talk to Lectures if possible
I know this might be a hard thing to do in reality, I'm doing this later on today. If you are feeling like you are struggling, find someone to help. This conversation doesnt have to be done face to face, it can be done via email if you feel more comfortable. Main tutors who teach you can be approachable you just need to ask them, usually do this in a break or after your lesson has ended. It makes it more simple and easy to do.
.Try and Stay Calm
Again stupid thing to say but with Aspergers and education comes stress and anxiety which can cause meltdowns, see a later post about the good old meltdown later on ... if I haven't collapsed with exhaustion later on today!
. Eat and Drink- Keep those Blood Sugar Levels up!
When stressed we don't normally eat, instead we find another vice to keep us entertained or go into switch off mode, but eating and keeping blood sugar levels normal can help with concentration and wellbeing. It doesn't have to be a full cooked meal but a chocolate bar and some water can tie you over until you want to eat some food. Alternatively you can go for the healthier option but an apple when stressed is not appetising!
Hopefully this has been helpful and I have to go to class so goodbye for now :)
Sophie x
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