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Gemma's First Year

Posted 8th June 2016
by Gemma

I have now finished my first year of University and I can happily say that I have enjoyed every moment of it. I finished my modules and handed in a film opening I had animated, a film I had created with my friends and a photography blog. Though my course finished I did not return home until later in the month of June as I visited Krakow, Poland with my media group. The trip was amazing; we travelled by plane and arrived in the country with ease and thankfully lots of sunshine. We visited some areas of the Krakow photography festival and got to experience different viewpoints of art and public events. We visited many places in the city such as historical museums and the market that was filled with many exotic items such as handcrafted jewelry boxes. I also had the opportunity to visit Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau which was an emotional experience but I was grateful that I could hopefully understand a bit more about what took place there. One characteristic of the city that was very profound was the unique architecture it had, it felt like I’d stepped straight into a fairy-tale with colourful buildings and elaborate decoration. The trip overall was an amazing experience that opened my eyes to its unique culture and the history the country held. I moved out of my flat and locked the door to my room for the last time last week. The experience was an emotional one, as I’d grown attached to the university accommodation. I am excited though to move into my student house in July with my flatmates from my old accommodation. The first year of university has passed by in a whirlwind but if I can give any advice for first year is have fun and don’t worry! I was worried that my lack of experience with practical media would put me behind on the subject as many fellow students had lots of experience in the media industry but I soon found that the teachers would cater for this and taught everyone equally and not just on their particular skillset. University is great to study for the degree you want to obtain but it’s also important to try new things and meet new people. Through university I’ve gained more confidence and discovered things about myself that I wouldn’t of realised if I hadn’t gone to university. I can’t wait to continue my course in September where I hope to specialise in digital media and single camera work.

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