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Lydia's Blog

Posted 20th December 2017
by Lydia

Image courtesy of Lydia Shearsmith

The first term of University has come to an end, it’s been a long 13 weeks, in all the best ways.

For the weeks leading up to starting at Falmouth University, I was extremely nervous and a little bit excited: Nervous about making friends, what my flatmates would be like and how I was going to survive on my own; excited about having my own space and studying photography full time. I realise now that I should have been extremely excited and a little bit nervous. There will never be an easier time to make friends than at university, everyone is in the same boat and willing to socialise with anyone, at the end of the day, everyone needs friends. Flatmates make living alone for the first time a lot easier, they will teach you that you’re not the only one who has no idea what they are doing, and that it’s ok. You will learn from each other, and they may become some of the best and fastest friends you’ve ever made.

I always thought that the main reason we go to university is to learn, and that is true. However, not in the way I imagined. University is more about learning about yourself than the subject you chose to study. It’s about learning how to deal with money, how to cook, how to balance University work and extracurricular activities and how to have fun. It’s about learning to manage all aspects of your life that previously may have been done for you. I found the transition relatively easy, it was nice to worry about myself for a change, instead of those around me. But it can take some time to get used to your own company. That’s why making friends is so important.

It doesn’t take long to get into the flow of lectures. However, it can be a shock as to how independent the work really is. Everything is up to you, no one is going to force you to do the work. Personally, I love my course (Photography) because of the variety of subjects I can be looking at in one week. For example, one week I was researching the American Civil war and Sigmund Freud’s essays on memories. I chose to study photography, but I didn’t realise how much there was to learn and how relevant it is to how we perceive life.

It’s not only the research but the photographing itself, I am in a completely new environment, with something new to look at around every corner. There’s a wealth of camera equipment free to use and the glorious coastline of the South West to be explored. It’s inspiring.

These three photographs are, from my first project, documents of my exploration, getting to know my new surroundings. We had to shoot on black and white film, which was a first for me. I never realised how much more satisfying it is to shoot on film, it makes the process more thoughtful, I’m thinking a lot more about the images I am taking now that I am not shooting digitally. It makes every photo more important as it can’t be deleted.

This is one of my photographs from the second project been exhibited in the 1st year exhibition, in the last week of term. I was lucky enough to have my print chosen to be printed A1 which made it one of the statement pieces in the exhibition. The exhibition was a great way to finish the term, giving all of us a sense of achievement and a confidence boost. It made all the hard work feel worthwhile.

Now it’s time for Christmas. A well needed break and a bit of family time. Then a new year with more good times to come.

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