My graduation!

My graduation has to have been one of the best days of my life so far :).

All smiles!

Not going to lie, I was quite nervous when I woke up that morning. I had been looking forward to the day for a good two weeks after seeing so many graduation photos from my friends. One thing I looked forward to the most was getting dressed up! My lovely dad took me out to buy a gorgeous dress which was from Ted Baker and was a pale, baby pink colour with blue and purple detailing in a floral-type pattern, and also had a few layered ruffles on the bottom half. My shoes I already owned which were chocolate brown wedge heels from Dune. Jewelry I kept pretty basic, wearing only a couple of sentimental rings and a pair of topaz earrings my dad had bought me for my 21st birthday. I also kept my make-up fairly natural as it was going to be a very hot day and would probably all sweat off anyway (yes, a lovely image I know!). 

We (my mum, dad, brother and I) arrived at Southampton Uni campus where I hastily went to collect my robes for the afternoon! It felt so strange putting on that cap; a proper graduate after three years of hard work! We then went to have some lovely professional photographs taken, which I have yet to order but I'm so excited to see them in really nice frames and to give some to my family. 

Then the moment everyone had been waiting for - the ceremony! The ceremony was held in the Nuffield Theatre. I'd never been inside there before and I have to say it was like a tardis; I couldn't believe that big, posh theatre existed inside what I have to say is a slightly old and battered-looking building (sorry Soton Uni!). Each of us graduates went up when our names were called and shook hands (in a very unusual and formal way) with the vice chancellor of the university, and that was pretty much that! Afterwards we had a big 'class of 2014' photograph and some awards were handed out, and we then all proceeded to the reception for some free nibbles and champagne! I had some lovely chats with all my friends I have made over the last three years and whom I'm very grateful for having met. 

Class of 2014, Geography, Southampton University

Cheesy pose with the department building sign

I will never forget my time at Southampton Uni and I have made some truly wonderful friends. But I'm sure my time at Holloway will be just as good and I will make just as many lovely new friends :).

Disclaimer: Photographs all taken by my Dad. Furthermore, I am not trying to brag about my outfit for the day, I just really want to share it and hopefully give some inspiration for others for their graduation or even just for a different formal event :).   

Introduction!

Hi Everyone!

So, I thought it would be a nice idea to document my time as a postgraduate :). It would be a great way for me to keep up with my progress and hopefully to help me de-stress, but also to inform others who might be thinking about moving on from university to further study about post-graduate life based on my own experiences. 

I am by no means the most intelligent person on the planet, which I hope will make my blog accessible and applicable to lots of people. I have just graduated from Southampton University with a 2:1 in BSc Geography, and am moving on to Royal Holloway, University of London to study MSc Quaternary Science (yeah I know, no one else knows what that means either...) starting at the end of September 2014. I have been told that this course is very intensive and requires a lot of focus, dedication and hard work. I have been highly prone to stress in the past so documenting it is definitely going to be interesting, but I hope I and others can take something from this blog about how to cope with advanced study (or how not to, as may be the case!).  

I hope to work my absolute hardest at something I love and make lots of new friends along the way :).