Looking Ahead - Blog Update/ 3rd and final Year of University

What to expect from what could be, my toughest year?...

Hey everyone, so today instead of me reviewing a film or talking about something else that I would normally talk about, today I thought I'd do a little update Post since there are going to be a few slight changes on my Blog which will probably benefit me and I wanted to let you guys know what these changes are. The changes aren't anything too serious. It's just that these changes will benefit me going forward onwards to  University and the new year. As well as updating you guys on my Blog, I also wanted to chat to you about, well... me basically and talk about life at University and what I expect will happen once I enter my 3rd and final year at Salford. Now without further delay, lets get started...

Blog Changes

So as mentioned briefly in the intro to this Post, there are changes that are coming to my Blog. Not to worry however, there are only a minimal of changes that I'll be applying and it's not as if it'll harm me or you guys reading. In fact, I think these slight changes will benefit me going forward to the end of this year right up until the new year. So basically, the change that I will be commencing on the week of the 28th of September is that I'll be moving my regular Film Reviews Blog Post's to Friday's instead of a typical Monday. There  reasons behind this. The first and more important reason why the regular Films Reviews will be moving to Friday's is because unfortunately due to the fact that I do go to University, the Monday's that I have right up until I finish for the new year are very busy for me and it would be impossible to find time on a Monday to Post a Film Review. In actual fact as well, whenever I magically read upon any newspaper or listen to one of Mark Kermode's Radio film shows on Friday, I've noticed a lot of film critics do their reviews on the eve of the weekend and it kind of makes sense to do that. Putting out my reviews on Friday will I think for you guys be a lot easier for you to read simply because there's enough time for you to gander of what i've written over the weekend rather than Posting it up on Monday's when everyone's just started in the week at work or in education and are understandably tired from their own endeavours. Having said that I will post on Friday's however, the regular readers have to understand that I will be in my 3rd and final year of University when these changes come into play. So there may be times when I don't have a Post of sorts ready for you to read on Friday simply because I may be busy doing something else either with University work that I have, with my Dissertation research or the fact that I personally could be doing something else. If that possibility of me not putting a review out on Friday happens, then I'll most likely put up that review over the weekend at some point. Having enjoying posting up regularly on this Blog for quite some time now, my mission to the end of this year is to be as consistent as possible and share with you guys my thoughts on films that I've recently watched or News that I can report to you guys. Over these recent months where I have every week at least posted 1 or more Posts, I've really enjoyed typing out various things for this Blog and I never want that to stop. Even if it comes to a point where only 1 person reads my content, then I'll always remain happy in typing stuff out. It genuinely makes me happy when people I know and don't know enjoy the things that I put out and it makes me confident going forward after University that I can hopefully one day earn a living which entails me to write about any aspect of film. So to summarise, the key thing to let you know all about is that my regular Blog Posts will now be Posted on a Friday instead of a Monday which will all start on the week of the 28th of September which funnily enough, is when I start my crucial year of University...

University - My Last Year

It's really strange as I'm typing this out to all of you that I will be going into my final year at Salford University really soon. Being completely honest here as well, I never thought that I would make it this far into University let alone actually starting the film course that I have done technically for 4 year (if I count sixth form). I even remember back when I was at high-school which feels so long ago now and saying to myself that 'I could never see myself at University'. At the time, admittedly I was probably right considering that most of what I was being taught at high-school never got me hooked to the point that I wanted to study it as much as possible. The only real subjects that I was interested in were subjects that had interestings things to learn about like History and Art & Design. Don't get me wrong though, the teachers that I had for the subjects that I did made high-school really enjoyable and I can't say a bad word against them. It's just that in terms of the subjects that I studied, there wasn't any desire from me to go on and learn further other than History and Art & Design. By the time I reached college however, I would say my mindset changed when I had the opportunity of studying Film which was probably the best decisions I've ever made. Even before studying it, Film is something that I've always loved ever since I can remember and as I've gotten older, it's always interested me in learning the different backgrounds and movements of any particular film ranging from animation to French New Wave etc. Studying Film at college level allowed me to think about doing Film at University level and to be honest, going to University was another correct step that I took. Even though there are fair arguments that people can make in regards to the fee's that you pay and the fact that it doesn't guarantee an immediate job, I honestly don't care about those 'criticisms'. I mean for one, I know I'm never going to pay all those ridiculous fee's back anyway and as for the 'immediate job problem', who cares. Right now, I'm studying a subject that I love learning about and I hopefully want to continue doing something film related when I go into working. I know straight away the chances of me getting a film related job of any sorts are slim, all I can do really is keep my head down and work hard to best of my ability and apply myself with this Blog for instance and the reviews that I put up weekly.

What was interesting when I got my A-Level results which I was pleased with what I got, was the choices I had in the palm of my hand. Do I choose the film course at Edge Hill?  Or do I choose the film course at Salford which was much closer for me?

In the end, it wasn't a hard choice for me as I chose Salford over Edge Hill due to the fact that I can easily hop on the bus near where I live and it only takes me 20 mins, and the fact that it's next to Media City/Salford Quays which in general is always nice to visit. Thinking about it more as well, me going to Edge Hill would have meant that I wouldn't have meant the amazing people that I've gotten to know at Salford. Sure, going to Edge Hill would have meant that I would have gotten the full University experience of living with other people instead of living at home like I am now. However at the same time, it would have meant that I wouldn't have gotten to know the people from Salford University. What I've always loved about learning film in the classes that I took at college and the lectures that I've gone to at Salford Uni, is how everyone in the classes has a real enthusiasm for the subject. What's more is how everyone has their own interests within Film so for instance while I'm someone that particularly enjoys Japanese Animation, there will at least be another person interested in British Rom-coms or someone who adores and loathes their time in the Horror genre. With that intact, You not only learn from the lecturers/teachers who do give you the essentials for the subject that you're learning about, but I think it's important to state that you also learn from your classmates and other students and what their take is on a particular matter etc. This is most certainly like that with me and the people that I laugh and work with at Salford Uni. I know for a fact that by the end of Uni, the people that I have become friends with, will move onto big things, I have no doubts about that really. As for myself, reflecting on the two years that have gone past at Salford, I can truly say that I'm a lot more confident in myself and my own ability. I know expressing it like that to some might come across as cheesy and a tad dramatic, but it's simply true. I'm not going to go into details, but it has to be said that in my final year of High school right up to the end of college, Y'know I wasn't myself a lot of the time due to the fact that their was so many complications that yo'yo'd around at the time. What got me through those years quite honestly was the influence that my mum/brothers had on me and the impact that my friends had on me. With all that, in a way you could say it got me pumped to go to University as it was of sorts a new beginning to meet new faces and carry on learning something that I'm interested in. I feel like going to Uni has brought back the 'old' me; a version of me that is happy and tries to work beyond the call of duty. As I hinted at before, what would be the icing on the cake for me to end Univeristy would be to get a film related job. Obviously the chances of that happening are unlikely, but I know I just have to apply myself by applying for jobs and doing as much as I can with this Blog.

Now, how do I think my last year of University will go? well quite honestly, If I work to the best of my ability, then hopefully I'll reach the end goal and be their on time for the graduation ceremony and get my degree in Film Studies. Without a doubt though, I do also expect these months to come to be the hardest I'll encounter in terms of the work that I'll have to do. There really isn't any room to make mistakes or mishaps at this stage. I think what it helping me getting back into the Uni groove and is advice that I recommend to freshers as well, is the fact that I'm preparing and researching about the subjects that I'm going to be learning in the near future. I think it's okay to not exert yourself, but it wouldn't hurt to at least read around the topics that you'll be learning especially if you're going into your final University year. Due to the fact that I do indeed do a dissertation task later in this academic year, it's imperative that you prepare for that by doing research for the topic that you want to cover. To some extent, this is what I have been doing in the past month and a half with the topic I want to cover. What is good though is that I know there are more sources out there that I can potentially use; for this thesis, more sources typically means more ammunition for the thing you're going to cover. Besides gathering info and sources for the topic that I want to cover, there are things that I have wanted accomplished and succeeded in doing and things that eventually will be resolved. I think one of the things that I can be proud of myself before getting back into University was losing weight. What is weird thinking back at my weight, it has always fluctuated from being thin at the start of high-school, to gradually being a bit a of large potato by the end of college. However, I'm glad to say this is not the case anymore as I have lost a 1.5 stone which may not seem a lot to some people, but to me, it's something. I think what helped was the fact that I have done some small exercises nearly everyday, but also the fact that I don't eat as much as I used to which I think has helped as well. This isn't something that I got done yet, but something that I hope do to get done soon is to finally get a Provisional Driver's license and learn how to drive. Being that I wanted to focus on college work and University, I personally opted not to get a license as I needed to completely focus on my study's which in the end paid off. However, seeing now most of my friends passing their tests and being able to drive, it does want me to finally learn and hopefully get a license. Something for sure that is coming sooner and sooner is my 21st birthday which will a good day. Considering that my mum's birthday is 2 days before mine, I like to think that my birthday celebrations are also my mums as well as we do have birthdays that are very close to one another. Although it's very much accustomed to celebrate your 21st, to be honest, I don't have anything planned haha. I'm not too fussed to be honest any old way considering that my birthday is on a saturday and most people I know will probably have other plans anyway since it's technically freshers still at that time so I'm not particularly looking for a big party or anything. In the end, I'll be happy once I'm 21 haha.



                                                 How I expect my graduation will go like... 

Right I don't want to ramble on any more in case any of you die of tiredness from this essay that I've constructed haha. But as always, thankyou for those who have read this post about my Blog changes and University. If you would like to see more Posts like this in the near future, let me know on the comments section down below. From next week, everything should be back to normal with an ordinary film review so be sure to check out that next week. I may do another Post like this maybe around the middle of January and update you all on how I'm doing with everything. We'll have to wait and see I guess. Alright, thankyou for reading everyone and I'll see all of you real soon. Sayonara!! :)

Alex Rabbitte.