The time has now arrived. I am in the final furlong of my life as a student, and the time will soon be upon me to go into the big, wide world and actually go work.
The thought of it terrifies me.
But it's a challenge I'm looking forward to, and I know I will be leaving Southampton Solent University with the best possible knowledge of everything I need to give me a helping hand. I've learnt various different skills and lessons over the last two and a half years - I'm no longer the same person as the 19-year old who walked into halls, lacking in self-confidence. Now, I am a better and wiser person. Uni has made me far more confident in not only myself, but around other people. I now love to meet new people so instead of shying away in a corner and hiding, I'm more than happy to stick my hand out and say "nice to meet you!". I hated calling anyone but now, I have no qualms in picking up my phone.
I've learnt a lot and I believe becoming editor of our course website is a valuable experience. I can say to future employers that I was in charge of a website, deciding which content to publish and try make better. I learnt about teamwork, and how working closely with your fellow colleagues is the best way to go forward. It was very hard work, with trying to organise which reporters produce which stories and making sure they are the best they can be. It was stressful to organise even between the editorial team who was sub-editing which story. But out in the big, wide world, we are expected to deal with these pressures from the off and being editor on two occasions I believe will definitely help me cope a lot better than before. The use of social media to promote our stories was a great way of getting our content out there, and one which we did improve after our first news-day outing. Things such as the simple use of a whiteboard to organise our stories was a key part of making our team succeed as well as it did, and I am proud of what we did. With communication and teamwork, it will help you massively.
I'm closing one door of my life and leaving a city which I've called home for nearly three years, but with that new challenges and other doors will open. It's scary and there'll be times I'll yearn to be a student once more but you know what... It's time to start a new chapter.
