I smell spring

Well term two is over, and although I still have one group project to finish up and my proposal calling my name, I am finally relaxing a little. 

Yesterday, a group of friends and I went to explore Birmingham. It wasn't a very planned adventure, but we ended up seeing some really nice parks and lovely suburban neighborhoods. I finally got to ride a double decker bus and was way more excited about it than I should be willing to share. I have to admit that climbing to the top while the bus is moving is a bit beyond my balancing abilities. All in all it was a nice spring day. 

Moral of the story is that Birmingham has a lot more to offer than the busy city center like peaceful and relaxing nature. The pictures above are from Sutton Park. 

But now that I am back in the students' lounge to do more research, the thing that will keep me going is my upcoming trip to Paris in may. It's finally booked, and I am thrilled to have something to look forward to. 

A second end

Well I've just finished the last exam of my postgraduate career. It feels very strange. Maybe it just hasn't sunk in yet. I know that masters programs in England are an expedited process, but having the second term be over so soon should be illegal. I still feel like I just got here. 

I have to say the past three days were very stressful. I tend to make myself very nervous before exams and lose the ability to sleep like a normal person. Definitely something to work on. Stress cannot be good for performance, and not just in exams but in life in general. Now I have a couple assignments to wrap up because while I tend to start assignments early, I always leave about 10-15% for the very end. Just so that I don't out-nerd myself. 

In true England fashion, we've had amazing sunny weather during revision week when everyone was stuck in the library. Flowers were blooming, birds were singing, and people were dressing like it was summertime. But now that exams are wrapping up, it's gotten colder again. Spring is evasive, but hopefully soon it will come back to stay because we post graduates need some sunshine to help us recover from term two. 

Drawing to a close

With three weeks left of term I keep hearing people saying how surprised or happy they are that these are the last exams of their lives. I don't really know how I feel about this. My whole life has revolved around education and pressure to succeed academically that it's strange to realize that my organized education is coming to an end. Not that you ever stop learning, but it'll be different from here on out. I think the most difficult thing for me right now is to find a balance between my studies and future planning. It is just hard to motivate myself to job search while dealing with the workload simultaneously, but once exams are over I fully intend to budget my time more effectively.

 

I am doing fairly well with my assignments, and our course director took pity on us, so the deadline for the final proposal was extended. There is a lot less group work this term, and I am happy to say that I have some very conscientious people to work with this time. One of the girls is more motivated and on top of things than I am sometimes, and that's very refreshing from some of my past experiences. Between the two of us, we are getting things done more efficiently, and I don't feel like I have to take on the leader role singlehandedly.