A day in the life of a film student

From small neighbourhood rascal to big city dreamer, I want to share my story of transitioning to this brave new world here, at the University of South Wales.

My day typically begins a half hour before my lectures start. It’s one of the simple pleasures that living across the road, at Ty Pont Haearn, offers. I get ready by taking a hot shower in my en-suite bathroom, and then I make the age-old decision of ‘what to wear?’ Once I’m looking fresh and ready to impress, I make my way to the ground floor and walk to the university.

At first, navigating the Atrium building was difficult. With 4 floors and a lot of ground to cover, I thought I’d never overcome the layout. But to my surprise, after not even a week of classes I was navigating through the halls like I have a built in Sat Nav (Hmm, maybe I do?).

Being a film student is a blast. There are no exams, so most of the work we are set is practical, minus the odd bit of writing here and there we need to submit, (all that pre-production paperwork and all, you know.) I like to sit at the front of the lecture hall with my coffee and notepad, avoiding distraction and creating the most authentic study atmosphere I can for myself. It feels like I’m in a movie!

When we’re not in lectures, I tend to hang out with some course mates. Again, at first, making friends seemed difficult in my mind. Everyone has something in common to bond over, but when that moment doesn’t immediately find you, you might start to wonder how you’ll conquer that obstacle. Fear not, because the moment ALWAYS finds you. One of my new friends always has a bag full of card games, so we’ll gather some other friends, sit down and enjoy a game or two before the next lecture.

But as is inevitable, my day comes to an end. There are no more lectures, and although I could stay at the Atrium until late and continue my studies, I would much rather experience the city!

Although I don’t have a part-time job, your studies should leave you with enough time to find one that you love and make a living whilst learning. The careers fair they do here is the best gateway to balancing both.

So, Arron. How do you balance everything on a day-to-day basis? Well, even if schedules change, or stress rises, I always make time to plan. Making everything easy for your future self is the best way to live a balanced life between education and social. An hour can change a day; A Day can change a week; a week can change a month and so on. So don’t feel like you’re missing out. Everything will always be here, and all your other busy course mates are totally going to understand!

This is a new world for a lot of us, so let’s adventure!