The Final Curtain

So, this is it guys! My goodbye post.

Firstly, I would like to say what a pleasure it has been to write for you all this past year and I hope I have been able to provide a broad insight into what life as a Biological Sciences student in Leicester is like.

The past three years have flown by. Yesterday, I was clearing out one of my folders and I found a handmade list I had made of all the things I was going to bring to halls during my first year. Nostalgia aside, I would like to say that if you have one of these lists, don’t bring too much! You will always bring too much in your first year, so it’s worthwhile thinking whether you need that extra spatula or extra paper waste basket. I want to say that I was emotional seeing that list, but I found that it was actually more amusing. I remember being so fixated on ticking everything off that list, keeping myself in an unhappy belief that if I didn’t bring that can opener, it would somehow dent my fresher’s experience. Fair to say that it definitely didn’t.

I’ve grown up a lot since then.

I want to say that I feel like a total grown-up now, having graduated from Leicester’s ranks, but that would be a lie. However, being at Leicester has taught me that growing up is cyclical and there is no totality to being a grown-up. To grow up means having to develop your knowledge, embrace challenges, seek opportunities and most importantly, finding ways to better understand yourself. I was able to achieve this by the academic experience I had, the friends I made, the independence I gained. Sure, these aren’t experiences restricted to Leicester alone – but I can say that this university has made it easier by being full of ambitious, passionate and committed people who will encourage you to achieve.

When I started Leicester, we registered attendance via three sheets of paper distributed through lecture halls of 200 students, we ate meals at halls teen drama-canteen style, and we spent most of the walk between the students union and the library walking around a building site and safety tape. There has been so much change since I started and yet I’m sure the university will stay as it has always been: friendly, quirky and a people’s champ!

So, good luck to us all! For all you remaining and upcoming students, remember to work hard and enjoy yourself — with special emphasis on the enjoying yourself part. 

I wish you all the very best. Thank you Leicester for everything.