What? So What? Now What?

Sunday afternoons are, without a shadow of a doubt, the best time to do a little reflection. Over the past year, I have done more reflecting than my bathroom mirror! Whether it be through doing the Leicester Award (something I will come back to in a later blog) or as part of my Team Leader summer job, it’s safe to say that everyone loves reflection.

A-Level results day is in my view, a rite of passage. In all fairness whatever happens, it really isn’t the end of the world however, at the time, it can seem that your whole life lies in the balance of ‘x’ amount of A/B/C’s that appear on that piece of paper. It seems like results day for me, was a lifetime ago. Thinking back to that day, and the thoughts and feelings that were running through my mind, I can recall my answers to the reflective holy trinity of questions:

1. What? I was fortunate and thankful that I got my predicted A-Level grades – well I just missed an A* in my Philosophy and Ethics A2 so being a perfectionist (yes, I am that annoying person who always wants 100%) I was a bit disappointed but in turn, was thrilled about obtaining full marks in all of my General Studies exams – wahey there was the 100% I was looking for! At the same time, I was surrounded by my friends, all experiencing a range of emotions, so it really wasn’t just about what I had achieved.
2. So What? This meant that I had obtained my required grades to get into my first choice university… *dun dun dun* the University of Leicester. It was an amazing feeling to know that all my hard work and tears and exam stress had paid off and I finally had made a decision about the course I was going to study for four years – I had a very hard time right until choosing my firm choice trying to decide which course I wanted to do. I was glad to finally be settled on doing Maths with Astronomy!
3. Now What? Before running home to tell my parents and get my well deserved pizza (three guesses which pizza restaurant we visited for a delightful dessert of warm cookie dough), I had to first talk with my friends and comfort/reassure the ones who had not got the grades they needed or hoped for. It was then necessary for me to get my confirmation email from the university and ensure my accommodation was sorted (John Foster Hall woohoo). Before I knew it, I was on Facebook talking to other students who were in the same halls or same course and set about typing up my ‘Things to take to Uni’ list. The rest is history…

In hindsight (and using my superhuman powers of reflection) it seems now that, whilst results day was huge and affected everyone in various ways, everything sorts itself out regardless of how you do. When I take a look at my friends now, two years later – which in the grand scheme of things isn’t a long time – everyone is now pretty stable and comfortable in what they are doing, whether they did end up at university or are working in a job they love. I look forward to seeing loads of fresh faces around campus in just over a month. Now is the perfect time to stock up on student essentials… what better excuse to take a well earned visit to IKEA?