Hello,
I hope you guys are well!
I haven't blogged in ages (literally since last year October. Oops). As you probably know, I started my first year as an astrophysics undergraduate last year which has been incredibly challenging but rewarding. I finished my final exam last Friday and I'm looking forward to having some time off! I've barely read and certainly haven't been reviewing, so I'm really looking forward to doing that again and catching up with all I've missed in the blogging community! ⭐
I can't quite believe first year is over. There have been wonderful aspects and stressful aspects. I've finally started studying a subject I've been fascinated by since I was thirteen; I've met some lovely people; I met my boyfriend who is wonderful, and I've learnt how to do maths, physics and coding that I've never done before. However, there have also been a lot of difficulties this year, some of them still ongoing.
I've had an ongoing battle with Student Finance England. It's a verrryyy long story but basically due to me not getting my indefinite leave to remain on the 4th of September and not on the 1st of September (the delay only due to COVID-19), they don't want to fund my degree. It's so frustrating as I'm basically being penalised over something I had no control over. I did everything to get my ILR in time but due to the government closing offices and suspending services, I only managed to get my ILR after the 1st of September. It's a massive injustice and we've sent in three appeals, we've gone to the press and we've had to involve a solicitor. I'm praying that this will be resolved soon otherwise there are severe implications involving me having to pay for the first year and then having to withdraw from my course, restart a new course, and start first year all over again because if I pay privately for first year, Student Finance England won't fund the subsequent years of my degree. It's been so stressful and such a battle, and I'm really praying we'll able to get this resolved soon.
I also had a sad ending to my first year after receiving news that my lab partner had passed away a couple of days before. It was so shocking and I'm deeply saddened by it. Although we didn't socialise outside of university, we spent almost every Tuesday together doing lab work, so it's been a very upsetting week.
Despite all the battles this year, I'm so grateful that God has sustained me through this. I've managed to keep my part-time job throughout the academic year, I've managed to pass all the coursework and exams (so far - I haven't received my summer exam results yet!) and despite all the stress and uncertainty of the year, my anxiety and panic attacks have been manageable for the most part. The Lord has been so with me throughout all of this and there's no way I would've managed to get through this year without His strength and grace.
I'm really looking forward to reading so many books this summer, writing all the reviews, and catching up with you all! x