Finally, I Did It

I did it. The tears, the tantrums, the giggle fits, the anxiety and last but not least the endless Thursday nights out to keep me sane. I did it. The ever so talked about ‘dissertation’ hand in that every student dread is complete. My final ever deadline over and done with, my three years at Winchester University is soon coming to a close. It is hard to put such an overwhelming thought into just a single emotion, I suppose each will develop over different periods of time, for now it is relief and excitement as I enjoy the celebrations with the friends and course mates that have become family during my time here.

The degree itself, Health, Community and Social Care Studies was never what I had planned initially with true indecisive- Ellie- style change of the mind last minute, Winchester accepted me with open arms. I can now quite honestly say it is probably the most underrated course in the world, whilst I found not only my own values, beliefs and morale’s through the discussions held and research carried out, but my own passion for mental health and helping society reconstruct… who knew?!

I specialised in mental health, where I found myself researching mostly the affects the media has on our mental health. It is clear to me now there is no way near enough awareness nor support for mental health, especially education. The media’s supremacy profound for its anxiety-building, self-comparing and thought-provoking triggers can have affects on each of us completely differently within different time frames. Not only this, but the media’s influence within the fashion industry and how that affects all of us every day through platforms such as blogs such as these, Instagram or even advertising.

With that being said, I haven’t just focused on mental health at University, but bettering my own by challenge of anxiety with every day new social tasks… from forming life long friendships to living independently. Everything has it’s challenges although I definitely feel every day is a new way to prove myself and my anxieties wrong.

I couldn’t have asked for a better experience at Winchester, I’ve made friends who will probably go on to wheel me about when I'm 89, or cause mischief with me even when our own children are getting shitfaced at their own Universities. The support I’ve had here is unbelievable and I’ve never quite felt such belonging as I have here. You’ve allowed me to explore so much about myself, to give me positive outlooks when things seem clouded and hunger my appetite for ambition. University of Winchester, it has been a pleasure. 10/10 would do again (perhaps with a little more from stingy student finance and less hills).