Spreading My Wings

Three years. A multitude of assessments drowned out by drink, crazy bar shifts, film nights, takeaways, endless nights of constant reading and tears of laughter with the best people. Then, suddenly, I’m sat in front of my laptop, staring at Blackboard and counting down the seconds until 12pm. Just one click and it will be a flood of tears regardless, from joy or from disappointment, but definitely from the rush of overwhelming memories.

12:05pm. Blackboard has opened, but my results have yet to come through. A message reads for everyone to be patient, for there are thousands of students also waiting for those all important results. I click refresh at two minute intervals, my mug quivering from my shaking hands as I take a sip of tea. It’s crazy that all those years of studying comes down to this, sat in front of my laptop waiting for the breakdown of the year’s grades and those three to four words decreeing my overall result. It’s a shame that the pandemic prevented me from opening my results on a beach in Cornwall, but at least I can make up for it next year.

12:20pm. They’re here. The rest of my family waits in anticipation as I click the PDF file. Then, there in black and white, are the words I’ve been hoping to see throughout the duration of my degree…

First Class Honours

What!

It’s been a week now but I still don’t think it has properly sunk in, that I will have graduated university with the highest possible mark. It has given me the extra motivation to pursue my goals as a writer. I will talk more about this in a later entry, but, even with other stresses, I really enjoyed my course and I’m glad to be doing a Masters in October with the same awesome department!

I only wish we could celebrate properly but, obviously, that has to be put on hold until the world recovers from this virus, along with our graduation, which has been reorganised for April 2021. But the future is bright and it will make the celebrations and memories that much more special.

So, this is where I will leave my entry for this week. I hope my fellow third years were pleased with their own results and I wish everyone the best of luck in their own endeavours! Remember, although this year has been tough, there is always a chance of a better future. As American author Helen Keller once said, “optimism is the faith that leads to achievement”.

See you next week,

Emily