Student Life – Avoiding The Student Bubble

It’s pretty much a fact of student life that you get sucked into the ‘student bubble’. Yet –partially because I’m doing it on my terms – I kind of feel like I’ve avoided becoming completely sucked into the ‘student bubble’.

By the ‘student bubble’ I mean the way that some students end up living their life in a way that means more or less everything revolves around university and being a student. I know people who seemingly do things just because that’s what a student is supposed to do rather than their being any sense of independence attached to it. I know people who haven’t explored the city and embraced some of the opportunities that are on our doorstep. Why do some people just seem intent on having a completely generic student experience instead of breaking out of the routine of the ‘student bubble’?

I’m not trying to shame anyone here. I have nothing against routine, I’m a naturally organised person so I enjoy having a routine. For example Monday’s I meet up with my friends for coffee (I’ve talked about that in this post). Tuesday evening is Disney Soc. And every Saturday morning just before 9AM I go out into the city and have my weekly Saturday Shop, (see my haul posts).

In my first year I lived in the off campus accommodation block. At my uni most of the residences are on campus but there’s one block which is in the city at the opposite side of the city centre to the university campus. I think living in the city during first year was a really great thing to happen to me. I’m sure living on campus has lots of benefits but I relished the sense of independence that I had from essentially being left out on my own. Living in the city meant I couldn’t rely on eateries on campus like some students do, I had to learn how to cook (I talked about this previously inanother post). I had to learn the bus system, which might sound like something fairly basic but it’s something that I noticed trips up a lot of second years who lived on campus. Living in the city also meant I got a real appreciate for having the city on my doorstep.

At the end of the day I am a naturally independent person and I do enjoy being a little different and doing it on my terms. I just don’t understand how and why some people let themselves get trapped in the student bubble.

My Haul – It’s All About The Little Things

With this week’s Haul it’s all about the little things.

My last haul post was a couple of weeks back but I thought this one was worth sharing. I bought an eclectic selection of stuff (as you've probably learnt by now I have an eclectic variety of interests) but they're all on the smaller side this week. 

In Wilko’s I got this pack of Polaroid style photo frames. I love the aesthetic of the Polaroid, I even did an art project based on them for my A-Level Art. I thought these would be a fun way to display some of my photos. I’ve already used them on a couple of pictures and I’m happy with the results.

You’ve probably heard about The Lego Batman Movie. As you might imagine there are lots of products being released for it. I’m not too keen on the majority of the individual mini-figures but there’s a place near me that sells them so that you can get specific characters instead of getting random ones. I couldn’t resist getting Barbara Gordon/Batgirl as a cop.

Poundworld have started stocking a Finding Dory collection of mystery min-figures. They’re good quality for only a pound. I bought another one this week and got Marlin this time.

Also in Poundworld are new Barbie fashion packs. I collect dolls and one of the hardest things to find are doll shoes, this is especially irritating as a doll bought second hand inevitably will be missing their shoes. I bought all the items pictured on the left for just 4 pounds. Mulan and Pocahontas are on the right modelling their new garments and accessories.

So between small photo frames, mini-figures and doll accessories this week’s haul has been all about the little things.

My Haul – First Saturday of 2017

‘My Haul’ videos seem to be pretty popular and so I thought I’d give it a go here on my blog.

Since the first weekend of my first semester of my first year at uni I have gone out at 9AM (when the shops open) to walk around the city centre. Each week I buy an interesting assortment of stuff - sometimes things I’ve been looking for, sometimes things in a store’s sale and sometimes new arrivals in store - this Saturday’s haul is certainly an interesting mix of stuff.

Since I started to collect dolls I’ve been keeping an eye out for mini items that can be used in scale with a doll. This suitcase I got from Tiger is one of those mini items. I think it fits quite well with Pocahontas.

I wanted to get this Doctor Who figure set when it first came out but for one reason or another I never actually got round to buying it. This morning I found it on sale for £4.99 so I finally bought it.

I’ve got a new Itty Bitty! Itty Bitty’s are these fun little plushies of pop culture characters from Hallmark, there are tons of characters available internationally (I love the one of Princess Tiana) but there’s still not been very many of them released in the UK. Iron Man joins the Flash, Captain America and Wonder Woman in my collection.

Finally the 2017 Red Noses are now available! I’ve been collecting the Red Noses for a decade now and I’ve started off my 2017 collection today with the Viking nose and the Dragon nose. There’s definitely going to be more of these over the coming weeks!

If people seem to be interested in my haul then I might make this a weekly blog feature.