A letter to my first year self ✉️

Dear me,

Welcome to Warwick, you did it! Wondering what’s in store over the next few years?

You’re going to feel a mix of emotions. You’ll feel happy and sad, surrounded and alone, energetic and exhausted, all at the same time. But that’s okay. It’s normal and others will feel the same, even if it doesn’t look like it.

You will fall in love with your degree. You’ll realise this is what you wanted to do all along, even if some modules feel way harder than others. You will survive Contract Law and European Law, I promise. For the first year or so, you’ll be adamant you don’t want to be a lawyer. You’re wrong. You want to be a barrister and by your third year, you’ll be on your way. In fact, you’ll be ready to start the LLM Bar Practice Course at your top choice institution, the University of Law in Bristol. You’ll also be applying for pupillage and, yes, it’s as overwhelming as people say it is.

You’ll spend far too much time on trains and coaches. It’ll help you survive the distance in your relationship and it’ll be worth it. Don’t forget to take time off though because travelling is more exhausting than you think. Also, don’t kid yourself, you are not going to work on the train! Use the time to catch up on sleep instead because you’re going to need it. Also, buy a railcard and a coachcard!

Speaking of your relationship, it’ll all work out! People will doubt it, you’ll hate that you can’t spend every moment together, but make the most of any time you have together and learn to love Facetime! You’ll spend most of your time together eating or napping and it’ll be your favourite past time, your safe space. You’ll celebrate birthdays and Christmases and anniversaries and fall in love with Winter Wonderland.

You’ll miss your family so much but, in the summer of your second year, they’ll move back to the UK to a little cottage in North Wales. It’ll still take you hours to get home but it’s better than a flight! Go home whenever you can and cherish it because uni can be lonely as hell and you’ll need the support network.

You will get a job in social media marketing and be able to work remotely and during the hours that work for you. You’ll be able to earn money and save and it’ll be great! Don’t forget to treat yourself sometimes.

Academically, you’ll be great in first year, struggle a bit in second year, and cry a lot in third year. That’s okay. It’s normal. You’ll panic before every grade comes back but you’ll almost always be happy with the result. As long as you do your best, everything will work out! Go to your lectures, go to your seminars (and prepare for them first!) and use all the resources at your disposal. Meet with your personal tutor, use the careers service, do whatever you can to branch out.

There will be a global pandemic. It’ll suck and you’ll lose a lot of your uni experience. Enough on that because it’s depressing!

The most important thing to remember is that everything will work out in the end. You’ll have many ups and many downs but you’ll make it through all of them knowing that they are only temporary. You’ll meet great people, learn incredible things about the law and the world, make incredible memories, and go into your third year happier than ever. Enjoy it all!

Love,

Me