Reflection on first term of second year
Wow. This term has been a roller-coaster. I’ve done so much that I don’t even know where to begin talking about it.
I guess I’ll start with the biggest and most special part of my life. I dance A LOT. Significantly more than I did in my first year. Like last year I still go to EQHO’s weekly dance classes, but I’m also an exec this year. Because of my exec role, it meant my Welcome Week schedule was packed with promotional activities, the biggest being the Societies Fair. It was so much fun getting to meet so many freshers who love to dance, but also those who were interested but scared to start. It reminded me of myself in first year, and how far I’ve come. A special highlight this term was EQHO’s end of term showcase, where volunteers can perform a dance piece for the other members, and it was really special having all of us together and sharing the art that we love. I also got to teach my first dance class in week 6 and it was so much fun. The reaction to my choreography was really positive and I hope I have more opportunities to teach in the future!
Aside from EQHO, my other dance commitment is to the Korean Society’s k-pop dance cover team, Koncept. I auditioned at the start of term and made it into the team, and basically what we do is learn k-pop choreographies, form groups and film the final product which will then go on our YouTube channel and be a part of a wider online community. This is something that I had wanted to do for a long time so being on the team means so much to me. For each video I spend about 15-20 hours rehearsing over three weeks, so it’s fair to say it occupies a lot of my time. But I love every second of it, getting to spend time with my amazing teammates, and learning so much more about dance along the way.
This term has also been special because I’m living with five of my best friends, and it’s so nice being able to spontaneously spend time with one another in the kitchen in the evenings. Even when there are stressful moments, I feel a lot more content this year.
Academically, my workload has increased from last year, but it’s largely just been reading for now (coursework assessments really start to build up in term 2). My four modules each have heavy reading lists, so I’ve struggled to read as much of the content as I’d like to. I’ve had to adapt my studying habits around my busy extra-curricular schedule, and one new way I’ve found to keep up with my reading is by listening to audiobooks. This means that I’m able to make use of the time I spend cooking or walking to uni, because finding the time and headspace to sit quietly and read is hard for me. Over the Christmas break I plan to work on my essays for deadlines that I have coming up over the next month. I woke up this morning with no classes or scheduled rehearsals until the new year (and decade – oop!), and it felt so nice knowing that I’ll be able to spend the coming days in the library being more productive before I go home for Christmas.
