Happy new year and the start of a new semester!

Hello all!

Firstly happy new year to you all, i hope you had a fantastic christmas and that you celebrated in style with loved ones :)

My last post was in october which i must apologise for, things at university took off and I have been snowed under with work ever since!

I spent most of my christmas holidays bouncing back and forth between home and my student house as i work in retail so christmas is the busiest time of year for the shop. When i wasnt working in the shop i was at home working on university assignments and making sure i didnt get behind! All in all i hardly spent any time with my family but i guess thats what happens when your in your final year and working alongside university! Although it was really busy and stressful im still greatful for the time i did have :) 

I am now back at university for my last full semester and things havent stopped, definitley had to hit the ground running, ive already handed one assignment in and have another two due next week one of which is my dissertation plan and im extremely nervous and excited to start! 

We have also been told we only have another 12 weeks of teaching left which is rather scary i must say! To think in 12 weeks i have "finished" university doesnt seem real! Yes i will still have assignments to write and hand in but thats all done at home - i wont need to be in university! The past 4 years (i did A level law too) will all come down to the next 5 months of hard work and perseverance which hardly seems real, it has flown by and i cant believe that in such a small space of time it will all be over! (You may have guessed im not wanting to leave!) however im planning on going out with a bang! We have our university London trip to look forward to and hopefully a graduation ball too :) so despite all the craziness i still have lots to look forward too :)  

I am still looking at doing my masters degree at Sunderland so im not really leaving per se but its going to be so different and such a big change, but as they say change is good, its just the unknown that worries me :) 

Well best get back to my assignments, seminar prep and lectures! 

Hope you all have a lovely day :) 

K x

A busy 3 weeks!

So yet again ive been lax in my blog posts, my apologies! Its been quite busy since my last post with both uni and personal stuff so its all been a bit manic but I finally feel as of im settling into uni again and that I am ready to tackle thrid year! 

Lots has happened since the last post and lots of juggling has been going on to make sure everything is done and completed on time and people are happy! 

So since my last post I have attended and helped out at two open days for the university (Friday 18th and Saturday 19th) and as always they were fantastic, I genuinely love helping out for open days and speaking to potential law students helping to adddess any problems or concerns they may have and answer questions from a students point of view and give a different perspective than that of the lecturers :) for example lots of people ask about accomodation which is something the lecturers dont really know about personally so thats where I step in! :D 

Its also been quite manic with university work but it's all about keeping calm and just getting on about it which is what I do! There has been lots of seminar prep to do over the past few weeks and as ive still been trying to get to grips with the topics its been taking longer than normal but I think thats because more is expected of you in third year but also that the work IS harder which it should be! But I think im getting to grips witht hat one now and feel like im understanding my topics far more than I was to begin with :) 

Ive also got my first draft of my dissertation plan!!!!!!! WAHOOOO!! Im so happy to have my first draft - its rubbish and I know that but I have something down on paper so I can now spend time building on it :D my supervisor has been a great help too and im really enjoying writing it all up...so far ;) 

Ive also been trying to juggle work and home life alongside uni which is proving a little difficult but having a job alongside uni is a great help at the same time, it allows me to focus on something completely different and take a break from law (as much as I love it, studying it 24/7 can prove more of a hinderance than help and just cause more stress!) and also the extra money is good too as its helping me save for my masters degree! :D 

Home is obviously something that you cant miss out on, no matter how busy and stressed you are with university nothing is more of a stress reliever than going home and getting a hug from your mum and dad and a proper home cooked meal! IT CANT BE BEATEN! Ive spent a few days over the past week or two at home mainly because my mum is unwell but its been the break I needed and after everything, I think its reset my clock and now im raring to go with univeristy! 

Back to uni - I was elected the student representative for my year group last week which im really happy for and I have my training for that today (in half an hour!) and then my first student and staff meeting as a student rep (I attended the meetings last year as a law society representative so I know how they run!) so im looking forward to carrying out my role through the year :D 

Finally before I finish this rather long blog post thats more like a splurge of things on the page, the university trip to London I was going on has been postponed :( Im quite sad about it as I was really looking forward for the trip and spending some time with people I love to pieces! But im so glad its just being postponed though and not completely cancelled so at least now I can save some more so it can be even better than it would have been! :D ROLL ON LONDON 2014!!!! :D 

But anyway enough of my ramblings!  I must dash to finish getting ready for my student rep training! 

Bye folks!

Karina 

October Update!

Wow! so it was over 3 weeks ago since my last blog post!

Time really is flying by and its almost like 3rd year is going to be a whistle stop tour if im honest!
Over the past few weeks I've been so busy trying to keep up with university work: including seminar prep, meetings and research! alongside my paid job working in the bridges (which I absolutely adore, and kinda wish that I had more hours there despite already being really busy!) and then actually trying to see friends,family and my boyfriend!
Its all rather crazy and slightly stressful but I didn't expect anything less with it being third year.

So what have I actually been doing i hear you cry?
Well like i say things have been pretty hectic with university work, were now into "proper" lectures rather than introduction lectures and I can honestly say that I am loving all my topics! They all have various different aspects to them that are fascinating, I'll briefly explain them to you so you get an idea of what my third year is like:

Family Law: In family law the majority of our work is centered around the institution of marriage, were currently looking at what constitutes a Void, Voidable and Valid marriages, and the statutory provisions governing those areas which are mainly S11 and S12 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 which govern the grounds in which a marriage can be Void or Voidable. This area is fiercely interesting, and creates a lot of debate when in seminars as every person has a different view as to each of the provisions and as to what marriage is to them. There is also large debate regarding the Same Sex Marriages, again which I find very interesting!

Succession: Succession is all about Wills and Probate really, so it can be a rather morbid and potentially upsetting discussing death in the lectures and seminars (especially for myself but we shall leave it at that for the time being!) but lets face it we all have to die eventually and whether it  (god forbid!) be sooner or (hopefully!) later its something that will effect us all eventually - therefore succession is a very practical module in that respect.We are currently discussing the make up of a will and its characteristics - including the problems with home made wills. Again a very interesting subject especially for myself.

Equity and Trusts: This links quite nicely to Succession as it also deals with Wills to a certain extent and deals with the creation of trusts within wills and discusses (lightly) the rules regarding equity. Equity is only a small subject in comparison to Trusts therefore we focus mainly on the trusts side of equity and trusts. We are currently looking at the Three certainties of a trust and this is what we are being assessed on so its paramount for us to understand and for us to research these areas.

Space Law: WOW! What an area!!!! I'm so excited to be studying this module! We only have Space Law every 2 weeks like our other seminars but as we don't have weekly lectures these workshops are 3 hours long. We have had 2 workshops since starting back at university and we are still getting to know the basics of Space law. Its a heavily influenced international law module which I will be truthful I didn't expect but its very interesting as I've never studied any international law previously (I've avoided it if I could!). Our main statute is currently the Outer Space Treaty which we spent the last seminar analysing and discussing to who and what it applied to - In our next seminar we are looking at Astronauts :D

OCT: Yikes! Another HUUUUUGE module that is fascinating! But must be taken very seriously at the same time. For those who may not know "OCT" stands for "Organised Crime and Terror" - so quite controversial and very dangerous territory! We are looking at the legal areas and statutory provisions that govern terrorism and terrorism laws relating to the UK. Its a very fast paced and constantly changing area and for our next seminar we have been given the task of Defining terrorism - a VERY hard task!

Dissertation: Well this is mainly a self taught module as most will know - we have had 2 lectures around how to set out the dissertation and with some general information on methodology and how to structure our dissertations, alongside do's and dont's and lots of helpful hints and tips as to how to go about our dissertation! I started research for mine during the summer but now im focusing in further on a topic so sadly some of that research is now not relevant but there is a lot that is so im still ahead....a little! But now I must ensure that I keep up the work on my dissertation and not let it slip because I don't have lectures or seminars in it. I cant wait to start writing it up.

So a quick (ish) update on what's happening at uni! Not much is happening outside university at the moment accept work but that's just work and its fun! Ooooooo I did treat myself to some gig tickets as well!! My first ever gig will be......(drum roll!) FALL OUT BOY!!!!! Woooo :D That's in March and I cant wait! I'm hoping it will be a little break from everything I'm doing at university and be a little treat, so fingers crossed!

Anyway off to do some more research! Space law this time as I've spent the day reading my articles for my dissertation so I need a little bit of a change :)
Toodle Pip!
Karina

The First Week Back

Okay so its VERY early Tuesday morning, but what better time is there than to sit and write a blog? Exactly there isn't! (but do ignore any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors that are not my usual errors....I'm tired)

So last week was my first full week back at university and it FLEW by! I cant believe how quickly it went, yes it was all mainly induction lectures and a few seminars but that was it! Bye bye first week back! It has made it hit home that this year really is going to fly by and what made me panic even more is that a lecturer of mine worked out how many months it is until we graduate......8 months guys.....8 MONTHS! That's not including the 2 reading weeks we have the 3 weeks off for Christmas and the month off for Easter, so all in all it's about 5 1/2 months of teaching time until I have finished university and will have left. Can you tell I'm panicking?

I'm not quite sure why this year but I don't feel prepared for the year at all, and if you know me then you will know im possibly THE most organised and prepared person there is.... but I really don't feel it this year. I know your probably thinking "get a grip" and "you've only been back a week" but this year I need to hit the ground running (or walking fast in my case as I don't run at all!) if I'm going to obtain the grade I want to. I know what I want to do and I think I know how to obtain it (I'm seeing the careers adviser next week, so hopefully that will iron out the creases) so its all go!

The week itself however was really good, it was nice to be back and see my friends and lecturers again after the long summer and it was nice to get stuck into doing some work again no matter how confusing it was! There are only 2 subjects that I haven't had a lecture in yet and they are my dissertation (information on how to complete it!) and Organised Crime and Terror (OCT) - but I will have had these by the end of this week so after that its down to the nitty gritty work which i love! So far however I genuinely think I am going to enjoy all my modules this year, I cant wait to get started properly but I think we are going to cover some very interesting areas of law - there is one subject I think I may struggle with on personal grounds that I didn't foresee but I'm sure all will be fine :)

Anyway as it is currently half past midnight I should really dash as I have work tonight (tuesday night) and its bound to be busy as its the local shopping centers student "lock in" which I am working - so a busy day getting ahead with uni work to keep up with it all and then I also have 2 shifts at the end of the week which I am in no way complaining about but I shall have to keep ontop of my university work so that I dont fall behind :)

Goodnight
Karina

Induction day

So yesterday was my induction back to university :D 

It was so lovely to see everyone again (well almost everyone...what you cant get one with EVERYONE on your course!). I cant wait to get back properly but this year is going to be really tough! I already knew it was going to be difficult but after some rather horrific statistics from our lecturers I am now even more determined to graduate with a first class degree at the end of this academic year. Im going to work my socks off and if you know me personally then you will know that once I get something into my head then I WILL get it done! 

But anyway back to the induction... We were given lots of helpful sessions throughout the 5 hour sitting (which sounds really bad but when you factor in a one hour lunch its really not that long) we were refreshed on word counts, referencing, academic writing and given LOADS of useful tips on how to avoid silly mistakes in assigments and how to get our writing up to a first class standard. Although some people didnt attend the induction session (for whatever reason) I think that they seriously missed out on some useful information as to how to get those high marks and also on how to keep improving our writing as we progress through the year. 

We were also given new personal tutors this year as quite a few staff had left over the summer months so lots of people did not have personal tutors anymore (me being one of them as my personal tutor had left :( ), im really happy with my new personal tutor and lots of my friends were also really happy with theirs too. Its always good to have a personal tutor that you feel you can speak to because you never know what may happen over the year and they are the best person to go and speak to about any problems that arise, no matter how silly you think it is, and I think the Law department do this really well. I dont think there are any of the lecturers there that I feel I couldnt go to with a problem. Which is one of the things I love most about my university :) 

Anyway I must dash I have work to do! :)

Karina 

A Quick Update

Hello!

So its been just over 2 weeks since my last blog post!

Its been rather quiet for that time though so there hasn't been much to write about! I've been working and sorting out the new house making sure that all my boxes are unpacked and im settled in - I've helped the rest of my house mates move in as well over the two weeks with the last one moving in on Sunday so we are now a full house! :D YAY! Its always more fun when everyone is here, makes for a busy house :]

Its also been the first week of freshers at university so the campus's and town center has been rather busy too with all the new students buzzing about and its really nice to see everyone happy and smiley - it's contagious!! I cant wait to get back and start learning new things again! :] I have my induction back to university on Friday then back in at the deep end on Monday, super excited :D I've just reserved loads of books for my subjects this year to try and read a bit about them all before we start properly and I don't care if that's sad im so excited to start my modules!!! :D

I'm also giving a talk today to the new Lives Online bloggers for the university! I'm rather excited to meet them all and hopefully i'll help them out a little bit and give them a few tips! I mean it lead me to write this blog and I found it an amazing experience and that's exactly what I will tell them :] Good Luck to them all as well :]

I also promise that when the new term starts properly I will update this more often and as much as I can!

Anyway I must go and start getting everything ready for today and pack my bag for going back to uni!!! New stationary here I come!!!! :D

K x

And Thus The Final Chapter Begins

Hello!!
So this post is titled "and thus the final chapter begins" and it is so because I moved into my uni house a few days ago (Friday to be exact!) and to me this is the beginning of the final chapter of my LLB! Its the start of getting prepared to go back to university, settling back into the routine of getting up early and balancing uni/jobs/family & friends along with planning for the next step, its scary yet thrilling at the same time! I cant wait to begin the year and get stuck in but I'm also petrified to finish uni and move onto the next step, which is hopefully my masters! Obviously I don't know what the year will bring but I have a good feeling that it will be a great one. I have lots planned and hopefully will make lots of memories for the last year, and obviously I have the excitement of graduation to look forward to at the end of the year.....but that's a bit far away yet...even for me!

So I'm all settled into my new house -  I have my timetable for uni printed off, I have my calendar on my wall with all my important dates marked and I am soon to find out what hours I will be working at work :D  UNI HERE I COME :D
However as its currently twenty past eleven and I have a long Monday ahead so bed time for me :)

Good Night All
Karina

P.S. I have two new articles published from my internship :D They are here and here! If you read them do let me know what you think! I'd love feedback on them good or bad, but be nice ;)