trahn

I've just finished three years of studies; BSc Media Technology is over and done with. I've been living in London for three years and I've had loads of fun and made numerous new friends. It has all passed so fast and I can't believe it was three years ago I packed my bag, moved out from my parents place and moved to one of the biggest cities in the world without even feeling a bit nervous. I was happy to get away from the shithole I call home and see the world for what it really is. Unfortunately I couldn't bring my friends and family with me, but then again if that was the case I would've lost out on other things.

Moved into a house that was way bellow the Swedish standards I was used to, but then I'm not fussed and adapt easily to everything. Orange wallpapers and a brown carpet in my room, no common room of any sort unless you count the conservatory which was freezing for most of the time, a really small kitchen and a shower with no water pressure whatsoever. On top of all that I was now living with three complete strangers, a mumbling Englishman, a crazy dutch/portugese girl and an energetic/hyperactive Swedish girl.
With time they all turned out to be decent people, haha, I was probably just as weird to them as they were to me. I enjoyed living with people since you always had some to talk and hang out with and you almost become a small dysfunctional family.  

University started and I found myself on top of what was asked of me as I'd done most of the things before. It made me question if it was going to be like this for three years or if it was going to get better. It got better. As to the whole language issue I had no problems understanding what was said in lectures and writing can always be spellchecked. Worth mentioning is that everyone had to do a key skills test in the beginning of the course to test your English, maths and computer skills. This was to see if you needed special tutoring, and if I may brag my English grammar skills surpassed many of the English peoples which I found very surprising.  Speaking however was harder as I had to think about what to say in Swedish before I said it in English and after I made up my mind about what to say they've all moved on to a different subject. I could easily get myself understood but I was often fishing for hard words and had to use 5 words instead of one to explain something. As I improved further and got more confident I slowly started to think in English and I can now speak and write without thinking about translating it from Swedish first.  

The first year went on without any hassle and I passed all my modules. I spent a lot of time with the mumbling Englishman (Jon) and his English friends so that helped a great deal with learning how English is actually spoken. I also got to see some of the cultural differences not seen at all among the people I hang out with back in Sweden. It was interesting to see how accepted certain things are over here but at times it felt like you were in a movie since it all felt so unreal. I've now gained a different perspective and am way more accepting to this compared to before I moved to London.

Second year of Uni was coming and right before that started I moved in with Jon and two friends of his from his course. We soon became friends and we're almost like a small family at times. I must say I really enjoy living with people, there's always someone around that you can talk and hang out with. If you need your privacy you always have your own room to go to. By living with other people you push your rent down since it would be hard to afford a place on your own as a student. Of course there are other issues you have to deal with when living like this. Paying bills and cleaning duties can cause irritation if not dealt with in the right way.  

Second year went just fine as well but I felt more pressure since you now had to get a good mark compared to the first year when all you had to do was pass the modules. The pressure to get a first can be quite tough and I've always been quite slack when it comes to school and now Uni work. It was often a case of last minute efforts instead of dealing with the assignments in time. In a way I've been really lucky so far as I was still able to get good marks. Well, enough with the bragging.

Third year came as well and now the pressure built even more as you could tell the lecturers demanded more from you regarding quantity and quality. The two first years were so easy in comparison and I've never worked as hard with assignments as I did in the last year. Hardly any last minute efforts here, well a few but still a big difference to previous years.  So now I'm sitting here waiting to hear what my marks might be and if I'll get my degree at all. Will I get a first or perhaps a 2.1? Who knows and I can't be bothered to worry about it, nothing good will come out of that anyway.
Is it time to grow up and sort out my life? I hope not. I want to be who I am now, or maybe I've already transcended without realising it. I'm. So I guess it's time to start looking for that.
Will I be able to find anything related to what I've studied or am I doomed to a life at the local Tesco? We'll just have to wait and see.I love London and feel that I want to stay here. I even have friends here now, believe it or not.

There are also thoughts of heading to Japan in a couple of months to see if I can find a job there as an English teacher. I might even look for a job in Sweden; in that case it will be in Stockholm or Gothenburg. Have no plans to move back to my hometown. My name was mentioned in the local newspaper regarding returning home to play handball with one of the local teams, I wasn't aware that that was my intention. Haha. If I run out of money and can't find a job in London that might be what will happen but not as it stands now.   But nothing's been decided so far and that's how I like it, to take things as they come and just enjoy each and every moment.

To begin with: summer. And then we'll see...