Ah, good old Timehop! Scrolling through yesterday I saw my post from a year ago saying "I have officially received an offer from all the universities I applied for".
The very thought of Sixth Form and A-Levels makes my palms sweat, and a feeling of dread hits me in waves- but I can't help but think fondly of the excitement of singing in to UCAS and seeing the little 'Status Update Notification' message and wondering what it would be. I was on an open day in Swansea, having lunch in a little pub when I opened the email that had that exact same message. I only had one more offer to receive- Manchester. We had organised a day out in Manchester for the following day, and I hadn't yet received an offer from them. Waiting for the email to load, my hands were shaking. God, how terrible I would feel if I didn't receive an offer from them, with a day out arranged for the next day. But I skimmed through the message and saw 'we would like to offer you a place on the course in our university'.
"I did it!" I exclaimed. I don't know what I was most pleased about- the fact that my first choice uni had given me an offer, or that I received an offer from every single one I applied for. I was immensely proud of myself- even more so when I saw my mum beaming at me from across the pub table.
After that day though, all I felt was dread. I loved loved loved Manchester- no matter how hard I tried to find disadvantages of the uni and the city- but it was the furthest away from home, my family and my boyfriend. And besides, it was the highest grades so I might not even get in any way. Oh the nerves.
But, with a smile on my face here I am a year on. In bed, despite the fact that it's 2.50 in the afternoon, in my student accommodation in Manchester- excited to see said family, home and boyfriend at the weekend. Life is sometimes very, very kind. I feel like I have the best of both worlds up here.
