WEEK 3 AND 4:

Consequently, two more weeks have passed, accomplishing a lot more than the first two by adding in little incorporations to help me cope. It was overwhelming, but now I feel confident and more settled in than when I first began. In lectures, we have started to learn about plagiarism, constructing notes, and building our confidence in academic writing.
Throughout the lessons, I have been giving it a test and go with multiple different note-taking methods. My above all favorite was most definitely the Cornell Method. The reason being: quick, simple, effective. After trialing various ways, I couldn't find a way that suited me personally. It allowed me to enjoy writing and practicing as it was a practical way of adding structure to my notes. This structure has allowed me to evaluate what I have learned formatively and fully understand any misassumptions from the lesson I may have previously had. It makes it a lot easier to summarise, something that we have been focusing more on. As I found a technique that suits, it prevents me from asking for assistance about what we have learned as I have it all wrote down already. It makes me feel more independent and that I do not have to depend on the lecturers for every little thing, although I know they are there to help. It has implemented me to use these methods for other than university, thus forming better habits within my writing skills outside of the classroom. Both weeks were similar in content. 

A way for us to connect with our peers is through Breakout rooms, which we use in every module. Breakout rooms get set up with several random classmates where we have a set amount of time to discuss and do work set. I was eager to start potentially meeting my future classmates and get to know them. Starting university is daunting. The most nerve-wracking thing for me is meeting new people as I have spent my school years with people I have known for years, and I don't know a single soul that goes to John Moores. When we first started, I came to find half of them don't even show their faces or even attempt to speak to you. That proves to me that it must be terrifying for everyone. After a while, this changed as everyone got more comfortable, and you could see people becoming far more confident within speaking and less shy. There is someone almost always feeling the same. By using Breakout rooms multiple times, my confidence to speak to anyone now is through the roof! I didn't realize that the skills that we build on in university would help in real life. In my workplace, I have been able to have the willingness to voice my opinion on being overworked and having too many hours. Something I would have never dreamt about doing months ago, I can only put it down to my confidence skyrocketing.