Tuesday 15 November 2016

Graduation Day


Two weeks ago today (2nd November 2016), I Charlene ***** graduated university with a First-class BA Honours in International Tourism Management!


Damn that feels amazing to say, even two weeks on I am still buzzing over the fact I actually made it through university alive! University has actually been the best three years of my life - I made the most amazing friends, went on the most amazing adventures, drank my body weight in rose and vodka and I actually learn a lot about not only tourism but myself. Although it was the best three years of my life it has always had it's downside, like the stress of exams and essays, I've literally pulled my hair out as I have 500 words to write with less than an hour to the deadline and I've sat in the library eating junk food at drinking red bull all hours of the night and I've honestly thought "why am I doing this to myself" as I have a 5500 word essay to write and changed my topic TWO weeks before the deadline but here are some of my highlights.  
 
Post-uni worries:  
Was my degree worth the debt I'm in? - As you know I studied International Tourism Management, let's be honest I'm not training to be a doctor here, I don't technically need my degree but with the economy the way it is and how jobs are these days it's always great to have something to give you a boost but was it worth the debt? £27,000 in university fees and £18,000 in loans! Will I ever get my 'dream Job'? - I have two dream jobs, my first is an immigration officer and my second is traveling around the world (for free) blogging/ being a hotel inspector and getting paid to travel the world. But will I ever get that dream job? Both of which are extremely hard to get in to. At the moment I do love my job working as security in the airport (body searches, bad searches) - I'm the lady who takes your liquids away but I know I can move on to bigger and better things. I've already started paying back my student loan but when they're only taking £3 something a month it will take forever to pay back!

Will I enjoy working in Tourism? - I love to travel and I've enjoyed looking at the different aspects of holidays, travel, hospitality and so on but will I actually enjoy working in tourism?  

Will the girls and I stay close? - At the moment we all live pretty close to each other (apart from one girl) so we see each other often and even during the holidays we try to meet up or we've got holidays planned so we're always together but what happens a year after university? Will we be as close as we are now? Will we make the effort like we currently do? 

Friends:
Talking about the girls and if we will stay close in a years time
Each of these beautiful ladies have played a massive role in my life the past three years and I'd class them all as friends for life - We've had our ups and downs and fallen out and had arguments (mainly about group assignments) but they've always had my back and I know they'll always be by my side. We've traveled around Europe together and have a few more trips planned for 2017 and I'm worried but excited to see where life will take us all. 

Hopes for the future:
- I hope that my degree was worth it and within the next three years I can start working within the immigration sector, be it hm customs and excise or visas and airport immigration (i.e border force). 
- I hope the girls and I stay in contact no matter where our lives take us in the future.
- I hope to travel around Europe, Asia and the US before 2020.
- I hope to earn enough money that I can have my own house and not live month-to-month.    

Favourite university pictures:
Barry Island 2016

Just a normal day waiting for our lecturer

Cardiff 2014

First ever Christmas party

Very drunk in Cardiff 2014

My 21st birthday in Birmingham

Amsterdam 2014

Cyprus 2015

Graduation Day


OOTD:

So I've not got a great photo of my outfit but my beautiful dress is from Little Mistress via Simply Be, being me I left everything to the last minute and only picked this up around a week before the graduation day. It is a little "booby" but I love how beautiful I looked in the dress and all the compliments I got.

Dress: Little Mistress - £65 {link}
Shoes: New Look - £24.99 {link}* link is to a similar pair
Necklace: Primark


If you haven't started university yet or you start in February make sure you read Daniella's '10 Things Every Fresher Should Know' post, I wish I knew some of these before I started. I also love Jemini's blog post on 'how to get a job after graduating' which is super handy if you have just finished like me and the beautiful Deanna also has a graduate related post called 'The graduate life crisis' which I love.

Have you graduated university or graduating soon? How did/does it feel for you?

9 comments:

  1. I remember uni, it feels like such a long time ago now. In a way i miss it x

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  2. Aww! Well done you! Congratulations!
    Wishing you the best of luck in the future x

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  3. Oh wow! Huge congratulations to you. My eldest daughter is in her last year of Uni - a very hard few months ahead of her, but very exciting too. Love your photos. Kaz x

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  4. Congratulations! I graduated from Uni many years ago. It was such a fun time but after four years, I was ready to move on. Hope all goes well for you.

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  5. Congratulations! I think you'd go really far in your chosen endeavor. You have the passion, determination and the right personality. I love your OOTD outfit on your graduation day.

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  6. Congratulations on graduating and can I say I love your Little Mistress dress. I graduated a few years ago now. You will get what you want, and don't be afraid to take risks to do it, as long as you can pay the bills. I now blog and freelance on blogger outreach and I travel the world doing what I love.

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  7. Congratulations! It sounds like a fantastic future and one loaded with adventures. I love the dress by the way. x

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  8. Congratulations lovely - so amazing that you graduated xx

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  9. Congratulations! I'm in my third year at Uni now and almost there!!

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