Reflective Summary – Almost there

2023 is truly a memorable year for me. I started quitting my job at my old studio, focusing my time and effort on learning English and preparing my application for a master’s degree abroad. Finally all my efforts paid off when I was accepted to Newcastle University. Everything happened quite quickly, and I easily adapted to keep up with my new life here. Even though only one semester has passed, I have had many memorable experiences.

The first times

When I first arrived, I was quite confused with new things at the university: from teaching methods, project work to different ways of thinking about urban. They are somewhat different from the ones I was taught at home. But it’s okay, I came here to learn new things. Blogging is also among them. I have never blogged before so this experience is quite strange for me. And I guess it’s the same with many other international students.

The struggles

I have never written a blog before, so I encountered many difficulties when I first started, such as what topic should I choose, where should I start, how to write well or find the right illustrations, etc. Another thing to concern is that the pressure of scores and credits also partly makes me nervous when writing. My first blog post left me struggling with countless edits. I try to write it well or in a more extreme definition, I want it to be perfect. However, the results were not as I expected. The more I write, the worse it gets. Fortunately, the enthusiastic support of the tutors in class helped me answer many questions during the writing process, along with highly referenced blog posts from previous students. My subsequent blog posts were written in a more relaxed and comfortable mood.

Growth

I realized that blogging is a way to share one’s perspective or point of view, with a more liberal and free style than academic writing. It’s also an interesting way to hone my writing and critical thinking skills. It is not only about what we can write from what we have learned, but also about proactively learning more from outside sources of knowledge such as libraries or online documents. Not to mention I have become more proficient at editing blog posts, tagging, adding images, etc. Now I find blogging to be a wonderful experience and I enjoy doing it.

Let’s take a look back

I must admit blogging is difficult, but it is also fun. I have learned many new things after the past semester at Newcastle, not only learning in class but also learning through observing my surroundings and experiencing new things. This gives me different perspectives and feelings about the world. I’ve also gotten better at blogging, or at least I feel like that. Newcastle is truly a wonderful environment for me to learn and explore. Although there were difficulties, when I look back, I see it as an unforgettable experience.