Lifestyle: Why Hard Work Pays Off

To those of you reading this blog post today, I’m sorry I didn’t get round to putting up anything last week. I’ve had a very heavy mid-term set of work at University, which has partly inspired my writing today. For those of you who

have known me through school, now at University, or maybe just as a person in general, you may know that my work ethic is a pretty rigorous one. In part, this is due to the fact that high marks do not come naturally to me as some people may be quick to conclude, but I also work hard because I love my subjects, which is fundamental to whatever you are studying at whatever level in education. My message today is thus a simple one: work hard persistently and you’ll achieve.

At GCSE, I achieved a good set of grades, they were nothing particularly special as I struggled in some subjects, but they showed me what I was good at. Picking the right things from here was so fundamental in my sixth form years as the work load inflates dramatically, and is undeniably a shock to the system. A Levels were the hardest stage of education I have personally endured - though University is also difficult, the two levels differ, and this is something I’ll come back to. There is no right way or wrong way going about revision and working, but for me this had to be a constant in order to achieve my place at Bristol. While your teachers are there to support you, and I personally couldn’t have been supported more by my teachers at school, you, personally, have to dedicate time into your work in order to see the results. This may sound obvious, but unless you invest this time, you cannot expect to produce top marks. The balance between work and social life is therefore difficult, and I often found this a hard balance to strike. Sometimes the amount I was doing and the rejections I made to meals out with friends or going on holidays did make me quite unwell, so if there’s one thing I can say to you is also invest time in your own health.

To say make sure to do at least four hours of work in the evening really isn’t going to be of use to you, you need to figure out how much or how little is required as we all work at different paces and levels. Determination, hard work, constant investment in making use of my teachers, and self belief got me to where I am today. The time before exams I struggled with immensely, crying in my friends cars before my A2’s, or not sleeping properly for weeks before. It was hard. Incredibly hard. But you have to think logically and continually remind yourself you can. Never ever lose focus in these A Level years, because obtaining the grades for University or whatever you want to do in the future is incredibly rewarding.

University is not what I had in my head. It’s very different, and it is something I’m still adjusting to. Going from constant work in subjects, with continual support, to a degree which is very much up to you as to how much or how little you do with less support is challenging. Work is equally very unlike what I am used to. The days of hearing AO1, 2 3 or 4 are long gone, and this still troubles me somewhat. In first term I still aimed high [somewhat naïvely], I worked hard and yet I wasn’t seeing the results. I saw people going out every night of the week, completing their assignments the night or hours before the deadline, obtain higher marks than me, and this was so mentally tough to deal with. I was focusing all my time, as I had done at A Levels, and this simply wasn’t working. This ultimately made me feel like I had really made the wrong choice about what I was doing, and what University I had chosen. But you have to persevere, you have to gage what Universities are looking for, even if it takes a while.

Slowly but surely you do begin to see what’s going to get lower and higher grades - and don’t be put off by never seeing above 75 - if even that - ever again. This is normal, completely normal, and I wish I had known this before. What I will however say to you if you’re in Upper Sixth now, or even if you’re a current student at University, is that I wouldn’t have changed what I have done this year for a second. A lot of students like to freely use the term ‘first year doesn’t count’, and whilst this is true, this should be time for making important mistakes as opposed to careless mistakes without counting towards your overall degree. I have learned so much from still putting all my energy in to my work, that others may have to quickly adapt to next year. I’ve joined societies, I go out with my friends, but this hasn’t taken over, allowing me to take this time to learn in how to get things right - and more importantly, wrong.

This, I am aware of, is all quite a personal thing, and I’m still learning now as my work isn’t perfect, and truly never will be. We continue to grow nevertheless, and it’s up to you to make the difference. Never lose sight of something you want, push yourself to get the grades, apply to places that people may say are out of your reach, make your education matter and make yourself proud.

All my LittleMauve Love,

Hannah x

Disclaimer: All quotes taken from Pinterest.