My postgraduate year

My three years of uni were the best three years of my life. Of course I experienced lows (first year in halls was pretty rough) but I definitely experienced many more highs. I made some of the greatest friendships, fell in love and grew as a person. Every week there was something new - a house party, a new lecture, more scripts to learn.

So, when you graduate and move back home, it can hit you pretty hard. You're most likely miles away from the friends who lived round the corner, who you saw every day. Your housemates have been replaced by your mum, who now does things very differently to you. And instead of going to lectures, learning and performing, you're back working the same job you had before you went to uni.

In short, your exciting life can become quite mundane pretty quickly. I certainly experienced that moving back to Fleetwood, and still felt like that when I moved to Salford. I remember writing in my diary that I felt like stagnant water... after three years of learning and growing I felt like I wasn't going anywhere.

When you go to uni you keep reminding yourself that the outcome will be better jobs and more opportunities. So, when you leave, and like most people, don't get your dream job instantly it can be disheartening. Don't get me wrong, my time at the Disney Store was great, and my fellow cast members know that I adore them. However, there was always a little voiced telling me that this was not the way my degree was intended to be used.

Many people graduate and use their degrees in ways they didn't expect, and I'm fully aware that a drama degree brings many opportunities that don't seem related to the performing arts at all. But through my rose tinted glasses I thought I would walk straight into a performing job, just because I had a piece of paper saying 'yeah, she completed uni.'

I did manage to get some theatre work, but whilst it was related directly to my degree, work was sporadic, and not enough to live off. It didn't make me feel successful like I wanted it to.

I really struggled with being away from my uni friends too. Your university mates become your family away from home for three years, seeing you at your best, and worst... When you leave, you become to understand how much of a support system they were. I have lost count of how many 'this dissertation is killing me' hugs we shared. Or how many nights we spent drunk celebrating the smallest of things, like, 'thank God that tragedy essay is behind us.' You're friends will always be there for you (shoutout to Lucy and Hannah for our ongoing WhatsApp message), but the relationship inevitably changes as you're not seeing each other every day.

Of course I am only talking from my own experiences, and many people find postgraduate life a doddle. However, if you feel like it isn't what you thought it would be, and you are struggling to feel how it can get brighter, know that you're not the only one feeling that way. Keep reminding yourself that it is only one year of your life. You have many ahead of you that will be filled with love and adventure - you've just got to keep your mind open.