University Truths from a First Year 

University is not easy; I am one term in to my uni experience and as much as I love my course and friends, the life of a uni student is not always easy.

University is based on independent studying and that is not something that I and many others aren’t good at. When in uni you sit in a lecture where a person stands and speaks information at you while you make notes. Sometimes there boring, sometimes they talk too fast and sometimes it just makes no sense.

It’s then YOUR job to turn that into an essay usually between 1500 - 3000 words. They expect references from websites and books so you gotta do your library trips and all that reading, and if your not enjoying the topic that much then it isn’t fun! You spend hours procrastinating until the deadline looms and you suddenly realise you have another 2000 words to write that’s due in two days. It’s stressful, it’s tiring, it’s hard work and it doesn’t always feel like it’s paying off.


But then you see the positive sides, the friendships you make, the fun you have, the nights out you have, the extra couple of days you get off and the time you get to spend with people who are just as passionate about the subject you’ve taken as you. Because it’s based on independence you really don’t spend that much time in lectures.


Doing a drama degree means I get to create brilliant work with other people. I get to read scripts by brilliant minds and use them as inspiration for my own pieces. I get to experiment with sound, lighting, costume, text and I get to do it with some great people. Some say a drama degree should be easier, ‘it’s standing on a stage, reading lines.’ It really isn’t there’s a lot that goes behind the scenes of making theatre be the way it is today. Some clever people had to come up with basic things such as talking to the audience for it to become such a key feature of theatre, films and television.


I personally can’t talk about the struggles and highlights of living in halls because I don’t. I’m very lucky to still be able to live at home and my uni is only about a 10 minute car ride or for me 25 minutes which includes the walk to the bus stop, the wait for the bus and the actual bus journey!


Basically, what I’m trying to say is: if you can handle: hard work, deadlines and stress. Then don’t let them stop you. The fear of moving out, lack of money, getting into debt and student loan stops people from taking that massive leap but it shouldn’t. It’s a struggle and it is hard work, but I enjoy University and going was definitely the right decision. I have wonderful friends who support me and have as much enthusiasm for drama as me. Whether I’ll say the same thing in my third year when I’m stressing over final pieces and deadlines I don’t know. But right now, I love it and would encourage anyone with a big enough love for education to go. Apparently, they’re meant to be the best years of your life? Check back with me in 2021 at the end of my degree!

- Courtney -

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Many years ago, I came across a TV Show that sparked my interest with an epic theme song and a cool title I spent a good 5 years trying to find a way to watch it.


Then a letter in the post saying that as a Uni student I could have 6 months of Amazon Prime free came through my door and on its flyer was an advert for this programme. Well I was sold; I already had the fire stick, so I made an account and I knew it was the first show I was going to watch. The best decision I’ve ever made.


Buffy The Vampire Slayer is one of the best and most iconic shows I’ve ever watched. It teaches you about love, life, friendship and how to defeat a vampire during an apocalypse. It’s brilliant because it’s full of badass moments and feminism brilliance. 

Buffy is the most badass heroine even if she faces some of the toughest and heart-breaking decisions and choices. She is both wonderful and complex, she gives everything in a fight. And even though she doesn’t always like it she knows that being the Slayer is her destiny.  

Buffy Summers played by Sarah Michelle Gellar

This show follows a young Buffy as she struggles to balance life as both a high school student and Vampire Slayer. Alongside her best friends Xander and Willow, watcher Rupert Giles, frenemy Cordelia and gorgeous ally Angel she saves the world and comes across many different Demons and Vampires all who come with their own evil powers.

As the show goes on more brilliant characters are introduced, some leave, some stay, and you watch Buffy and her friends grow into confident adults who save the day at a moment’s notice. The show deals with many subjects that for a late nineties, early noughties show was beyond its time. It's fourth and fifth season give you an LGBTQ+ couple, it's fifth season deals with grief and how to cope when you lose a beloved family member. The second season introduces fan favourite Spike, a character that shows you that not everything is black and white and that forgiveness and redemption are some of the best things in life. 

A constant within the show is the caring relationship between Buffy and watcher Giles. As well as being her teacher he is also like her father. As the show goes on and the stakes get higher their bond, respect and love for one another only grows.

Buffy and Giles played by Anthony Stewart Head

Her two best friends Willow and Xander are another constant throughout the seven series run of the show. Not only do you watch Buffy grow but the two of them as well. Their life paths may change directions as they grow up, but their ever-growing powerful friendship remains. Full of both light-hearted comedy and moments that only those who have true, strong friendships will understand. Sure they have their differences and their arguments but what friendship doesn't? They are a true embodiment that some friends will stick by you through thick and thin.

(Left to Right) Xander, Buffy and Willow

For me my favourite character has to be Angel. He is dark and mysterious, totally gorgeous and is an absolute bad ass! When you first meet him, he appears from the shadows and he’s full of mystery and suspicion! But that’s what makes him interesting and his blossoming romance with Buffy is beautiful to watch on screen as they love one another and fight demons together. As the show continues, he just becomes more interesting, his backstory is fascinating and his first interaction with Buffy leaves you wanting more. 

Angel played by David Boreanaz

There is no season I didn’t enjoy, and I loved binge watching it. With every season the show gets better, the villains become more dangerous, the heroes become more complicated, the romance gets greater, the stakes are higher and the fights get better. My personal favourites are season 3 and 5. The finales are always brilliant, and you will spend your time worrying about the safety of your favourite characters. I’m absolutely gutted I’ve finished watching it, but you get through something quickly when you’re absolutely obsessed with it.


If anyone is looking for a new TV show to watch this is the one. Powerful women, romance, comedy a touch of heartbreak and some badass fight scenes make for seven seasons of brilliant TV. Now on to the spin off show Angel…

Buffy The Vampire Slayer cast reunited for 20th Anniversary in 2017 

- Courtney -