Ultimately Riley

Written By Riley T

My experience through education is slightly different and certainly a lot more long winded than most. Throughout college I played academy level basketball which led to me staying at college for a third year to complete my A-levels but unfortunately this was interrupted by the pandemic. 

When applying for university, I wanted to balance my drive for a career in basketball with my interest in the sciences and so I applied for biomedical science at three universities all with basketball programs and ended up choosing to stay local at the University of Essex. I studied and lived at Essex for a single year where again my main focus was on basketball rather than my course, however, I was enrolled on a placement year course and so the reality of the course set in rather quickly in what a career as a biomedical scientist entailed, which did not align with my personal goals (no offence to biomedical scientists!). 

After carrying out some work experience in a local GP surgery, I realized I wanted to combine my interest in the human body, its anatomy and all the different processes surrounding disease, but also working with people to help them- cliché I know. Because of this, I studied for and sat my UCAT that summer and transferred to Anglia Ruskin’s medical science course in pursuit of studying medicine. This was not a story book ending for me unfortunately as despite getting an offer, I fell short on one of the entry requirements for their transfer scheme. Hence, here I am today, writing to you as a final year medical science student, and fortunately for me, a current graduate medicine offer holder! 

My time at ARU has been extremely focused surrounding my studies and performing well enough for the reapplication for medicine, and so I have not applied to or joined any societies or social events these last three years. What I can say from my time at The Uni of Essex, however, is that university is an incredible opportunity to meet friends you never would have had before, friends which can last a lifetime.

My time at uni has taught me a lot about myself, and other people in fact. A key thing I have focused on throughout is the idea that everyone is on a different journey. Often it felt strange being slightly older than the majority of my cohort or having different expectations and reasons to most, but this way of thinking has really allowed me to take pressure off of myself and also really connect with members of my cohort, some of whom I am great friends with. Uni has shown me that sometimes sacrifices need to be made if you have a clear vision in mind, and whilst they are difficult to make at the time, they will always pay off in the end if you want something bad enough.

Navigating uni for me has massively been about balance, but not quite in the way that you think. Through these three years at ARU I have continued to play basketball and even grown into endurance sports, all of which take up a significant amount of time. Despite this, I have not let my studies slip once and maintained healthy relationships and friendships throughout. 

Ultimately... balance, to me, is making enough time for everything that matters; not just one thing at a time. Making the most out of my time each day has become an important part of my life but has also removed a lot of stress, something which I have previously let get to me. Now, as I said previously, I am able to maintain relationships, study hard and push myself physically in my hobbies without burning out at all.