A letter to first year me: Justyna

Posted on: 8 July 2024 by Richard Finch in Student experiences

Justyna is a Class of 2024 LLB Law with Politics with a Year Abroad graduate. Here, she looks back at her time at the University of Liverpool and thinks about what she would tell her first-year self.

Dear First Year Me,

First of all, congrats on getting into Law School without even sitting A’ levels!

You probably never thought that you will start your dream degree in the midst of a global pandemic but you did and you will be fine, believe me.

Although your first year will be nothing like you could ever imagine it will teach you some invaluable lessons that you will carry you through the rest of your time at the university. Although it will be very isolated time you will learn how to learn and study at the university level. You will become independent, resilient and more importantly your initiative to sought out opportunities will grow.

Second year will be the exact opposite of the first and yet it would not be possible without that experience. Your life will go from 0 to 100 very quickly. Classes will be back in person, you will start working in the Career Studio, join societies and make friends. It will be scary at times but just embrace it and immerse yourself in the experience, just give it all a go and see where it will take you, you will not regret it. Finally, you will take a risk and apply for that Year Abroad programme you mentioned to your dad when he drove you to Liverpool for the first time. And you will get it!

Third year will not be your final, you will move to Brisbane and spend the best year of your life travelling around the continent and doing all the crazy things like climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge and Camping on the dessert near Uluru, as well as backpacking New Zealand.

You are probably reading this thinking it is a joke - so unlike you, so out of character and yet by the time you get here, it will be the most natural next step and an adventure you look back fondly. Those lived experiences will be as important as lectures and seminars and will shape you as a person you will later become. I am not saying it will be easy but easier than you think, just take one step at the time and see where this road will take you.

Now you are in your final year, a person who is confident, outgoing and happy. University will be a journey and so much more than just your studies. Your job, societies and extracurricular projects will give you fulfilment and allow you to grow as a person.

Give yourself time, patience, put in the work but don’t overthink things!

Good luck!