Wednesday 26 September 2018

So Long, Farewell

It seems a long time since Eleanor arrived home at the end of her second year at university. The summer break is a long one so we get into a routine of being three again, it's quite a wrench when she has to go back.

Fresher's Week started at the weekend and though Eleanor isn't a Fresher, there are some Refresher events lined up for students in other years this week. She chose to stay at home for the weekend though so that she could work a couple of extra shifts at the little bar job she has when she's at home, returning to university on Monday.


The boot was jam packed, and this wasn't it all, the back seat was full too.

You may remember that she failed a couple of her exams and had to resit them. She's got the results and has passed them this time, coming out with a 2:1 for the year, which is a very good result overall. The good marks she got in her coursework throughout the year has pulled the grade up for her. Eleanor suffers terribly with exam anxiety, it started in school and has carried on at university too. Failing a couple of exams made her realise that she must finally bite the bullet and see the doctor. She's been given some anti anxiety medication and is being sent for counselling. I hope this will help her when it comes to sitting exams this year.

This is the last time she'll be packing everything up to return to university, how did her final year come round so quickly?

52 comments:

  1. That boot looks rather full, but think yourself lucky, mine needed a van! It seems no time at all since Eleanor returned home for the Summer. I hope she settles well into her final year and her medication can help alleviate any anxiety she experiences. X

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    1. I've enjoyed having Eleanor home for the summer, it's a nice long break so it's like her leaving for the first time again when she goes back. She's living in a different house this time with different people which she's quite excited about.

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  2. I'm sure her final year will go well! Oh my gosh - i had no idea there was even a thing such as anti anxiety medication !! I'm sitting ONE exam tomorrow - maths - and I've been crying for weeks (and every day for the last week and crying with my maths tutor plus in class, so uni are well aware of what I'm like and I'm on their watch list!!) over around the stress! I've made all my mates learn a "sit back down Kimberley" motion, if i even try and leave before the end! I'm a bit scared I'll start crying before i get into the room or during the reading time..... I've never sat multiple exams at once, so I've no idea what I'd be like then. My boys sail through to the point that it like a walk in the park.... My heart really goes out to Eleanor!

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    1. Eleanor suffers from panic attacks, which are really quite scary to witness. I'm so pleased that she's sought help now for her anxiety. I hope your maths exam goes well, I'm sure you'll have prepared for it so that should help, and as I've always told both Daniel and Eleanor, you can only do your best.

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  3. Well done Eleanor, that's brilliant. Hopefully the medication and counselling will help with this year's heavy load. The first time our eldest went to university, it took us 3 hours to unload the car! We did much better after that. x

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    1. I'm so pleased that she passed her exams this time round, it would have meant resitting the year if she hadn't. Eleanor's starting to feel the benefit of the medication, though it usually takes quite some time to work. We're hoping that the counselling will help with a long term solution. I'm starting to think that Eleanor travelled light.

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  4. The time just rushes by, they grow up so very quick. How can my baby be a mother of a 13 year old son, where did those years go. I hope Eleanor has a good final year, exams are always a stressful time. How many pairs of your knitted socks did she take with her.

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    1. I wish I could get back some of the years which have whizzed by, they do go so fast. I know Eleanor's taken some knitted socks with her, I'm not sure how many pairs though.

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  5. All the best to Eleanor for the year ahead. I hope you can settle into a new routine soon. Take care & huggles.

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    1. The house always seems so quiet when Eleanor goes back to uni but it doesn't take long for it to become the norm again.

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  6. Wishing Eleanor all the best! Keeping my fingers crossed for a successful and happy new study year. x

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    1. This final year is the most important for her, most of the marks towards her degree will come from this year so she knows she'll have to work very hard.

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  7. I hope Eleanor gets the help she needs. Its awful to have that terrible feeling of anxiety and it blows everything out of proportion not that you realise it at the time.

    Mitzi

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    1. It's worrying to think that she's failing exams because of something beyond her control when she's worked hard all year. She's been getting firsts and high 2:1s in her coursework so it doesn't follow that she should be failing exams. She's on a waiting list for counselling at the moment so I hope she doesn't have to wait too long before she's seen.

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  8. So glad to hear that Eleanor did well in the re-sit and in the end the overall result was very good. I hope the counselling and medication for exam anxiety helps. Students can only do their best knowing they've worked hard, but life can be very stressful because of the pressure of the exam system. The main thing is to talk to someone and maybe go and see someone a professional who can listen in depth to worries. Our granddaughter has told us about student casualties in her apartment block who have bottled things up. Thankfully she keeps in touch, but we still think of her all the time as she goes through her university experience.

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    1. I think it's very stressful for students. Whilst Daniel was at university, a boy in his block took his own life, and last year, one of Eleanor's friends tried to take his own life. Eleanor was the one who found him and ended up going to hospital with him as the university didn't seem to care. That did nothing for her anxiety. The boy has now left university and is getting the help he needs. I think Eleanor feels more settled now that she's reached out and is getting some help.

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  9. I sympathise with Eleanor's exam anxieties as I always suffered like-wise. xx

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    1. I think many people do suffer the same. When it comes down to it, so much can depend on the results of an exam so it's quite understandable why people have anxiety.

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  10. I hope Eleanor has a GREAT year at school this year!

    It is HARD to see them go though, isn't it?

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    1. It is hard to see them go. I think it's hard when they're at university so they're back and forth, I just get used to being on my own with Mick and then she's home again. It takes a while to get used to the adjustment of being a couple only to have to adjust to being three again when she's home. I'm not complaining though, I love having her home.

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  11. There is so much pressure on Students Jo. Glad Eleanor is
    getting some help. Well done for her results.
    Wishing her a good final year at University x

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    1. I think she feels better now she's getting some help. I'm glad she managed to pass the exams so now she can concentrate on her final year.

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  12. So sorry about the anxiety. But glad she realizes that she needs help, with this. It's just as wise, to seek help for this, as for if she was terribly tired, and needed a shot of vitamins.

    Last year! Big year! :-)

    ✨🍁🎃🍁✨

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    1. It's a very big year for her. She does buckle down and work so I'm glad she's got some help for her anxiety, I hope she'll get the results she deserves.

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  13. Eleanor definitely travels light! We had to hire a transit van for both of our girls when moving them back and forth.
    As someone who suffers with anxiety, as do both the girls, I know how debilitating it can be. I do hope that the medication helps Eleanor and she doesn't have to wait too long for counselling.

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    1. Eleanor wouldn't have fit any more into her rooms these last two years, she does have a bigger one this year though. The medication seems to be helping already, though the doctor has told her that she'll need to be on it for quite some time to feel the full effect, and she's got an appointment through for her initial assessment so I'm hoping she doesn't have to wait too long after that for the counselling.

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  14. I'm really glad to know she's getting the help she needs. I too suffer with anxiety, and while I've learned to manage it for the most part, it's never really gone and I've lived with it all my life. I hope things will be easier for her now.

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    1. I suppose the medication is a quickish fix for now but I think the counselling will be important for her to manage the anxiety in the future. I'm really hoping that it helps.

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  15. I'm glad Eleanor has asked for - and is getting - help for her anxiety. Hopefully that will help her a lot. I hope she has a great final year! :o)

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    1. She really enjoys her time at university, it's just the exams which stress her out. It's a big year for her but, hopefully, she'll get through it.

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  16. GOOD FOR HER!!! counseling and meds . I hope they really help her.

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    1. The medication seems to be helping already, I just hope that the counselling will help her long term.

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  17. Go Eleanor! Just doesn't seem possible that this can be her final year at uni! I hope she's back ok and finally unpacked, I'm sure that can take a while looking at the amount there!
    Lisa x

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    1. She's been in touch to let me know she's all settled in. I don't know where the time goes, it only seems five minutes since Daniel was just starting uni and here we are with Eleanor in her last year.

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  18. Awww i remember packing the car up like that, how come they accumulate so much stuff! Those three years at Uni go by so quickly don't they. I hope the medication the doctor prescribed does the trick with coping with exam stress, i'm sure she will be fine, but i know you can't help but worry.
    Have a good weekend

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    1. The car's never quite so full when she comes home, she seems to lose so much stuff over the course of the year. I can't believe how quickly the last two years have gone and I can't see this year being any different, she'll be finished before I know it. It's really worrying knowing that she's suffering with anxiety but the medication seems to be working so I'm hoping that the counselling will help too, she's got some big exams at the end of the third year so I hope she'll be coping much better by then.

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  19. I smiled at all the stuff in the car as it brought back so many memories of our three daughters. Hopefully the medication and counselling will help, she has done so well with the coursework and resits to bring her grades up. Big hugs to you all.

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    1. It's funny going shopping around the end of August, beginning of September, especially places like Wilko's, as you can pick out those who are doing shopping for university. I'm sure there'll have been many packed boots during the month of September. I'm really pleased that Eleanor did will in her coursework as it's brought up her overall grade, she does work hard.

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  20. Doesn´t time fly? it seems no time at all that you were posting about GCSE´nerves, do hope this year is easier for Eleanor. Maybe some meditation may help too. It´s so hard to wave them off with a smile, you get so used to certain ways. Thank goodness for modern technology enabling us to keep in touch so easyly xcx

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    1. Eleanor's struggled right through school and these first two years at university with anxiety over exams so I'm hoping that things will be much easier this year, time will tell. I can't imagine what it was like waving off the offspring when there was no technology, Skype is such a great invention.

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  21. Awww,it's must be worrying for all concerned.So glad she is now getting help.She has done well with her results.Another year starts,but they seem to fly by these days.Thanks for the lovely comments on my blog.Hugs,and cuddles for Archie.xxxx

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    1. Eleanor's done much better than we expected when we realised she'd failed these two exams, her hard work in her coursework has really paid off. It's just a shame that she struggles so much with exams.

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  22. Well done Eleanor on the results this year and good luck in the final year. I hope the new meds and counselling help to get the paper piece that is needed to show what she is capable of after all her hard work. My daughter suffered terrible with anxiety all through school when it was exam time. It's not fair that the workplace recruit on what your CV says, there are so many talented and fabulous people who miss out on jobs due to issues in their education through no fault of their own.
    {{big hug}} for you mum as you find a new 'normal' for your homelife now you are two. xx

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    1. I totally agree. A person's future can depend on how they 'perform' for a couple of hours on one particular day, there could be many different reasons why they couldn't get their knowledge down on paper but it just isn't taken into account. It's very harsh. The house is very quiet again, especially as Mick's had a lot of travelling for work this week so he's been gone early and getting home late so they've been long days. I'm sure I'll get used to it again soon.

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  23. I sat my finals in a small room with a handful of people instead of an exam hall with hundreds. Universities are very accommodating and take mental health and student welfare very seriously. My other half is a university lecturer and says there is a lot that can be done, but students have to ask for it. I hope this year is easier for your daughter.

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    1. That must have been much easier for you, it's good to hear that the university listened to your needs and helped where they could. I'm sure the help that Eleanor is getting from her doctor will definitely help this year, the medication seems to be easing things for her and I'm hoping that the counselling will do some good.

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  24. It takes a lot of stuff to make a dorm a home :-)
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. Eleanor certainly makes it homely. She's got a bit more space this year to spread out.

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  25. It does seem to have passed quickly, third year already. I remember trying to choose modules in my degree that were more coursework based than exam, I hope Eleanor finds a good source of help xx

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    1. It's such a shame that the exams pull Eleanor's grades down. She obviously knows her stuff as she's getting good grades in her coursework, it was the same at school too. Hopefully, she's now getting the help she needs.

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  26. Goodness me, where do the years go? Hard to believe that Eleanor will be in her final year.

    I'm so pleased to read that she has asked for, and is getting help for her anxiety, it should definitely help her.

    Hoping she has a good final year.

    All the best Jan

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    1. The years pass by so quickly. I'm glad that Eleanor has asked for help, she definitely needs it so I hope it helps when her exams come around again.

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