Podcast: Finding Joy as a Student
By the Library Student Team
This is part of ‘Life at University’. In this podcast Bethany and Annabelle from the Library Student Team discuss how to find joy as a student, as coming to university can be an exciting new adventure, but also comes with stresses and expectations. Bethany and Annabelle discuss their experiences of this, also offering advice on how to look after your mental wellbeing and their favourite ways to find moments of joy in their everyday as a student in Manchester, whether its joining a society or making the most of the many things the city has to offer. Last updated: July 2024.
TRANSCRIPT
Podcast Transcript: Finding Joy as a Student
Speakers: Bethany (B) and Annabelle (A) from the Library Student Team
A: Hi, my name is Annabelle!
B: Hi, my name is Beth, and we are Student Team Members at the University of Manchester.
A: We’re here today to talk about how you can find joy as a student.
So, a little bit about the two of us: I’m Annabelle, I’m a final year student studying Politics and Spanish, as part of that course I did a year abroad so I’m back in Manchester now for the first time in a year which has been lovely.
B: (*Laughter*) Nice! I’m Beth and I’m a master’s student. I’m doing a Masters in Global Development with Environment and Climate Change development in particular which has been as heavy as it sounds! (A: *Laughter*) But it has been great, I’ve been loving it, it’s been a big year, and my summer is still going to be very busy but I’m enjoying it a lot. So, I can definitely find joy in that too! Finding joy in everything hahaha.
A: We have different experiences but lots of similarities. (B: hmm) We’ve both been in the team for a short time really since the start of the last academic year. But obviously I’ve been in Manchester for 3 years and you’ve kinda only been here only less than a year.
But I think despite the fact that students have all different kind of routes that they take and differing experiences at Manchester, we all have the same and so many similarities. We’re all kind of in this strange institution grouped together and sometimes there can be moments of joy that come really easily and sometimes a little bit harder to find. That’s my experience anyway.
B: Absolutely. I do agree with that as well especially being, like you mentioned, new to the area being a master’s student I think it’s a different experience like in a way I think it’s a lot. I think it was having to juggle moving to a new place which already is a big change in your life anyway but then also taking on a really academically heavy intense course which took up a lot of my time. So it meant time where normally as a fresher first year was spent making friends and you’re getting to do more activities and stuff but I feel like my time had to be spread out. I had to be sort of more meticulous with how I was using my time.
It definitely got a lot harder, but I think there were still a lot of ways to find joy. Especially the people on my course all recognised that it was a shared experience and we all kind of got a way to organise things which can make it more of an enjoyable experience and the lecturers were always very supportive. So, there’s definitely ways of finding joy even in really difficult periods. It’s a good thing, it’s a good thing!
A: I think it is something that university as a concept and starting is so exciting but at the same time really brings a lot of pressure and really difficult moments which I know everyone experiences I know I myself did. I found a lot of pressure moving to university for the first time with everyone back at home telling me these were going to be the best days of my life. That was a really exciting prospect but also super scary.
B: Absolutely, yeah!
I think as well, being a master’s student, you also still see the younger years and the way they experience their transition to university and you kind of see the differences I suppose. I think I saw a lot of people having their first few months being so fun and people at home were asking ‘how was all the Freshers time?’ and everything and I didn’t feel like that really existed for me, but I also feel like I did have it though. I feel like I did find joy in that period in different ways I did love the course and found joy through that.
And I think it also there are a lot of difficulties too. I think especially when you are working at a higher academic level. There’s an essence of guilt I suppose you feel guilty for taking time out of doing things you enjoy because you have so much going on that you feel like every time you go and try something you love it’s like now, I have to get back to all this other stuff I have to do. There’s a lot more.
I always felt that guilt I think even at undergrad, but I think especially post-grad you do definitely feel a lot more than you should because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with taking time for yourself and doing things you love.
A: Absolutely!
B: It’s integral really, you can’t function without- I think I’ve realised that definitely this year, one of my biggest progressions as a person is me realising you genuinely can’t function without having joyful moments. (A: Yeah!) You can’t go through university without doing the things you love. If you get rid of those then you can’t even do the academic things you want to do either (A: Definitely) because your brain just won’t be in it, your heart won’t be in it and the things you need to do just won’t progress in the way they are supposed to.
A: Something that I think, like, an idea that people talk about a lot is this pouring from an empty cup and re filling your cup and I love that analogy because it works so perfectly. Imagine you wake up you’ve had a restful weekend, you have a full cup and suddenly you’re thrown into lectures and labs and seminars or whatever it may be, you’re working on assignments, thesis, whatever it might be and suddenly you’re draining your cup really quickly. You can’t just keep doing that, you can’t just keep pouring from that empty cup. You need to find moments of joy where you are refilling your cup, doing something you enjoy and not feeling guilty for it. So, one of the biggest things is exploring Manchester I think and for new students whether you’ve never been to Manchester before or you’ve visited a couple of times. There are so many amazing things you can do that don’t have to cost a lot, that don’t have to take up a lot of time and that’s a massive perk of the city. For those home students who have lived here all your life it might be an opportunity now to explore parts of the city you’ve never been to before and I loved that when I first joined. The opportunity to just go and see loads of new things and they were on our doorstep being students here at Manchester.
B: Absolutely. I think that’s a really exciting thing. Especially in my undergrad, I was in a smaller city so coming here was so exciting there was so much going on like you said its great because there are such an array of things to do and you can do all kinds of activities and they can be sort of free or expensive but you can work around your own personal circumstances and you can do so many things. And I think especially when it comes to taking those integral breaks where you take time for yourself it’s super important to get out and try some of those things and I think taking time for yourself can look different to a lot of people. Just taking that time to do something you love and for me it’s running and If I get to go out on a run that just makes my day so much better or even reading. I love reading especially in the sun which we’re getting in increments, it’s happening! But in the sun that we do occasionally get in Manchester. Prepare for the weather guys when you do come it’s very up and down. I think even when you get those nice snippets of days, I think it’s just the little things. I’ve realised when I was always looking for those joyful moments as a master’s student I think I was looking for organising massive activities, I’ve got to do loads of things but I think in a way if I have a busy exam period or a really stressful work day, I’d just look for the little things that brought me joy. Even if it’s just sunny outside, I’ve got a whole day of doing work but that’s just made me feel better or even just starting my day with my morning coffee which is very important and necessary then having my nice breakfast that I love or even just doing that and sitting there and watching an episode of something or even just starting my day in that kind of way brings me joy that just feels interesting. I think joy can be a small-scale thing it doesn’t have to be a big scale thing, but I think it’s important to really, I guess kind of be introspective in yourself with what does joy mean to you. I think it means so many different things to different people but for me I think what I’ve realised this year it’s definitely in the little things that you don’t always see unless you really think about it in the moment.
A: And I think that idea of mindset is so important and so interesting and something that everyone struggles with. You wake up and you just not feeling regardless, everything could be going right and some days you just don’t feel your best especially if you have additional pressures — you’re thinking about work you have to do. Students are facing a lot of pressures now more than ever. I think money is a big rife for lots of people [B: Absolutely]. The prospect of kind of finishing your course and looking for jobs is I think always on people’s minds so the importance of your mindset can be you know it can be vital day to day. And one of the biggest things that I’ve found in dealing with moments where I’m just kind of having a low day mentally and just not feeling my best, is leaning on other people which is definitely almost a skill in itself to learn how to do that because I think often we try to be independent and be able to resolve all of our issues independently and alone but the reality is again about pouring from an empty cup, if you’re not feeling you’re best it’s just going to be harder to find joy day to day. So think about the people you have around you, whether it’s new friends you’ve made in Manchester, it’s course mates, it’s friends, family at home, but also academic staff and don’t forget that we have loads of resources here at the University that are fantastic to use and you have the opportunity to develop some really positive relationships that can support you throughout your course. So, you have an academic advisor, that’s a big one and remember they’re there for pastoral things as well as academic. If you’re having a bad day you can reach out to them and the same with academic staff, of course they’re primarily there to teach you for you to learn but at the end of the day they have a duty of care to make sure you know their students are keeping well in themselves so don’t forget to utilise those resources when they pop up because you’ll meet so many people in Manchester and through the university that there’ll be someone there, someone fighting your corner looking out for you and I think that’s amazing to have.
B: It’ such an amazing thing and I completely agree with that and I’m going to sell out my mum when I say this because she always says this to me but I think I always get very worried about talking to people about things because of that whole thing you said about it’s a skill to be open to someone [A: It’s tough!], it’s a really hard thing but I think everyone, people you talk to they have been through some of the things especially when it comes to supervisors, academic advisors those kind of things, they have been in your position before even though you may think they’re going to think I’m behind on something or they’re going to think I’m just struggling so much and they’re not going to think I’m capable. They know how hard it is you know everyone’s been through the university experience they know what it’s like and I think there’s no shame in finding things hard sometimes and it’s okay to talk about those things and if anything it’s important to do that because I think it’s worse to sit with it and just keep thinking about it and then let it fester or not deal with it but I think there’s a lot to be said for doing that. I think it’s definitely a lot less scary when you actually do it than you think it will be and I’ve never heard of a bad experience especially at the University of Manchester they’ve been very very supportive, I’ve had very good experiences here and I do feel like there’s a lot of support available which I think is integral for students. It’s really good that that’s a thing that’s around.
A: That’s so good to hear. [B: Yeah!!] That’s a really positive thing and thinking about starting university for the first time you might be moving away from home for the first time, you might be having to kind of manage yourself independently, thinking about the weekly shop, making sure you have enough money, making sure you’re able to cook for yourself, clean for yourself. So don’t underestimate the things that you’re doing, and I think imposter syndrome is something that loads of students struggle with. [B: Absolutely] I know I definitely had when I started, I felt like this age-old institution of 200 years of history behind it and then there’s little old me thinking what I am doing here. So don’t underestimate the things you’ve achieved, the successes that you have already had to get you here. And yeah don’t forget about those when you’re having a tough day you’ve got a million things on the to-do list and you feel like you’re getting nothing done, remember what you already have done [B: So true] and you can share that with people as well and that’s something that I think we often we forget about. And I think it’s easy to forget about what you have already done when you focus on what you’re going to do but try and remember that. And I take joy in that, sometimes just reflecting and trying to feel self-pride which is a whole other tricky skill in itself. But yeah, remember that.
B: Absolutely! I think that’s a whole other element of joy I think it’s just kind of finding sort of a sense of pride and accomplishment in yourself. I think a lot of the times we’re too hard on ourselves. Just as a student I’ve found there are so many aspects of student life, there’s making friends, there’s joining societies, there’s the academic side, there’s expectations for jobs, and you’ve got placements you’ve got to think about that as well and there’s also so many other external pressures of cooking for yourself, all the things you have to do when you’re living on your own. There’s a lot of things to take into account as a student but I do think a large amount of joy is also just being proud of yourself for like you said again the little things that you do, like you were saying as well the little things you do in your day, just being proud of yourself for those things. There’s elements of joy in that too I think you know there’s a lot to be said for just being happy with yourself for doing the things that you do do and I think just doing one thing for yourself everyday as well just to give yourself that little extra boost of just feeling good. I think there’s a lot that can come from that and I think it’s really important and I think especially kinda going back to the societies mentioned before that’s definitely a big big thing I would say about finding joy at university. I don’t think that really helped me personally. I don’t think I would have had the same experience with that. I think my societies literally formed so many of my social groups that I cling on to when I’m at university, but they also allow you to find what makes you feel joyful. In my old university I was part of my university’s [*inaudible*] disability society and I never really been around a group of people who are passionate about that in my life before, about the environment and doing different initiatives and projects for that but through that I got to find a community of people who literally had the same thoughts that I did the same passions that I did [A: That’s amazing]. It is an amazing thing especially when you do think university is a big kind of self-growth and self-discovery period, as cheesy as it sounds [A: *Laughter*] everyone says that but it really is one of those periods where I feel like you have this opportunity where you’re moving away from home for the first time potentially and even if you’re not you still have an opportunity to do independent things and be independent from your home and try different things out. And I think definitely it’s an amazing thing to join groups and societies and at university now I’m part of Run Well which is the running group and they’re fantastic and it’s a massive community of people all very passionate and who enjoy the exact same thing obviously running and the kind of general sport side of things but it’s just lovely and I think that that does bring me joy like every Tuesday. I always have a lot of lectures and they always meet on Tuesday evening and I think just knowing I have that at the end of the day would just get me through a day and even if the lectures are really hard or I had a lot struggles and kind of got in my head about the imposter syndrome which I definitely I relate to that so much, it’s such a big thing. And I do think just knowing that I had that at the end of the day, and I always felt so much better afterwards, just getting to talk to people and that can be scary. [A: Definitely] I was very much not comfortable with that when I first came to university I feel like talking to people was not something that came very easy to me, it’s surprising to say now, [A: Ahahaha] because I can talk a lot more now but I think when I first came to university it wasn’t something that came very easy to me but I think if it wasn’t for those sort of connections with societies and just getting stuck in university life I don’t think I would’ve really discovered that or kind of built on that [A: Yeah] and I think that’s brought me a lot of joy because the connections I make with people now it’s just so meaningful even if I never talk to them again or see them again around campus just having those little snippets of conversation with people it just makes your day better . Yeah, those sorts of things are really really beneficial I feel like.
A: Yeah meeting like-minded people is something again like takes time and maybe sometimes the first people you meet you feel like maybe yeah we get on but these aren’t kind of my people but as you go along you’ll meet people along the way and as you say you’ll learn more about yourself and you’ll come to find a group of people or might be like little pockets of people or just individuals who you can find joy in those friendships and those relationships that you have and you know they can crop up in unexpected ways. I never expected you know having this part-time role alongside my studies in the library [B: Yeah] we found a really lovely team of people and a group of people who otherwise we never really would have met with from so many different courses and disciplines and different stages of university — undergrad, postgrad and I found friendships with really amazing people I never would have met before. So yeah, get stuck into the societies as scary as it can be [B: Absolutely] and take that step. Reach out find a part-time job if that’s something you’re interested in and remember that there are ways that you can find joy in connections, remember these things are individual as well [B: Absolutely] it doesn’t really need to be the really standard way. You know I’ve heard so many stories like oh I met this person at a lecture and they’re’ my best man at my wedding 10 years later [B: Aahaha that’s so nice]. Again, so much pressure but just have a chat with people. It might be online, maybe you find like a discord channel or something that really works for you to meet people and that’s a great way of finding joy in those relationships.
B: Absolutely. I do think it seems so scary but I do think it can be a lot less scary than it is I think majority of the time you know the society people the people that lead the society, the people that are in charge of those things they are just such welcoming people and they want you to obviously join the society and feel comfort in it because they are in charge of it and they are trying to promote it to students and make it an inclusive and welcoming space. It definitely is and completely valid to be scared about it but definitely don’t let it stop you from doing something which could be, like you said, could be an amazing opportunity to make a friend for life or even just pursue something that you love. I think there’s so many societies and clubs if you like. I saw a hummus society [A: *Laughter*] which honestly just made me so happy I love hummus and I can’t believe I didn’t see this earlier because that would’ve been my ideal people [*Laughter*] I needed those people.
A: [*Laughter*] I get joy just from knowing that exists you know that’s lovely.
B: I wonder what they do now though that’s my one thing. Do they watch like hummus-themed films? [A: Oh my god] Do they just eat hummus and rate the different ones?
A: Yeah, they’re doing like the best buys. [B: *Laughter*] I’ve got to find out now [B: Yeah literally] So many random things.
B: I know but that does go complete to the point where I mean I’ve got a friend who’s in Taylor Swift society which I’m sure is a massive thing. There’s literally such a range like whatever you’re interested in whatever you want to build upon there’s space for that and it’s very inclusive and welcoming from my experience. I find definitely, do not be afraid to get stuck into those things and yeah [A: Definitely] just kind of become your own person, not fit into other people’s moulds, do what you want to do, build upon yourself. All those very lovely things.
A: I think when we’re thinking about those struggles you might have as well those kinds of things can really help. If you’re having a struggle with your mental health, there are loads of opportunities just to kind of look out for yourself and support yourself. Something that for me has been a big thing, we’ve spoken a lot about connections and people and building relationships and remember that you’re not alone at all here in Manchester as a city but at the university. You know there are forty thousand students here which blows my mind. You can feel really lonely just like a drop in the ocean when you have this huge pool of sometimes seemingly academic geniuses all around but just remember that there are people out there with similar interests who’ve had similar experiences and they live in similar circumstances, and you can find them. And those connections you know it might be finding someone from your class, it might be finding someone through society, it might be being part of an Instagram page where you come across other students. Like you just don’t know where you’re going to find these people and that is a really good way to find joy to look after yourself. And just remember you know you’re supposed to be here, there are thousands of people around you but there’ll be people there that you’ll make great friendships with as well.
B: Yeah I think my main kind of experience from my personal side I think as well kind of similar to the sort of things you said like how you were saying how big Manchester is, how big university is and it’s amazing in a way but I also do remember when I first moved here it was very overwhelming because it’s such a big city, such a big institution and I think it’s very easy to feel you’re one tiny little dot in a massive area where everything’s going on. I think it’s easy to get very overwhelmed by that, but I do think also as well I put so much pressure on myself when I first moved here to meet people really fast and get settled in really fast. I think that was partially because of the year Master’s thing, I think if I was here for three years it would be a bit different. I think I definitely would recommend to the people just to kind of go easy on yourself about those things. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t make your friends for life in the first week of university. I’d say it’s not even that common that that necessarily always happens. I think people always kind of dip in and out of friends. Sometimes you think your flatmates are going to be the people that you’re going to spend the rest of your university time with and then some cases it is and then some cases it’s not. It’s okay if it’s not. You may go out and join a sports club for example and then you’ll meet amazing friends there and then they’ll be the ones you spend the rest of your time at university with. I do believe that things will work themselves out and I think it’s so easy in the first week to just panic and be like oh my gosh I’ve not made enough friends, I’ve not gone to enough societies because Freshers is incredibly overwhelming. I remember my Freshers experience there was just so much going on, people handing out leaders for everything. I wanted to try so many societies [A: Everything] because I love so many different things and I was like what do I do, do I do book club do I do this? And there’s so many different things that you can do, and I feel like it can be really overwhelming, so it’s okay to go easy on yourself. I feel like there were definitely days where I was like I just need to have a night in to myself I can’t go clubbing for the first week, I can’t do it again. It is okay to go easy on yourself and again just taking the pressure off yourself about the whole making friends thing it will work itself out. You will find your people you will find the people that you gel with and that things work out well. I just think it can be a really overwhelming experience, but I think things will work themselves out and I think it’s just being easy on yourself during the Freshers period and just sort of taking things as they come. And maybe you go to a society that doesn’t quite work for you, that’s okay there’s so many more you know just kind of going easy on yourself and realising two weeks of university is not the rest of the three years, you’ve got so much more time to work things out. Even my first year was in Covid so I had the weirdest first year experience where I had my freshers in second year [A: So strange]. So strange but it was like even just then things still worked themselves out for me. So, things can work out for us during Covid, you guys are going to be fine [A: Yeah absolutely]. During a time when you couldn’t see anyone and do anything we managed ourselves okay. Things will work themselves out and also again the fact that the student body is so massive is overwhelming but also at the same time it’s an opportunity, it shows how many people there are to meet and mingle with and have a good time with. So, there is a lot of options so definitely not a way of being too overly stressed.
A: I think there’s so many opportunities to find joy in your time in Manchester and I hope that you will experience that throughout the time that you’re here — a year, three years, beyond that. I think seek reassurance that we’ve kind of had different paths, taken different routes and we’ve managed to find joy in loads of different ways and different spaces — in the city, through our course, kind of through different connections through the university. So, from my part, I wish you the best of luck for your time here at Manchester and without putting too much pressure on it it’s a start of a really exciting new chapter and I hope that you do find joy in many different ways however they might come to be.
B: Absolutely yeah! I completely agree with the same thing as well and I’m sure that whatever direction your university experience takes I’m sure it will be an amazing one, and it will be amazing memories you’ll carry forever because I think we’ve both experienced that ourselves and I think you will experience the exact same thing which is amazing and it’s so exciting [A: Absolutely]. Goodluck with everything that comes up and thank you for listening to this little podcast [A & B: *Laughter*]
A: Thank you!
