Meet: Hanna - English Literature (soon-to-be) graduate

Hello readers of One Oh One! My name is Hanna and I am currently pending a degree in English, literature and graduating in July from Leeds Beckett University. I am currently still living in my student house in Leeds, with plans to move to London next month... and have no idea what job I'm going to be working two months from today! My life is in major limbo right now, but... first, how did I end up where I am?

Since a young age, I am grateful that my parents have always allowed me a free reign over my own educational decisions, teaching me that the subjects I enjoy are those worth taking on. Therefore, my subjects of choice have always mirrored my interests, rather than reflecting one specific career path. Like many, I went to uni because, well, what else was I supposed to do... become an adult at 18?! I saw university as an opportunity to grow as a person, and this is absolutely what I have experienced over the past three years. My interest in literature has ballooned and my love for language and writing has grown massively. I wrote a ten-thousand-word dissertation as a product of my degree, and within it, I explored the ways that contemporary literature engages with nature. Reading specifically in terms of ecological concern in an age of climate catastrophe and extreme human pollution, I concluded that it has become necessary for literature to engage with nature in this way. I believe that literature surrounding environmental concern can broaden our activism for the planet, and writing this dissertation inspired me to begin writing nature-centred poetry myself, with an undertone always on the beauty of natural phenomena that might soon be completely lost. I look forward to sharing with you my own creative work.

So... what now? As I mentioned earlier, I will be moving down to London next month to live in a house with friends and my boyfriend. I have absolutely NO idea what life has in store for me, but I don't mind (that is, not yet I don't...) I am excited for such a bold move down south (havin' lived all me life up int'north) and I am looking forward to sharing this move with those of you who might be considering a crazy-postgraduate-change-of-environment!

Attempting to hold little expectations of what the near future might hold, my rough 'plan' over the next few months is to:

1) Get Han down to London. In one piece, desirably.
2) Find ANY job (or three) that will cover rent.
3) Build up a portfolio of freelance and creative work. I will do this in my spare time and hope to gain success in the world of freelance, as well as, of course, for a couple of extra bucks.

That's about it for now! I am glad to be sharing with you all at One Oh One the struggles and pleasures that I will no doubt find myself tangled in in London, and hope that my reckless life-choices can bring some calm to those of you who might be panicking. For now, however, I will sign off and continue living off the dregs of my student loan, and make the most of not having a job yet...!

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Meet: Rebecca - Psychology graduate (BSc, MSc)

Hello! For those of you who don't already know me, I'm Rebecca. I'm 23, I have an undergraduate degree and a (soon to obtain) postgraduate degree in psychology and I'm from Manchester! *sorry, I couldn't resist the urge to turn that into a quiz show introduction*. And I am the gal behind One Oh One (alongside my friend, Lucy - who you will be meeting soon). I've already posted about what One Oh One is, and what you can expect (which you can read here) but in a nutshell, I'm going to take you on a trip down memory lane to tell you a little story about how I experienced the transition out of university. 

I bloody loved my three years at university, and before I went, I had NO idea of what I had planned afterwards. I think I only went to university because so many people were going and it felt like the next step after college. And so when it came to a few months before graduation, I thought 'shit...' okay, now I really need to think about what I want to do now. And as hard as I tried, I couldn't hide from those 'so, what are your plans for after you graduate?' questions. Internalising that, I started to plan. I liked writing and was writing for our student magazine at uni, the local paper in Huddersfield, and online publication, The National Student. I thought, okay... publishing, let's have a look at that route. After a lot of emailing and sending cover letters and CVs to so many independent publishers in the North West, I managed to secure two internships at two publishing houses for over the summer. Despite loving both of them, I felt this guilt that I had been studying psychology for three years and was going to 'throw it away' for a career in publishing. And what would people think about that?! It would be such a waste of money... But I didn't have to think too long about a career because I managed to secure funding to study for an MRes at my university. Ahhh, one more year of blissful ignorance and no need to plan for my future just yet. 

Whilst I was in the weird bubble of almost out of education, but not - studying away from the campus as it was a research MSc... I had moved back home with my mum and her partner. And boy, was that a struggle. It took so long to get used to being back in my childhood home, under my mum's roof and rules. Being told, 'don't be going to bed too late', 'don't forget to set your alarm' etc., I was 18 again. It was tough to feel as though I had failed, although I had zero funds to move out. I missed my independence. But I got used to it, and of course, I don't want to live with my mum forever, but at current, I am happy and grateful it is giving me the chance to save up money to move. 

Whilst carrying out my research into the transition out of university, I realised that transition was an area within psychology that really interested me. I got in touch with my old sixth form out of curiosity to see if they had any work experience available, explaining my interest was in transition and facilitating successful transitions. I didn't expect anything back, but after a couple of weeks, I received a reply to say that they were actually looking to hire new staff members and would I be interested in going and speaking about the role. Long story short, what began as me enquiring for work experience became me being hired on a contract as an Educational Support Assistant! I was still carrying out my research when I began working full-time and was finding it difficult to balance the two, having to drive up to Huddersfield for meetings with my thesis supervisors. But after work agreeing to make changes to my contract hours until I completed my thesis, I was able to successfully balance a job and my studies and at that point, I knew I was going to be okay once I finished my MSc. 

Working in a learning support role completely unexpectedly and off plan has opened so many doors and provided me with so many developmental opportunities... and I've realised what I want to do next. And it has been difficult to get used to the expectations of what my life after university is supposed to be like - both from myself and others. What kind of job I'm expected to get, how I should travel the world before I settle down, how I should not travel the world and should get onto that career ladder, when I should be moving out of my mum's home, what kind of money I should be on etc., etc., And what I say to that is, SCREW THAT. Screw the expectations, screw your own pressures, life in the real world is messy, we don't have a clue what we're doing because, to be fair, we've never really been prepared for it. (What is a mortgage? What is tax? How do you pay bills? How do you work full-time without feeling like a slave to the system? What is a 'proper job'?) It's going to be messy, and it's going to be difficult, but how you handle your next steps after university is no one's business but your own. 

And One Oh One is here. A platform for advice sharing, for graduates to share their own stories about their transition. And for me to share my research, to help those making the transition, and those struggling with adjusting to life in the 'real world' feel prepared to tackle it. So please get in touch, please email me with your advice and tips, and your stories and your creative work and help me to create a space for graduates to come together and realise that we can survive outside of our bubble of education.

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Welcome to One Oh One!

Hello! Welcome to One Oh One, and the very first blog post of many to come. So, what is One Oh One? To explain that, we need to rewind back to September 2017 - when I (Rebecca) started my MSc research in psychology. My thesis topic: the transition out of education. I can't tell you how many times I would come across articles about the transition out of university and how many people were struggling with some aspect of it. And so when it came to researching the literature, I was taken aback at how limited the research into the transition was in the academic world.

My research involved me interviewing 20 different participants from different degrees about what their transition out of university was like. The similarities across all accounts were that no one was prepared in the slightest for their safety blanket of education to be pulled from under them. Leaving university means letting go of an identity you've held throughout your educational journey - 'student'. You've come out and you're now a fully fledged adult and that comes with expectations. There's the pressure to get a 'proper' job, to save for a mortgage, to be responsible... but do we even know who we are without our 'student' label? Do we know what it means to be an adult, and if we do, do we have the freedom to be an adult? Or are we back living with our parents, being told what to do? Sure, it's only temporary, but it can be incredibly frustrating to feel like you've taken a complete leap back to who you were before your taste of freedom. This transition is perhaps one of the biggest transitions we will make in our lives. We had had everything planned out from this moment on one linear path - school, college, university and now, well, what next?

And so, the idea of One Oh One was born. One Oh One is a place for graduates to come together, to share their journeys on a platform that can be accessed by other graduates. It's a platform to showcase work, to share advice, to realise that you're not alone. It is also a place for me to share my research findings. It's a project for graduates built entirely by graduates. And it can also help those soon to graduate prepare for what to expect. And sometime soon - I'm awaiting the funds to do so - One Oh One will be a printed magazine, with every aspect from the design of the magazine to the writing inside will be the work of graduates.

One Oh One will be a guide for the other parts of the transition that perhaps you weren't prepared to face. Like having to move back home with your parents, or having to work a job you don't like (or doesn't require a degree) because you need the money. I want to create something which can help those graduating, and those new to the transition, feel that they know what to expect because it isn't smooth sailing. Having a degree, unfortunately, doesn't guarantee you success, or a good job. There are many obstacles along the way that you need to be aware of so you are ready to face them. So keep your eyes peeled, because it's coming! And if you are feeling the graduate blues or cheesed off that life after university isn't what you expected, please take comfort in the fact that no one else knows what's going on either. And I hope you take further comfort in knowing that I am hopefully paving the way for a lot more research to come, and with your help - we can offer a resource that can help many graduates along the way!

P.S One Oh One is also the work of my friend and fellow graduate, Lucy Fegan. We will be sharing our transitional experiences soon on the blog.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR CONTRIBUTORS. If you are a graduate and would like to share your transitional experience/offer transitional advice/would like your work featured (perhaps you're a creative writer/photographer/illustrator) please get in touch: oneohonemag@gmail.com. Similarly, if you feel you could contribute to the magazine development in the near future, drop me an email!

If you would be interested in me sending you the findings of my research paper, please get in touch with me over email: Rebecca.Moynihan@hud.ac.uk, or comment down below and let me know!  Follow my blog with Bloglovin