Fast forward roughly a year and a half later, I left home once again and embarked on a 13 hour flight to come to the UK but this time, with a different reason. I had decided to study at Bellerbys after my GCE O levels as I felt that the Psychology field in Singapore was not as advanced as in the UK and I would have more opportunities if I studied University here. I have always been intrigued by how different people perceive particular scenarios and the spectrum of possibilities that is the outcome of said perception. Hence, it was quite easy for me to choose Psychology as a major in University.

Studying in Brighton meant that I had to take a airport transfer taxi provided by the school upon arrival, and travelled for another hour or so before reaching Brighton. The one thing I dislike about the UK would be the fact that travelling is even though convenient, is really long. This is very much different than in Singapore as we are a small country and everything is easily accessible within a 15 minute radius of one's home. I still remember that I was shocked at how when it was 8 am, and the sun had barely risen because it was winter. Coming into Brighton and passing the residential areas reassured me as I was afraid that Brighton would be a boring town with nothing to do. I really like the fact that Brighton has a good mix of city and countryside, especially because I was very much use to the hustle and bustle of city life but also wanted a change in scenery. I had a little bit of a culture shock initially as I realised how fast paced the lives of Singaporeans were as compared to the way of life here. The shops here opened later and closed earlier, the people here were also more smiley and welcoming and the overall way of life wasn't as stressful and fast paced as it was back home which was very refreshing.

I was really looking forward to studying in the UK, having Bellerbys being my first stop. I was mainly looking forward to the independence and freedom as well as the wider range of opportunities that would be presented, finally breaking out of the familiar bubble that is home. It was a bonus that culture in Singapore and in the UK is so vastly different yet our mannerisms are somewhat the same.

I hope to bring my Psychology degree back home and be of use in the Psychology field. Psychology and mental health is a rather taboo subject which is why it isn't very "well developed" but I do hope that I can eventually change that in the near future. Currently I plan to specialise in Business Psychology but that might change in the future so I like to keep my options open. I also really want to travel the world after I graduate. It sounds very cliché but I really like to see new places and experience new cultures. There might even be a possibility for me to travel with a Psychology degree, as part of my future job!

I had high expectations of the British education system having being brought up under it's influence. The education system in Singapore is heavily influenced by that of the one in the UK as we have adopted and then modified the British GCSEs and 'A' Level examinations. This was why I was really excited to start school here and compare the difference between the "original" system and the one we have back home. I did not expect that school here would be much less stressful which was kind of a culture shock to me. The fact that one could re-take an exam if they were unhappy with their previous mark as well as the idea of so many breaks in between classes was quite shocking to me. This was because in Singapore, the grade that you scored was "permanent" so it was stressful to do well. The idea of having so many breaks in between classes was kind of annoying initially as I felt that it was a huge waste of time. I then realised that the system here allowed much more room for improvements as well as study breaks to avoid 'burning out'.

The teaching style here is quite similar to that of back home. A difference I noticed would be that the teachers here allow us to make mistakes and learn. When you answered a question wrongly here, the teacher would not immediately call out your fault but try to understand your viewpoint before giving their judgement. This is completely different from back home as if we did not give model textbook answers, it would immediately be marked down. Class discussions here are also very much encouraged, allowing each student to share and discuss the reasons for their different views and opinions. I really like this as it helps me to gain new insights to different perspectives, especially when the class is so small. These discussions would help us to strengthen our bond as classmates even if we might have opposing views.

The small class size is something that I am use to, however I was quite intrigued by the range in age of my classmates. Even though we were all of different ages, I quite liked the fact that many of my classmates were older than me as I felt that I had a lot of things to learn from them. We all clicked well even though the youngest was 16 and the oldest was 23. It initially seemed like we wouldn't be good friends because of the age and possible generation gap but fast forward 4 months and my best friends here are both older than me. I would like to think that my entire class has relatively good relations with one another which is another perk of being a small class! There are many different nationalities in this school, another factor I really like. I managed to forge such good friendships with so many different people from various countries. Another first for me as through these international friendships I managed to learn more about different cultures and countries as a bonus! I previously had no knowledge about the UAE and the countries but now I gained more knowledge about the people and lifestyle thanks to my friends who are from Oman and Dubai. The idea of having so many nationalities in a classroom learning in English really amazes me. The fact that we all left our home countries and joined a classroom to learn about a common topic is so interesting to me. Being fortunate enough to befriend so many different types of people is something I am really grateful for.

Being a Humanities student, my weekly workload consists of essays for each subject. Though quite annoying, it is quite manageable as the teachers would normally spend the week explaining to us how we should complete our homework before granting us the weekend to finish it. I sometimes envy the Science foundation or Business foundation students as they had mere questions as homework instead of a pile of essays, but then I remember I am more of an Arts person instead of Science. I like to think of possibilities and not go live my life memorising by Science or Math textbook answers. So I guess each subject has its pros and cons, some more obvious than others.

pic- half of our 13 people class!!!!

In the UK, I have realised that all of my classes make use of the computer and the projector. Classes here are very much based on student participation and teachers are always interacting with us to make sure that we fully understand the topics. My Psychology and Sociology teachers are always showing us videos like documentaries and case studies to make sure we better understand each topic. We would then be tested on our understanding through homework which are usually worksheets. I personally really like this method as I feel it is the most effective.

Recently,I have realised that Psychology is regarded as a Science subject which contradicts with my previous understanding. I had always thought that Psychology would be regarded as an Art subject instead of a Science. This was because I personally feel like the complexity of the human mind could not and should not be simply regarded as a Science. Science subjects to me are very black and white, with no room for ambiguity and what ifs. Of course research and statistics are important in Psychology but also it should not be simply regarded as a Science and I was honestly quite enraged when applying for my UCAS, as I then found out Psychology is regarded as a BSc instead as a BA. Psychology and human behaviour is the epitome of what if which is why I was quite shocked to have found out otherwise. This is still a difficult point for me to wrap my head around.

I have learnt in Psychology alot about our mind. As it is a very ambiguous topic, there are many theories explaining each aspect of our behaviour. The idea that we all have a conscious and unconscious. The theory that each of us have an ID, Ego and Super Ego. The factors in our unconscious that causes us to seek gratification, maintain sanity and plays with the morality principle. Sociology class has help me to learn more of the issues in our current society and some debating skills as very often we have two types of sociologists sharing their view about a particular topic. For homework, we have to assess the two sides and be fair. I feel that I can now better understand people thanks to Psychology and Sociology class. I also have English which I personally feel is a bit redundant as we already have taken IELTS prior to coming but I do understand that some students might not have as strong English proficiency.

Currently, I am at the halfway point in the course. I do like what I am learning in my classes but honestly I strongly dislike the fact that the exams are so heavily dependent on the content. I currently am not sure about what else I need to know but I guess I'll soon find out. Even though I really hate the fact that Humanities subjects are so heavily content based, it is also the aspect that I love most about the Art subjects. I guess I just hate the idea of examinations because of the long duration that we have to be "fully focused" and in such stressful setting.

I was a little annoyed to be honest, having being made to study English (again). Its not that I don't like the subject but I just find that its contents are so tedious. Considering everyone had to take IELTS prior to starting our Bellerbys journey, I would assume that everyone has had certain levels of English proficiency. But I guess we can never stop learning hence the FES courses?

I enjoy English class as I feel it takes the least effort but yet I am still able to score decently. I feel like FES2 is slightly more challenging than FES1 as it includes mini presentations and require a lot of research. As the term is shorter, FES2 syllabus has also become more rushed which then adds onto the stress of what once was a manageable subject for me. To be honest, I am a little bit worried about doing the mini presentation as I am not sure about the contents but at the same time, I am excited to have the chance to find out and learn more about the UK. Unlike FES1, FES2 contains alot of coursework which I really dislike as well. I prefer the big exam at the end of the term instead of all the mini assignments that add up to the final grade but I guess this grading system is a refreshing change.

I also really like the blog portion of this module. I feel like now I properly have a platform to express myself as I really like photography but I don't like to post on Instagram as I feel that there is a certain level of expectation that I have to meet. On the blog however, I can have as much creative freedom as I like and truly express myself, which is why I believe it is also the favourite of many other students.

Our CIT teacher, Ms Sarah would start the class with a walkthrough of what we are suppose to do for that lesson. Afterwards, she would let us try it by ourselves while she goes around the class checking if we need help. Sometimes she would crack jokes in between steps which I like as I feel some of my other teachers are too serious and it the lesson would get boring without a "breather". I have mixed feelings about starting on Word as Ms Sarah did warn us that it is more tedious than Excel as it is not as convenient but also excited to learn about the different functions to sharpen my skillset.

Photo Credits; https://www.office.com/

The English module is easy for me as it is my first language. In Singapore, all of our classes except Mother Tongue is being taught in English which is why I feel I can do relatively well in this subject. FES 1 was quite easy for me as it was 70%  coursework and 30% examination while FES 2 and 3 are both 100% based on coursework. This is different from Psychology and Sociology as they are both mainly exam based though there is a small portion of Sociology that requires coursework. I feel that I understand this subject the most clearly as there isn’t much content or theories to memorise unlike Sociology and Psychology which is refreshing as I sometimes feel the workload from the latter two are a bit overwhelming.

Sociology was a foreign subject to me at first which was why I was apprehensive about it. I was initially grumbling about this to my parents as I felt that it was irrelevant to my University course(Psychology). In a weird twist of events, it is now my favourite subject! I really like this subject now (even more than Psychology honestly), as I realised that its actually much more interesting than what I first believed when starting my Humanities Foundation. It is the study of social problems  and I have realised it is very much applicable to my life as it has made me more aware of the various problems that I was once oblivious to, in our current society. Although it is rather content heavy with many theories , names and types of Sociologists to remember I still thoroughly enjoy this subject. I think my love for this subject can mainly be attributed to my Sociology teacher, Mr Matthew Wilkin. He makes lessons very fun and engaging as he constantly quizzes us to keep us on our toes.

Psychology was a subject I have been interested to study since I was about 15. It isn’t as easily available for students to study this subject in Singapore, which is why I am grateful to have this opportunity. I have realised that I don’t really like Psychology as much as I do Sociology as there is a lot of ambiguity. Though I roughly had expected this coming into the course, I did not realise the full extent. I found out that we have to memorise a lot of approaches with the various research cases and psychologist names. Even though I understand that this is the fate of a Humanities student and its just a bitter pill I have to swallow, I still feel a little bitter about it. I do however enjoy the fact that we get to learn about the different factors that may alter someone’s unconscious state. I feel like English helps me to cope with all the memorising distracts me for a bit before I have to resume looking at all the case studies and associated theories.

I have realised that I am quite a shy person who doesn’t reach out to people unless they have made the first move. This was especially hard for me initially as not only had I start my Bellerbys journey a week later than everyone, I was also shy. Thankfully, my classmates were all very friendly and welcoming which helped me adjust to my UK life better. My class has a total of 13 which is quite a small class hence it was easy to build good rapport with one another as well as with all our teachers. I would say that my classmates and I get along quite well as we are equally cheeky. For instance, we would purposely not mention that our homework was due if some of our classmates did not complete theirs or how we would drag the lesson by stalling so we would have less homework. I really like the relationship that we share as I feel that our sense of camaraderie is quite admirable.
I have learnt how to be more responsible for my actions.

Some examples would be like managing my money, doing laundry, buying groceries and necessities . I realise that it isn’t very hard for me to control myself and my compulsive spending behaviour which was initially a worry for me as I wouldn’t be able to ask for more money as easily anymore. I guess its all part of growing up. Another minor thing I realised about myself is that I have learnt how to be more adaptable. From not liking having to memorise everything for two subjects to being on ok terms with the idea, having to learn how to do my own laundry instead of having my clothes 'magically cleaned' and finally differentiating my needs and wants to properly budget my money.