WE MISS THE AAS COMMUNITY

CLASS OF 2018 GRADUATES NONA AND RACHEL SHARE ABOUT THEIR FIRST YEAR AT UNIVERSITY

Can you share where you both study? Were you in the same graduation year?

Rachel: Yes, we were in the same year. We are both in England, I am at the University of Liverpool and my major is “Criminology with ties to forensic science”. Nona: I am doing “English Literature and language history” at UCL in London.

So, you must love to read if you are studying English?

Nona: I like reading for fun but I think studying English kind of ruined that for me. Something I think I didn’t realize is the difference between American literature and British English literature, like old English. At AAS we would read a lot of translated and American literature and I loved that and I had the impression university would be like that. But it’s more like Chaucer, not even Shakespeare…beyond Shakespeare.

How did you choose your majors?

Rachel: For me the choice has always been between criminology, sport or teaching. I chose my major as I knew the least about it and had never had an opportunity to study anything related to psychology or forensics. It is quite challenging. I do like it but it is not anything like I expected. I think I was very naïve and thought it would be like CSI crime scene. In fact criminology is a lot of history, politics and laws.

Nona: I loved writing and I knew that inevitably I would get to practice writing with an English major. I also like the foundation that it gives me, in that I can later go on to other courses, qualifications or masters. I can either do teaching or publishing and editing or even translation or journalism.

So, what did you find hardest in life and at university?

Rachel: Adulting! I did not realize how much my parents did for me and now I have to do myself. Another thing that stressed me a lot was time management – I would not have a routine because one week I could have five lectures and the next week I could have twenty. I found staying on top of that very difficult. I was very lucky with my flat mates because I got along very well with them and I think this makes for a great university experience.

Nona: I had similar experiences, but also I had to learn my way around London. It is huge and you have to wrap your head around the fact that your lectures are in one place, team sports are at the other end of the city, if you are working that is a third spot, you live in a fourth place and work out in a fifth place. It was hard managing all that and trying to have a social life. And having a social life is crucial as it makes being away from home bearable.

What did you like most about University life?

Rachel: I feel like I have learned a lot even though I really struggled with the adulting to begin with. I also think the friendships you have at university are so solid because you are with each other 24/7. When we have an issue, I now feel comfortable to go and tell my friends. Being thrown into a mix of people that you do not know and having to live with them – it is scary. It is what has happened but I feel like it has just worked out so well in that sense, that I am very lucky.

Nona: For me, although it is quite scary, I do also like the level of independence. For most of the aspects of my first year, I was kind of self-funded. I know that I do not budget myself very well and I spend money on dumb things that I do not need. I felt comfortable knowing it was not my dad’s money. I like university also because you are meeting people at a different stage of their life, it is not people you have known for years and years. The way you interact with each other is so completely different to the interactions and relationships you have with people in high school which is very refreshing.

But it is still good to have friendships that continue from high school

Rachel: That is another thing. When I talk about… ‘Oh my gosh, I am going back to Bulgaria’, everyone is like ‘Oh, you are going back home, that is great.’ But everyone questions me ‘Why would you want to go back to school?’ I do not think people understand, the love that we have for AAS. It’s such a comfort to come back.

Nona: Every time I have been in Bulgaria since I have graduated, I have come to the school, at least once. It is nice to meet new people but also, but apart from the people who have completely moved away, everyone who still comes back to Bulgaria… we still see each other every single time.

Is there anything you miss from school?

Both: OMG…we miss CEESA tournaments so much!! Rachel: And travelling…Do not get me wrong, I take volleyball at university and we travel every so often to compete, but it is so different from CEESA. I miss being hosted.

Nona: I miss having the opportunity to do so many activities. When I think back to when I was in high school, I did football, basketball, volleyball, speech & debate, choir, theatre, art, creative writing. If you try to do even half of those things in University, I think you would drown in your own tears. What I kind of miss from school too is people knowing you and actually caring about you. I do not think I can have the same connection with any of my University professors.

Rachel: Yeah! You do not have the same relationship with the lecturer, as you have with the teacher. My lectures are like 300-400 people, he does not know any of our names and he does not care. Why would he care? I miss the small scale intimacy, whereas at University that is just blown out the window.

Did you learn anything at school that is helpful now?

Rachel: Learning to manage my time helped me a lot. I think that the IB prepared me so well for university. All my friends at university are finding the course stressful but because I have done the IB, I feel pretty confident I can manage.

Nona: It’s not only time management. My course is pretty monotonous, you read some books and every two weeks you submit an essay. Having had to submit so many different assignments during the IB, I didn’t find it that hard to constantly have to produce papers at university.

What are your plans for the next few years/months?

Nona: In the near future, something that I am quite excited about is that I am starting bartending at my university bar. It is really good pay and only students can go in there, so I will be meeting students all the time. But at the same time I am looking at potentially transferring because I am not 100% happy with my course and the city. So, I am working on transferring to a University in the US, but that is where the close community thing comes in as well – they want a recommendation from one of my professors, but I do not think any of my professors know who I am. I am also looking forward to hopefully coming back to AAS next summer to do the sports camp because that was so much fun. The best job that I have ever had, probably.

Rachel: I still do not really have an answer. I will definitely have to move house. How it works at my school is that second year students all live in a student village in houses with 5 or 6 other people. So I am really excited to do that and just see everyone and catch up.

Anything else you would like to share?

Nona: Oh, I was going to say I also design things for “Green Spirits” shop (an ethical apparel shop, started by AAS graduate Despina Katsirouba, see issue #8 of the magazine for details).

Rachel: Me too! Nona: I kind of put photography to the side when I am in London but I want to get back into it. I have definitely been thinking about doing something that involves both photography, design and then also writing in some ways.