Before coming to Westminster University, I was under the impression that there would be many international students. However, after three weeks of being in the University, it seems evident that the University has students from worldwide. This was one of the key reasons I applied to this University because it is a very diverse place to study.
Therefore, I felt more confident to choose this University instead of the other ones. Furthermore, since I am an international student, I feel more comfortable with diverse students from different backgrounds.
Also, I was expecting my course, ‘International Relations’ would only focus on human rights and global issues. However, there are more subjects that the course covers, which is interesting.
After spending a week at the University, I feel more confident to speak in my classes. However, I know I can work on participating in class discussions a little bit more.
At the beginning of the week, I was indecisive about sharing my ideas in class because I thought everyone might judge me because of my opinion. Moreover, I felt that what if my answer to a question was wrong?
I also felt that everyone seemed to be knowledgeable about the topics that we were studying. Therefore, I thought I knew less than them. But, I changed my mindset and started thinking that the students’ knowledge of topics is not the same. Differences in ability and knowing something do not make us smarter. So, I decided not to be afraid to share my point of view, even though it’s not the best argument, at least I’m participating in the seminars, and it shows that I’m interested in the topic.
I hope to be more confident about my arguments and debate them with others in a few months. Since I’m a person who’s working to be more confident in speaking in public, my goal is to stop being self-conscious in speaking in front of people. Also, I’m expecting to be more educated in politics and international relations since I want to gain more knowledge on the global issues happening in the world.
I believe I’m more educated on human rights and activism, but politics is one of the things I want to be more educated about, and I hope my course will help me achieve that.
A long term plan is a goal that you plan to guide yourself in achieving that goal step by step. Of course, it takes a long time, sometimes one year or five years, to reach the goal; it depends on how you organize it and the target you’re trying to achieve. So far, I don’t have a goal to achieve after University, however, I’m starting to think about it, and I’m sure that after I complete my undergraduate, I will know what to do with my life.
Tamara De Giorgi Pearce, Year 1, BA (Hons) Politics and International Relations.