Foundation year student, Lewis Melia, shares more about the experience of commuting to university, and student hosts Danny and Tiff share some of their stories of the journey.
Foundation year student, Lewis Melia, shares more about the experience of commuting to university, and student hosts Danny and Tiff share some of their stories of the journey.
Hi. And a warm welcome to series two of the Student Connect podcast. I'm Danny. A second year stuff, the uni student studying sports and youth coaching. I'm Tiffany, a second year film, TV and radio student at STUFFS. This podcast is created in association with Staffordshire University and hosted by our student Communication Ambassadors team. It's a student that podcast which shares the experiences of students progressing through university education and inviting experts from a variety of life topics. The series will focus on the stories from our community and turning up the volume on underrepresented groups because everyone has a story to tell. Along the way, we will endeavor to share honest stories, sometimes too honest to help to educate and support those who may also be going through similar experiences. There may be some sensitive topics discussed. We feel these are important to share, to raise awareness of these issues. If at any point we use incorrect terminology, please rest assured that this is part of us educating ourselves and not intended to cause offense. And so, without further ado, let's get started. So what you know about an alt I asked you this last asked you this last podcast. Is this more stokie tongue? Yeah, it's like a normal conversation. Right? Okay. Sorry, Aracely. How have you been in this past month in general? I've been quite good, you know. That's good. Yeah. So it's always good to hear. Yeah, So it's good to hear. It's been nice. I had a nice, like, break. That's good. Chilled, like. It was nice to get away. Yeah, because it was a bit stressful before Christmas at uni. So call just work or people. Although people. People which then relate it to the. Oh my God. It was a whole situation. Getting a sense of a group group kind of project work kind of thing. Yeah, I'm a magician. I am a mind reader, so it was nice just to. The only person I really spoke to was like, people within my inner inner circle. Yeah. So it was a nice. Do you? Yeah. Yeah. Away from everything. What about you? Um, excuse me. Alphabet at f of about how holidays breaks off. That's not a Christmas time. Yeah, I'm very ill. It was only a cough, really. But still, it was. Yeah, it was just. It was just a bit annoying being on Christmas Day. It's not. It's not ideal. It's not ideal, but I feel like I'm always worse when it's on Christmas day. Oh, yeah. Like to the build or I love the build up to Christmas and like, I was loving it. And then literally, like the day before Christmas Eve, I was like, Oh no, I can feel, I can feel it last minute. Oh, no. And then it hit properly on Christmas Day and it ruined everything. And I just sat in a dark corner in my room and cried. And then on top of two removals that I got and I wasn't feeling well, you know, things are looking up. The new year. New me. Yeah. Speaking of that, have you got any New Year's resolutions? Do you know what? I wasn't going to do one, because I never I never keep to them. But then I was thinking, I'm like bi. Like my boyfriend's obsessed with, like, old, like classic films. And I'm a bit even though I'm a film student, I'm a bit like kids film. Okay, that's okay. So I've come up with a new resolution. I'm going to watch loads of new classic films that I've never watched before and not just watch the same like five films. Yeah, Yeah. And so not like comfort Zone. Yes. So far I've watched more new films and I have old films and I've like, I've watched that many that I think I've watched more than have been Disney. Yeah, so far. Yeah. Some drama. Any standouts? Any other ones? I don't know Why would see how they ruin that A new ones. Okay. It's like it's a fairly new it's like a comedy murder mystery. Right. And you know how everyone's obsessing over knives out glass, onion? Yeah. I've watched the first one. I watched the second one a second one was amazing. That's probably better in terms of like. Like create in the film. Yeah, like visuals. But see how they run. Like the whole like, structure of, like, just watch it. I need people to watch it because I want to know who's watched it. And I'm like, itching to talk about it. But yeah, You got any resolutions? I have a controversial opinion regarding and New Year's resolutions. I don't see why I should wait till the New Year to change something about our rhythm. Eventually. But why can't you just decide right on Thursday on a random Thursday afternoon? Unless the new Year falls in a phase and the points are stupid? But you know what I mean? On a random day that we walk on, you just go, right? I'm going to do death differently about my day. You don't kind of see why just a lot. Wait till the new year. But I guess I do see why people some people do do that now. I've never had never not had a New Year's resolution before. But yeah, I don't know. I just like to have the mindset of instead of like, wait until next week, not going to do it the random day and stuff. When you said controversial, I thought it was going to be worse than the whole. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. I psycho probably not the right word for. No, it makes sense. Yeah, it's a bit like pushy isn't it. Like. Yeah. And that sort of thing as well. Like you shouldn't be pressured into, like, changing something about yourself, I suppose. Like we can always better ourselves. But you don't have to necessarily, like, change. Yeah, yeah, yeah. High society for you book. So this podcast is regarding and committing students. So within the UK there are 60% of students who are full time UK undergraduate students and they are living in parental or guardian homes and these are essentially known as commuter students. Yeah, so I'm in commission it myself, right from Birmingham. Birmingham isn't that far really but. Mm. Yeah. Well it's not walking distance, I mean don't have no business. Yeah. So I chose to commute purely because I wasn't ready to leave home like, but I knew I didn't want to go to uni in Birmingham recently because it just didn't really offer the course I was looking for. And so when I found stops, which obviously did the course I wanted, but then also is only like an hour on the train. Yeah. Like I'm not going to force myself to, you know, make that step if I'm not necessarily ready for. Yeah. When I can have as Hannah Montana would say, the best of both worlds. Right. I like to, you know, I mean, I think yeah, it's, yeah, it's a bit of a tricky one interview, especially for like younger students because it is a very hard decision too, because, you know, I mean, the youngest you can be to go to university is 18. I mean, when I was like 18 or 20 now, I didn't know I couldn't make decisions for myself. So like, you know, being if you do feel that can be quite overwhelming as to what you are wanting to do, I won't try to worry about it too much because again, you know, still young and yeah, it is a daunting, um, decision. But today we are pleased to discuss this topic further and we are delighted to have a guest of us, a mature first year student who commits to Tufts University, if you'd like to introduce yourself. Yeah, Yeah. So my name's Lewis. I am a foundation student for computer games development. My pronouns are he, him and and I am commuting from Warrington. So if anyone. Okay. Yeah. If anyone doesn't know what it is. So for those. So if you basically pull slap sort of a pin right in between or dropped a pin between Liverpool and Manchester, you pretty much get Warrington. So I mean, geography has never been my strong point. So I'm just going to I'm only really familiar with Warrington. This is just my memory of it. And IKEA, all my big IKEA, IKEA and Warrington Rylands Football Club are another carry ons off it. That's it. That's the only two things I can really make from that area. The big IKEA. I actually work next to the Big I. I do I work at Marks and Spencer where I am. So. So yeah. Everyone knows everyone you love in everyone knows big. I love it. I love the fun for, you know, for IKEA. I think it's very convenient. Yeah, but I've only ever been once I've been up here at Angel's. You have to plan it because you have to go from start to finish, don't you? Yeah. It's not just a job, is it? Yeah. No, I've never been like I didn't even buy anything. My best friend found out I'd never been to an IKEA and that she just walking around, doesn't it? You often when you get past one thing, there's no going back for. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. They've got you. They've got like school, like my second. Just go ahead. Want my system, get into the classrooms. That's what it felt like. I got flashbacks, like, you know, just not the motion that was missing. Oh, God. Oh, dear. So, yeah, loose. If you wouldn't mind if you just tell us a bit more about your course and why you chose to go. Yeah, So. Yeah, so I chose to come to start. Really? It kind of up and either more going or choosing to go to university was sort of like around maybe a year ago or sort of, well, a bit more on that now. Started in September and about a year and so 2021, the back end of I've been through like bouncing between a few office jobs and it kind of just reached a point where I saw turnarounds, Matt, and I was like, listen, like, I'm not you know, I'm not where I want to be kind of thing. And it's like, right, what do I do? So I actually and this probably ties into the mature student thing as well. I went to one of the local colleges and and they spoke to me and said students over 25 a clusters decline apply and independently actually get the MUX maintenance loan. So I know how I think young people household incomes taken into account and that kind of thing the that after 25 even if you still live at home which I am, you still clozapine independently so you get that that money so straight away I was like right okay possible thing to do is I know the system so, so yeah. And I had no clue until I obviously did a little bit of digging. So I deal for people to, to know that I think we must listen to you thinking of obviously communism maturity might be something that they voice a bit more. Yeah, that's the first I've ever had. I don't know whether they do it for a reason. Not to be cynical, but they want people. Yeah, before 25 that maybe that's my own thinking, but yeah, so I, I had that happen and then it was like, Right, I'll discuss this with family, discuss it with sort of the Privy Council of my friends and stuff to see what they think and, and then came to the decision, right. What do I want to do. Because I think in going, you know, you do I do support which I do not enjoying do a music or do film TV massively into and then inside. But I also love video games that sort of like the four things I write. So how to dig around and ended up being sort of between money and here I always knew in my head I was going to commute. Yeah, I didn't want to live out probably one as a mature student and to because of previous that it might touch on later and but yeah I always had in my head out commute and then looking coming to open days and coming to stuff's just the general vibe for the games course is the sort of the course content and how it related it more sort of real world and building game. Robin Mum that fell a little bit will teach you the technical stuff but not necessarily relate it to building a game. Yeah, bringing back kind of thing. So a sort of sort of that in combination with another thing which was parking. So I'm looking at the price of parking. So here absolutely sound. I think it's about 45 quid. Yeah. That'll pay for I think it's like the free, free terms like free or whatever. I think for me to park in Manchester, it's so, so I thought that might have been an on site sort of man that. Yes. Count. Did you have to park in an NPC and for the year just one year. Not like a whole unit for the year I think it was £999. You're go I know so so much is so as much as parking the price of parking shouldn't influence your you know you need decision it did go some way to consider yeah made me think I did look at that as well. To be fair I didn't drive Yeah it's yeah in the future I mean now that I think about in terms of like petrol costs and that even if I did drive, it would make more sense for me to get training because it's cheaper. Yeah. Yeah. But because obviously with being a film student and we've got camera equipment and stuff, having a car would mean that if we need to go out and film somewhere, I could like drive in for film day with, for that the parking on foot. It was really good when I was looking at it for this uni because I was working and for, for some things like you get it for free, you don't you if you live a certain amount. Yeah. I think you doing. Yeah. There's like a, like a permanent high paying 45 possibly to have a low. I don't know because I think my mate mentioned something about like there's a permit thing that you can apply for but I'm not, I'm not like too heavily informed. So check that out. Yeah. You give me false hope. Yeah, I mean, I heard I, I just totally I hope I'm going to look, I'm going to make sure you check that. Yeah. Thank you. I was say I was like, I'm making sure. So. Yeah. So basically just want to just know a bit more of like how Viacom basically their conclusion and like how's it going really on how you find it. So yeah yeah no I think I think coming to uni because I made that decision sort of like over a year ago. Yeah, obviously it's been for a few months now. What a made it a year in advance. I could have probably rushed it through and came last year. Yeah. Well I think with you know, with where our was I probably would have been a bit silly to try and rush it through and Newcastle through because I only saw the decided in late August, September. So it would have been a Yeah. Would have been in moderation. Probably would have got to come Veronica Clear and, and stuff. So I gave myself that year and then like I said I work part time, I went full time there through a friend knowing that I'd be able to sort of go part time so quite good with good with that sort of thing. So yeah, so yeah it's been no, it's been, has been mega I think the drive in has been easier than what I thought it was going to be. You have you, haven't you had the M6 northbound, all southbound thinking God it could be a bit of a nightmare. Certainly not like this semester.
I'm starting at 9:00. So obviously. Yeah. So obviously having to sort of like self a little bit whereas all the time is up. Late last term I was sort of either 10:00 or even like 2:00. So I can sort of avoid not yeah, it's not that rush hour. So it was nice out the park and as well because like when I'm I'll be walking along past the two big parks on them the like the college side and like as I keep saying since I'll fly when I drive after court tonight, if I, if I, if I'm leaving the house I'm not getting a parking space that's a coach. I think one of them, one of the lecturers told me there is very limited parking because most most of us over in Cup Moon. Yeah. Sort of around that way the parking that's next to Pavilion I think the burrito rice box. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That one there in front of the mela am I make my is informed. Yeah, yeah yeah. Right next to it like yeah yeah they'd say so they said listen if you want a space there which would be more ideal for me because that's where the majority of my stuff is going to have to turn up, you know. But they say, and I'm like, Oh, I'm not doing that
for like a 10:00 hour to park. I'm a bit like, I've not even tried yet. Starting at nine this semester, I might give it a go, but I can always get one on the only road, the far side. So but yeah, I actual course contact and everyone's been been going amazing. I think like I said making that decision sort of over a year ago there was that time for maybe a little bit of anxiety to build up. Say Yeah, it's the right decision that I've made kind of thing, but I am. But yeah, even though I found last semester really difficult, it was an enjoyable, difficult, if that makes sense. I've enjoyed being back in it, like adapting to it. Yeah. Because of course, I think as a mature student coming in at Foundation, I, I had to because I had the UCAS points, but not in the necessary areas. I think I needed maths and I'd say, Oh yeah, I did my level. But you know, we don't talk a lot because I dropped out after like a year and I was terrible and, and I did music and sport college so I didn't of it in the right area. So I had to, I had to come in at foundation no matter what. Yeah. Probably benefited in a lot of sort of a blessing in disguise. Yeah. Yeah. So like you say, a transition of going from ten years of being out of education to then jumping straight back in probably would have been a bit full on it level. I think it's a level for that first. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it would have been too full on. So having this year to sort of settle in one to the trouble and that routine, that change of routine and just obviously the content of of course as well. It's been, it's been good fun. Yeah. And it do you know any of the like mature students or are you surrounded by people who are quite young by you have. Yeah there are there are a few that I know of. So I mean how do you even define a majority of the percentage of actually taking by is true if they've taken one year out, does that make them a majority? I don't know. But there's a couple of I think the oldest I've come across, maybe. I think there's a guy on my course who is strangely also from Warrington, and we have that moment where we both just go in and even though it's only like it's only 40 minutes away, Oh my God. But I think he's around a similar age to me. He's around sort of 28. And I think there's another girl on the course that's around sort of 24. But I'm yet to find anyone that's, you know, drastically old. Yeah, Yeah, I am. And so in terms of the vibe on the course, I, I'm quite good. I can kind of get on with anyone. I don't really struggle in that in that sense. Yeah. But I do definitely think that you just naturally gravitate towards people that maybe are a little bit, little bit older. Yeah, but there's, you know, there's nothing wrong with that. And that's not to say the younger ones that are 18. I've got lots on that cos they're 18, you know, a great life. And so, and so yeah. I wouldn't say that it's, it's been too difficult to sort of be that mature student in a predominantly. Yeah. Sort of younger, younger class. So I think sometimes like I don't know like it's like when I started last year, I think sometimes some students like they'll see a maturity in what they're starting. Like you're all adults like, yeah, what I mean like, I think I don't, I don't see any of the people that are on my course or just any, you know, if I see, you know, like an older or mature looking person with like a student lanyard on, I don't look at them having all that. That's all that I see them as a student. Yeah. Just see And it's got the same goal at the end of the day. Yeah. I'd say it all. I got your degree. Didn't work out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I don't, I don't. I don't sit there and feel like, oh my God, I am the oldest in air and I feel out of place in any way. And you know what yourself? That you're older than probably the majority in the room, but it's not, you know, it's not something that really put me off. There was maybe a little bit of who will going uni at this age. Is it the right thing to do. But no, it's, it's definitely been the right and the right thing and then hopefully people can all mature students that a lot perspective to go into stuff they can like tailor mostly lot you hear in the it's it's like it's well on the way it's like not accepted but you know what I mean like it's it's not it's normal Yeah it's not it's not treat it as, as an outlier. Yeah. So yeah you are you know you're on the same level as everyone else. You know, you don't get preferential treatment, you don't get whatever the opposite of preferential treatment is like yeah, there's no yeah, there's no, I would say discrimination, but it's not extreme. But yeah, yeah. Could you tell us any influences in your life ever grabbing off more recently? I'd probably say whether it's, you know, whether it's cheesy or not, my dad is a massive, massive influence. I'm sure family for you guys is probably the same. And yeah, my, my, my dad in terms of my sort of journey from leaving college. So I left college and like I say, doing music and sport and was in was in a band and that kind of meant that we had to sort of make a decision. We all applied for uni, but that was more to satisfy and get the College of Arts back in. Yeah. Yes, we've applied, it's there like your applications and whatever and, but we were in a band and leaving there and that was kind of the choice that we made as a four and to sort of go and go and do it as a five, sorry to go on, do that. And we ended up doing that for seven years. And in that time my dad, who was very sort of, I would say academic, he did like electrical engineering. I hope I'm going to call him that. Right. And at Salford Uni, when he was younger. And so in the back of his mind he was probably thinking I would like him to go. And yeah, down a similar path to academic as soon as kind of thing. But a took a step back and was like no, absolutely like go for the music and do a lot. Do what you want to do and yeah, even threw out any sort of decision like that that I've made so and ask the right questions but then also supported it not regardless but owes us the right question say are you sure? Is this what you want to do, Is this what you want to try to do? So. So it meets your needs? Yeah, definitely. Just sort of kept me in check in a sense of, you know, why are you doing it, etc.. So obviously the music thing was a big thing and there was a point in a few years ago where moved to Canada and that was another thing that you would sort of like, you know, Are you sure you want to do this? Is that the right thing? And then obviously the uni decision was the same again, asking the right questions. Yeah, yeah. Because I think as well with games courses, someone who is older might think are you sure this is the right direction you want to go in? But whereas now games are getting so popular. Oh yeah. Like as a bit like as an industry, it's growing so much that maybe someone who doesn't see it like a younger generation does can maybe be a bit, Oh, it's just video games. Yeah, it's not going to get because people go into uni and doing courses that aren't, I don't know how to put it on it necessarily linked directly into work straight out. Yeah. But yeah I know. Yeah. Like I don't know, I don't want to call out any particular cause but like one of my friends did history and is now doing nothing really is a history lesson. Yeah. I've come here doing video games, wanting to get into video games. Yeah, like, kind of like that career. Yeah. You side with it? Yeah, sure. Yeah. So what is it about video games and gaming that you love so much? I mean, I've always I've always played. I don't know about you guys. I don't know whether you're game. Yes. Yeah. Okay. I, I, it's just always been present. Yeah. From a very young age I don't, I don't necessarily help people. What was the first game you played or what was it. I don't know. I can't remember that. Yeah. Yeah. Well I just. Yeah, I remember it always being sort of a constant throughout throughout my life. And I think saw is there was a big like an important, most important period of my life, But there was a point in my life where I got free video games. I've reconnected with old friends that so I went primary school with a group of friends. I ended up going to a different high school to them because my sit my older sister had already gone to a different high school. So it was kind of like, Oh, well, I have to go to high school with my parents. So. So I had to, I had to go to Birchwood and then and my other friends went to Austen and it was kind of like lost touch with them out slightly. Yeah. And then after that, once they'd gone to uni and come back, I sort of reconnected with them through games. Yeah. Fee for problems. I don't know whether done a year. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We got more people with that but Yeah. Yeah. So, so I reconnected with them through pro clubs and that was kind of that video game side of things. Maybe subconsciously that's sort of like because I care so much about it because of experiences like that, you know, lockdown, for instance. Oh, definite. Oh my word. Like I don't think how to stay sane if I didn't have you know, Yeah. PlayStation guy or whatever like yeah, yeah. That would have driven me mad about the closet. I still regret like, the amount of time I spent online gaming in lockdown, Lost by way too many hours. It's crazy. It's crazy. I think people you sort of I look back on it and I know obviously it was a terrible time of everything that was going on. But for me personally, I enjoyed that break. I enjoyed that sort of, I don't know, with that breath. Yeah, in life it was quite a and like one games every day. I kind of liked how with friends I mean, again, this will be very different for most people, but like you just kind of had to get used to just being by yourself, I suppose. Like you getting used to like just I don't I would I've are on, you know, on your own as like if you obviously were indoors with family you'd still see them. But I mean I know a lot of the time during that period I, I would just be in my own little environment and I quite enjoyed it and quite enjoy it. But yeah, I spent way too much time. I committed a lot of more things. It productive but I think as well with light and video games is it's just a break from what the real world. Yeah and you can just you know depending on which time you spend on it, you can just let's just get away from whatever's happening. You can just focus on that. And that's where I kind of argue with people when they say, Oh, you wasting time of video games. And I can kind of see that bottleneck for for a lot of people is literally just that break and a lot of people have anything else to get kind of a break from life. So yeah, for sure. I think I think because of what it's what it's given me, you know, I'm only, you know, 28, but for what it's given me in my life, it makes sense to sort of throw that passion straight back into it and get involved with it and. Yeah, yeah. You know, if I can come out with a f a career in that or something similar, then you know how good that would be. Really good on it. Yeah. So could you just tell us about any like major successes or any challenges that you've had to face and pull so, I mean, I had a lot of leaving college. I had a lot of success with, like I say, that bond I was in Conquer Real and yeah, music. It was so we did our own stuff, which was if you could compare it to anything, it would be sort of the imagine the script, but then sprinkle a bit of American vibes on it. Okay, That's the only. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I get it. I, I struggle to try killer like killers a little bit, Right? That kind of. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no, that sounds good. Yeah, We had four of us who could sing, so that's why we saw them on that a little bit. Hence why the scripts for that more anyway, is like when he's talking, you know. But yeah, we had a good, we had a good time with that. We, like I say, we did our own did our own stuff, which was great. And we got very lucky very early on. We had, I had an uncle whose girlfriend sent one email which led to was we'd only been a band for a year, year and a half or so, and we ended up at this festival speaker, which was for, I think it was for the Queen's Jubilee in 2012, and it was one of them. My I've seen stuff in and around where you live, you know, where they get a load of X-Factor finalists that have been on and maybe been kicked off the show and then they start doing the rounds around like shopping centers. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So they had so they had all those kind of people on they had Russell Watson on the he's like an opera singer, classical singers. And it wasn't a status quo. It was like an old school rock band. So yeah, those on and we opened the whole thing and there's about 10,000 people out on the throne and we were just like, Hang on a minute, We we've just been kicking around in college for a year doing a few of our own tunes. We often did four of our own tunes. And then by the end of it, like just people screaming and shouting and asking for pitches and wow, I'm wanting response and stuff. And that was just, you know, one of those surreal moments in your lives and just bizarre. Yeah, Yeah, we, we, we had a few of them with a band. We were lucky again to we had someone who got us on I don't know whether it was in rugby league the they have a magic weekend for and like the top competition in the country Super League which basically they get all the teams to one stadium and play around the fixtures and we somehow ended up being the entertainment one in fan zone one year when it was at Man City Stadium, which was great. Yeah. And then I think the year after they asked us to, Oh, do you want to come inside the stadium and play in the stadium? We were like, Yeah, yeah, we'll do that. Wow. So, so did that a couple of years. Then we then we were very lucky. Warrington, who I suppose obviously being from Warrington, got to the grand final in 2013. Yeah. And they asked us, do we want to play at the Grand final as well. And I'd been Old Trafford I think there's about a about 75,000 people there and we've just played and played a few, a few covers. It was mad and we've are with our hometown team playing What a day, apart from the fact that we lost. But we lost. But yeah, well, what about that club. Oh yeah. And, and then they invited us back to, to Magic Weekend again when it moved to Newcastle and St James's Park and I did so for me to sit here and say that I've played stadiums is quite, it's quite bizarre. It's quite, quite like when you think about like the amount of people, what's it like to we like on the center and so on. So so what they had was they had so it was like inset into the seats. Okay so yeah so if you imagine I'm trying to think and so. El Trafford Yeah. Where the tunnel is. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Up both that basically. Oh yeah. But the tunnel can't even still light. What was it like being surrounded by literally so many queues? Was it like nerve racking? ALL Yeah. So, so I only found out afterwards for when we did Old Trafford one of my, one of my friends, the front man threw up in the toilet and I only, I only found out afterwards. Oh yeah. You wouldn't want to know that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So just to let you know. So it's about, so so yeah, I, I was, I nervous. Of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh I got bought strangely enough because we ended up doing quite a few by the time we got to sort of St James's Park we played that I think twice, maybe once we got to that was got, we've done this before. Like we kind of know what that initial sort of I don't really get nerve. I'm still playing music now and I don't ever get nervous because I've got, because I've done this kind of Well can anything be as as no lines apart from sticking it in the center of the pitch? Like, like you said, I don't think anyone else could. Yeah. Kind of get to multiple stadiums as well. I know. And like if you're not lot familiar about football stadiums they are very big capacity. Yeah. Yeah. So again, like you touched on it, that sounds like a key moment, I suppose. Is there any of like moments where you're like really proud of life and express achievements as such? And, I mean, I say when you think when you measure achievement, sometimes I think what led me to coming here was kind of a strange sequence of events. So when we finished up with the band in 2017, that came to an end and I was very sort of like, Well, what do I do now? Yeah, of course. I think we'd had about seven years of going. I probably maybe a little bit longer. And because that's in your head, that's what we want to do. That's when we're going for it. And then it came to the news. Oh, what do I, what do I do now? And because I've been working full time in retail alongside it the whole time was I was at Selfridges for sort of six years and Trafford Center. Yeah, yeah. Love the draft on it and up there and Yeah. So I'd finished and finished with the band and then it was a case of what do I do next? What do I try and go for? I jumped back in playing acoustic stuff with one of my friends and for a period of time and we then auditioned, I think it was in the June 2018. I want to say with auditions are going to do like an, you know, like a ski season where you'd go and you would provide the music for, oh yeah, like apres ski. You'd play music for a couple of hours after people finish skiing. Yeah, gig six times a week. And then the rest of the time is your time. You put in the accommodation to day and we'd audition for that in Cardiff in the 2018 and then I'd probably say maybe like three weeks, four weeks later I was playing rugby at the time and it was one hi stay the year I was tackled in the wrong way on collarbone, just snuff really just enough. And I am. I had one of the lot I don't want to get too but one of the losses that you dislocated shoulder dislocation was running over to me so I like yeah I can put it back in put it back in. So my collarbone, you know, you know it. I just thought, oh, no, he's not going back. He's not going back in. So hospital job seven or eight weeks off work. So I was sat on the couch after not having to sleep, my ambient light while my doing it like not the greatest moment in my life. So I've sat on the couch and thinking, where do I go next kind of thing. So and I went back to work at Selfridges and then had sort of a, a my review for the year was late because I had that time off, went back at the end of every review. They sort of ask you, you know, would you move to these other locations within the business like Selfridges group? So, so Selfridges obviously got its own. I think it's got to in Manchester, Birmingham and London and then Selfridges group itself own all the department stores in different countries. And so I said to my manager, I think, you know, this comes up every time. Is this an actual thing? She was like, No, not a no. Have a look at it if you wanna send an email. And then probably a month later it was sort of, here we go, confirm that was moving to Canada in the January I was getting all mentioned, I was getting off my head. So, so I, so the idea was the because of the position, I was a stock controller and, and there was only really one or two managers above all. So it was kind of a case of like it is in quite a few workplaces kind of case of waiting for one of them to do something. Yeah. Before you can progress into their role and because the music could sort of not ground to a halt, but I'd sort of slowed down in terms of going with that. I was like, well, let's, you know, go for retail because I've done six years of it. I kind of know what I'm doing. Yeah, yeah. They were there about. So my option was to go abroad, to go into a managerial position. So logistics Supervisor one of the it was called Holt Renfrew in Canada in and so they had a logistics supervisor role for me and they got me with all happened very quickly. So I think I applied in sort of the September and indeed January 2019. Oh, wow, January 4th on my dad's birthday to I had to fly out then and he took me to the airport, felt very horrible on his birthday. And he's also, as I'm sure you want to do this, so So yeah, I ended up I ended up moving to moving to Canada, which was which was crazy. And it was very sort of yeah, just a just a mad period of time after I moved over when it was probably like the coldest time of the year. Yeah, I remember I just had my hair cut one day and there was, you know, just a mac or so skin fade and the works do that. They invite me to sort of Christmas do. They'd had a little bit late so in like late January I said oh yeah. So it's only around the corner from where I'm staying in these flats on King Street. I was on it. Brown Yeah, I'll come over a five minute walk. Fine. I stepped outside, I think it was -36 like. And I have never I've never experienced now I've done skiing all these, I've never experienced anything like that. I stepped outside and my head was just as I was about 2009. It was bizarre. I see in terms of successes, applying for the being successful for that was, you know, was a success. I think I was the first one to go from Selfridges to another store. I think all the all the stores had come to Selfridges. I was the first sort of applicant to go from Selfridges to another store, both. And in terms of challenges, that was a crazy period of time. Yeah, I went over there ready sort of, you know, really sort of going in another direction from the music. It's probably the first time I've got something else I can I can focus on now and turned off and it just sort of not say go went wrong from the start. But obviously the cold weather was tough. There was some family stuff going on at home which made it tough, obviously moving because it's the first time I'd ever moved, moved away from family and I think cause he was about 24. And so, yeah, it was it was difficult. The two girls that I moved, I moved in with two girls after I'd stayed in this high rise that they put me up for the first couple of months, moved in with these these two girls, and within the first week they'd organized a party sort of like a welcome party to get me, you know, friends, etc.. Did they disagreed with each other over who was coming to the party. Therefore, that caused an argument between them two and one of them moved out. And just so just this whole like, you know, that was going forever, I felt like from turning off this, is anything going to go going to go my way kind of thing. And one of my friends came over in the turn up in the joining. We were all my friends came over in the February in that sort of and for ten days or so there was a snowstorm during that. So we couldn't even go out for five of the like five or six days of that. Ten days, technically, Yeah, I had to I had an email in that time from and from work, not saying the woman's neighbor, the woman who brought me over telling me that basically that she'd and she'd been moved on, she'd been made redundant. So the one person that was my touch point, I moved on. So everything that could have could have kind of gone wrong was goes I was just gone as a so as an experience of the first time moving out, moving away from home that was kind of, that was kind of pretty rough. So I came back on the on the Good Friday, April on the Good Friday. So it was a that was an experience and off. Yeah, I'm quite by I know you've written on previous podcast on you've mentioned sort of mental health and that kind of thing know and I've never been, you know, diagnosed with anything and never going to claim that I've ever suffered from anything. But certainly at that point in my life, I was like, I'm going to minute this. Yeah, this is no, not going to look at you. There comes a point in time. I keep stuff to myself quite a lot until sort of maybe like a little breaking point. And, and there was that point there where it's kind of like, how much is too much to go wrong? And that's kind of just knock it on the head and then come home. So I came home and went back to went back to working for Selfridges for a bit and then moved on. So would you say that experience has impacted your reasoning for commuting because you said earlier that like you would, you were always, you were like throughout the whole process you would I am going to commute. Would you say that impact to that decision? I I think it had a massive bearing on it, mainly because I think one for one, my parents are amazing and being at home, you know, whether it's cos I wouldn't, you know. Yeah. And during this I wouldn't really want to be anywhere else. Yeah. It would be great to have my own place. But being a student financially isn't exactly the most. Yeah. So, and probably the other thing is, well, when I came back from Canada I'd sort of realized and maybe selfishly had taken for granted What? Yeah, back in Warrington, being at home, yeah, I'm afraid it's like I've got infinitely closer with my friends since having that experience. You know, maybe, maybe wrongly do not treat my friends differently now, but certainly appreciating them and a hell of a lot more than. Yeah, I was previously. So I think I think those two things kind of made the decision for me in a sense of it's probably better for my benefit, my health, and, and probably more how successful I'm going to be rather than coming here, living here and having to deal with the challenges that come with that kind of thing. Yeah, I'm a little bit older as well, so obviously integrate in in terms of the classroom, all the lecture, whatever you want to call integrating on the course is probably a little bit different to integrate in outside of that in a social aspect, rightly or wrongly, if you, if I'm ten years older, eight years older than people who are, you know, I'm going to be in, say, wholes, for instance, or whatever, then it might be, you know, something a little bit difficult for me. So it just kind of made sense to, to have that decision to commute. And luckily, yes, stuff was within an acceptable sort of distance to justify, justify that decision kind of thing. So obviously talk about commuting of either of you got any like commuting stories, just like if you've been commuting and it seems a bit different for me because, because I walk in and it's something about two and a half miles, seen some stuff. So I'll give you one example. I was of the there's been multiple I've walked and I have to ring the fire brigades about a fire on a path. Wow. Because some kids thought it was funny to set fire to it. It was like a mattress and obviously with a mattress in the side as much as it had a common what it's called, not light insulation, but stuff like that. And obviously it's like very flammable. And so it's this stone path and it's literally in between two fields. So that's really in my head thinking if this fire spreads that, it goes across two fields. This is very bad and you walk past in just Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. What? And so I'm looking at it like I haven't got any walks. I'm trying to all I can lie along. Dusty in action actions. That's why the line trying to put the fire out. So this woman's walking her dog, she's climbing, climbing past and she goes, There's a fire. Well, no, of course is a fire. You don't have to talk. I can. I can. I can see. I can feel it. And then she has the audacity to go. Did you do that? Why? Why? Why? Why would I start a fire? Why would I start? Why would I still do that either? Yeah. At my work, I fire everyone. So I called. I called them the operator, and I was trying to explain where it was. But it's not. It's not exactly in a place. I know what the place is now because it's called Tramp Mill Bulk. Yeah. So but yeah, that's that story. So do you have any. Give me his stories that are probably you'd probably have more if you, if you all get in a training tree like people in the car it's kind of you know it you and yourself you can like obviously you have your issues of like train strikes and that but I'm not interested obviously you get the off you weirdos line. Yeah but if you get a few dogs so for I'd say for me it was probably one of my a few times of like stayed for drinks after uni and I've got to get the train home and it's not bad, but you don't realize how drunk you are until you start on a train and you're half asleep and you're looking out the window and everything's going really quick and you just go too many arguments stick and it's the one big mistake right now. What Rosie Marr was different from that. I'm not one controversial. I'd say it's when you forget the football was on at the weekend. Oh, luckily I don't have to come in on Fridays anymore. But I remember the one I forgot Blues were playing blues like but again in Birmingham. Yeah. And I was there and I didn't realize until I was at the train station and I ended up waiting for the next train. Yeah. Because I was like, I'm not getting on that before them. And I was just like, I was just thinking I didn't feel a top that day. Yeah. Oh yeah. Because otherwise I would have been in it. And I remember another time Fiddler had been playing. That was an important match and it was happening all stadium. It wasn't the Euros. The Euros won in the, it was some sort of big football match. Well maybe NFA Cup semi. Yes. Yeah. A neutral venue and all that kind of payback. And I got on the train and I forgot about it and I was walking and then the announcer went Services may be busy between. Wolverhampton and Birmingham due to the FFA Cup game or whatever it was. And I was like, You've got to be kidding me. I was like, No, no, no, no, no one got on the train at Wolverhampton. That was No. One. I just burst out laughing because I was like panicking. I was thinking there's going to be a loads of drunk people. Like I could if you chance in just I'm going to feel so good. Yet no one got on and they were making such a big deal on this over this announcement and wow yeah. Was just like this is the sheer relief. Yeah it was a relief. But then in the way I was a bit disappointed. I was like, I want to know it even like something kicks off on a train. There is something funny about it is if you drunk people kicking off on a train, it's entertainment because as long as you can steer clear of it. Yeah, a watch from afar. Yeah. If you're not involved. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Apart from that, don't advise. Get him off it. Much really happens. You'll find stories more interesting. I wish I had more, but unfortunately we are going to have to literally wrap it up. So thank you what I say to our house and myself. But thank you, Tess and Danny. Thank you. That again. I was hoping you say that I like you myself. Thank you to Louis for sharing your story. Really do appreciate that. Thanks. From assembly. Thank you To our listeners for sticking with us. Don't forget, you can listen back to previous episodes both from this season and the season previous. Thank you to our technical services team for supporting the production. You can see more, of course, your student communications ambassadors across Stuff's Unis, social media channels, including at Staffordshire Uni on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. To find further support University, you can visit Stars Dot AC UK or the Student Connect team at Don't Forget to tell us what you think about the podcast so far, what you'd like to hear on it, or if you have any questions for us, please do tag Stocksy uni or hashtag Student Connect podcast on any social media platform. Until. Until the next time. Goodbye.