Thank you for your lovely comment! I totally agree that it's about putting in that hard work and practicing until your head melts :p I'm hoping more people will see that maths and science are subjects that can be (somewhat) mastered - that it's not about being a genius, it's more about interest and hard work :D And perhaps even that the arts and sciences work well together!

Yes, it's a total myth that you have to be "a genius" to pursue physics or mathematics. A lot of kids get told this in school and get discouraged or lose confidence. You certainly need some intelligence/ability but the bottom line is consistent hard work and determination to learn the subject. Even those people/professors in the fields who are actually considered genius still put in a lot of work and study. Einstein worked for over 10 years every day to construct general relativity, years of which were a dead end . But just a monster amount of work and effort--it was not easy for him. Confusion and frustration is a big part of studying and research in math and physics at all levels as it takes time to digest. But then you can suddenly find that you understand it. It is also very important not to overwork though and get a balance between studying/working and not burning out; staying physically and mentally healthy, eating right, sleeping, sports/hobbies/exercise taking breaks. I always found that short bursts of effort, studying 30 mins to 60 mins were best then a break. The arts/humanities and physics/math are not dissimilar but require different kinds of thinking. Jacob Bronowski (google him) called physics "the greatest work of art of the 20th century" and that "art and science are two aspects of the one mind".And Shelley probably wanted to be an astronomer: "Heaven's ebon vault studded with stars unutterably bright...":)

Thank you! And thanks for sharing your experiences too

Pseudonymium Thank you (and thank you 😂). I like your approach - I’m going to adopt it! Hope the PhD is going well. Will there be another video soon...?

Kevin McChesney I hope they find it helpful! :)

Jake Lester Thanks Jake! And thanks for sharing your experience too :) It was great to get to know you this year!

Thanks, Martin!

You're welcome!

Thank you Jasmine :)

Hi Miguel! It's so great to hear from other Nottingham students. Thanks for your kind words - it's good to know others feel the same :) We're gonna smash it!

Hanna Holst I’m sorry to hear you struggled alone. I’m really hoping people will be able to feel comfortable talking more openly in the future. I know how much it helps me hearing about other people’s experiences 😬

Hey Rachel! I genuinely (weirdly) don't feel qualified to talk about it. But I will definitely give it a shot!

Ooh engineering! That's really great! I haven't found time to join a society/club yet (but as a keen footballer, I'm hoping to get involved in futsal next year). However, running is a big part of my life (especially when things get stressful), and I am involved in lots of outreach stuff, so there's definitely time to do the things you love! Good luck and feel free to get in touch if you have any questions... Oh, I really like your videos btw :)

ozzoforest I’m glad to hear it!

Glad you liked the video :D Best of luck with the foundation year and with physics. There will be plenty of times when you will feel like you don't understand. but keep pushing through because you will get there and it's totally worth it!

Thank you! x

Hey Kyle! My requirements were BBB at A Level and Bs in maths and science/physics at GCSE but I actually have BBC at A Level and Cs in maths and science at GCSE. They take it on a case by case basis. I think the fact I'd started an OU maths module and already had a degree helped. What do you mean did my previous home have anything to do with physics? Do you mean my upbringing? Not really... I loved astronomy as a kid and my mum was a horticulturist but that's about it. Why do you ask? What are your plans? Second year is an absolute blast so far! :)

@@HannahColemanV Autocorrect! I meant to write job, not home! I'm in a similar position-ish. Have a previous degree, but have always loved astronomy and physics.

@@kylelowe993 Ah that makes more sense. No, my career before had nothing to do with physics really. I was a teaching assistant for GCSE Science for a year or so but that's about it. Are you thinking about doing a foundation year?

@@HannahColemanV I'm torn between foundation year and distance learning A Levels. The latter is cheaper overal, but not sure how it will be after being out of education for 7 years! How did you find it going back?

@@kylelowe993 Distance learning is way cheaper, but I found it difficult as I worked full time alongside my studies and didn't get to be immersed in the subject, and the right learning environment is a really important factor for me. Foundation year is great as it gives you the full university experience, but personally I felt it didn't set me up as well as A Levels might have for the first year of a physics degree. Coming back to education after years (it was 13 years since I'd formally studied maths and five years since I graduated from uni for me) is hard, and you really have to push to make things work for you, as you're not a typical undergrad (whatever that means), and you're lecturers aren't used to dealing with that. But there are many positives too as you can use your experience to your advantage and it's incredibly rewarding doing something you love and that challenges you every day. I don't regret a thing.

JR 2020 Thanks! All is good now :)

Thanks Sarah! Nice to see a fellow mature student doing their thing. It really does go so fast! Best of luck with the rest of your degree :)