Normally, SCA students don’t finish their first term and then take a summer break for two and a half months. They also don’t normally develop a mild Pepsi Max addiction and work their way through the Gogglebox and Come Dine With Me (?) archives via their streaming services while wrapped in a fleecy pink dressing gown that they only take off around three hours a day. Yet here I am. Unpredictable as ever. 

Between UK TV bingeing, however, SCA has been on my mind constantly. I’ve had books to read, briefs to practice, classes to watch back, and meltdowns to experience. Busy busy busy. I also wanted to use this time to do things I couldn’t do during SCA. I don’t just mean showering every day before noon – that’s part of it – but I’ve also been working on a side-hustle project with my coursemates, and taking part in One Minute Briefs each day. What’s great about this industry is that there’s so much opportunity out there if you talk to people and keep an eye out online. It’s important to go beyond the remit of the course and do other things that excite you, if you have the time and the means. Working full-time, I couldn’t have done these things without a summer break, so I knew I had to make the most of it.

It was really important to me that I didn’t get complacent over the break, but that I could find a happy balance between swatting up and getting some well-needed RNR. This was made achievable in large part due to the help of other STICK IT coursemates. I’m lucky enough to be navigating this weird experience with a group of people who I get on with really well. Shocker, I know. I was never part of any clubs or sports teams at school, so I’m living this fantasy vicariously through STICK IT. I’m half-way through the process of writing a chant for us all, which I’m planning to then pair with the fully-choreographed cheer routine I’ve been perfecting since May. I’m sure everyone will love it. 

STICK IT is a small intake, and a lot of us have a number of other commitments outside of the school. For that reason, about 80% of our group is made up of online students. Because of these factors, we’ve had some extra barriers to navigate, but these challenges have been felt collectively. In fact, I would say that it’s because of this, not in spite of it, that we find ourselves so heavily invested in our work and one another. It’s more important than ever that we up our game, which means getting stuck in, cheering each other on, sticking together, and firing out a lot of phrases with the word ‘stick’ in them. 

Whether it’s meeting up in cafes to talk through briefs, networking at meet-ups and events, or walking as a group in the opposite direction through all of the Tate exhibitions until we’re politely asked to leave, it’s been really great to catch up with STICK IT without the context of multiple imminent deadlines. Being ‘off school’ for a little while between terms has provided some unique benefits that only our cohort has been granted, and I think we’ve succeeded in making the most of these benefits. We’ve been proactive, done our homework, and got involved in some other very exciting creative projects – all without sacrificing the hot girl summer we know we deserve.

Now term two is round the corner. There’ll be higher stakes and tighter deadlines, but also a ton of fresh faces and new contacts. It’s going to get sticky.