I think most people would say that the first week at a new place, regardless of if it’s work experience or not, will always be an interesting one. It’s a new experience that brings with it new things to learn and new people to meet. My first few days at Social Bods has without a doubt given me some new learning experiences.

As a student I would say that I’m definitely more accustomed to viewing work in a more formal and academic way. As a result of coming into a place where the work done here is much more in the open than what I’m used to, my perspective and state of mind on how work should be carried out has changed. Of course, this does not mean that I’m going to change the way that I work completely but being here has allowed me to see how one’s language can have an impact on the identity that is built for oneself. Thanks to my studies, I already knew that language use can have an impact on one’s identity, there is a difference between studying it in the classroom and seeing how it works first hand in a real-life situation.

There is also the fact that I’m now experiencing what it is like to be on the other side to the kind of things that we are exposed to throughout everyday life and also the kind of things that we sometimes get to look at in relation to university studies. Being here at Social Bods has not only allowed me to experience what the world of work in a profession that I may wish to go on and pursue for myself in the future but being here has also allowed me to see for myself how the skills and what I have learnt over the years can be applied into a job. This experience so far is very much allowing me to see how skills can be transferable, in terms of both the skills that I have already acquired and the skills that I am going to hopefully acquire throughout my time here.

I’m sure that within the coming days here at Social Bods that new experiences will continue and I will learn more and hopefully grow more as a person too. The staff here have been friendly and helped me in times when I’ve needed help. As someone who is here to gain new experiences and to learn things that I can’t necessarily learn in a classroom, the staff being friendly and helpful has been beneficial towards my growth.

Ashleigh Farmer is a current second year English language and linguistics student at York St John University. Ashleigh is an insomniac who likes to spend her sleepless nights thinking about how to take over the world with tulips.