Friday 19th September marked the start of my time at university. It was daunting, scary... yet also a great day.
As someone who's not necessarily the best at speaking, let alone to groups of people I've never met, I was a bit apprehensive before attending the first 'Meet-up' for local students. These initial worries were soon put aside, however, as everyone seemed really friendly and ready to talk. After you start, you realise that you're all in the same boat - no-one's going to judge you if you're nervous, but at the same time you should be ready to make new friends and understand that everyone's hoping to meet new people.
A top tip for anyone, especially those thinking of staying at home / local, would be *cliche as it sounds* to get involved in conversations! Most of the time introductory sessions will be aimed at breaking the metaphorical 'ice' between all of you as new students, so the university should set up certain activities to do just that. One of the easiest to get talking would have to be 'Human Bingo' (basically walking around the room trying to find people that correspond with a certain trait on the bingo sheet - some of the most interesting we had included 'Can stand on their head' and 'Has been bungee-jumping'!), since you can naturally get to speak with nearly everyone in the room.
It's also probably pretty clear that, for the first few days at least, some of your favourite sayings will be along the lines of "Hi, I'm _____, and I'm studying _____, what about you?" and "Where are you from?". If all else fails, discussing how terrible that History A-Level paper was will always be a safe bet. While you won't necessarily talk to all of these people again, or even add them on Facebook (since these things usually end on a first-name basis, unless you're doing the same course / can somehow track them down), these introductory sessions are definitely useful to go to if you're worried about being the only one commuting. It's surprising how many different people you'll get talking to!
I'm planning to live at home for my first year, mainly out of
convenience and affordability (not to mention the opportunity to keep a
clean bathroom to myself!). In all honesty, there
have been a few
times I've had second thoughts about this decision, but I'm hoping that writing about my
experiences over the next few weeks, months, or even years, can help
others thinking of staying at home to recognise the opportunities that
are still available if you choose to do the same.
The next week is packed with various freshers events, ranging from introductory lectures (Ahh!) to fairs - then ending with Freshers' Ball! I'm really excited to get started, especially with how fast the past few days have gone, and can't wait to meet more people on my course.
