Starting a completely new time of your life by becoming a university student is one of the greatest moments in your life so far! All the excitement and expectations of what your next 3-4 years are going to be like, the friendships you’ll make, the lovers you’ll meet and of course the degree you hopefully will leave with. But as our dear Shakespeare said “Expectations are the roof of all heartbreak.”. Therefore, I’m here to tell you a bit about the hard truths being a uni student:
Homesickness. No matter how great moving away from home is, with unlimited freedom and finally being able to do whatever you’ve always dreamed of, there will be points where you’ll be wondering what on earth you’re doing here. It might even happen in your first week that you’ll suddenly be craving a hug or home-cooked meal from someone at home. But don’t worry, you’ll be gettting home cooked meals from friends or the pubs in no time and the homesickness will slowly fade.
Freshers flu will happen. And not even only in first year, I’ve had fresher flu for the last 3 years in a row. And it isn’t just from drinking and heading to the union without a coat. You can stay at home in your PJ’s and it can and will get to you. And the homesickness will start all over again because being sick without your mum to feel bad for you just really sucks. Until you overcome it and realize it’s a part of the full uni experience.
Think you were skint in high school? That will soon be all but fond memories from now on. Yes you will still be able to go out, but it will be hard not fowling guilty while doing by the student debt you’re slowly building. And who would ever have thought small things like food and rent would be so expensive?
You will leave your comfort zone. Over and over again, uni is basically one big happening outside your comfort zone. You’ll be tested to your limits by the friendships you forge, the flatmates you’ll have and the essays and tests you will encounter. The good news? You can and will overcome it all and (Im going to say it) come out stronger on the other side.
Racing for a library seat. You might think that you would never comet to a time in your life where you would race people to go to the library. Well you will, and that time is when you’re a university student while the exams are coming in hot.
Redefining yourself. You might have thought that high school was one existential crisis and you finally got yourself all figured out. Yet, you will find yourself asking the big questions even more at uni. Anything from the clothes you wear to the world you’d like to believe in. Not to mention the fact that basically, from the moment you get here, people will be expecting you to know what you’re going to be doing for the rest of your life. But do know that it is completely fine to have no idea – just like most of us! Uni is the best and perfect time to figure yourself out!