Nervous, excited, upset, happy? The different emotions flitting around your stomach just before you leave for university are like no other. You're probably about to be left in a strange city, surrounded by strangers, having left everything you've ever known behind. There may be emotional goodbyes and don't be worried about the tears because everyone is going to be in the same boat.
You may have found other people in your flat through social networks - we managed to find 11/12 of us beforehand, which was really lovely - or you may not have found anyone but what my main advice would be is to get out there and meet as many people as possible. Your flat/house are going to be the first people you meet, so go and get talking to them! There are most probably going to be awkward silences at first but everything will soon fall into place. You will find people who you click with eventually, so go out and meet as many people as possible...
So this is Freshers… day 1 is over with. Somehow I’ve
got through it all without shedding a tear, although that may change if I think
things over too much. It’s so lovely here – the accommodation is beautiful and
the people are so lovely! Today’s been pretty mental. I woke up at 5:30, and
then 6:00 when I couldn’t be bothered to go back to bed. :L But we drove up
here, stopping at a farm house café in Newark for a glass of freshly squeezed
orange juice & a slab of carrot cake! We got here, found our way to my
block, unpacked a bit, Dad, Julie & Genevieve arrived, went out with them
to some pub for a drink, came back, unpacked more and said bye bye! L I ventured into the kitchen to see the others who
were there talking, then awkward silence, then talking. This continued until
our trip to Cost Cutter – oh the joys. We returned, then walked up to some
random Co-op on a walk we went on! We were all talking and getting on really
well! :D This evening we all dressed up in our penguin onesies and the STYCs
brought the top 2 flats down in our kitchen to play ‘Ring of Fire’ which was a
bit bizarre. Luke rang me, and I went outside to see him and we walked down to
Animal with his block! We sat on a bench and talked to people all night who
were buzzing around (quite literally those who were dressed up as bees)! There
was a girl called Charlotte from Luke’s flat, boys called Gino (he’s Mexican),
Simon & James, a few random girls called Rafaela, Hannah, Emily & Lucy
and Connor (who I’m friends with on Facebook because he’s doing maths)!
I came back with them just after 12 and the others all returned about 10
minutes after I’d got back and made a hot chocolate. Now there’s lots of
screaming and yelling coming from the kitchen (from the STYCs as well – ‘Can I
lie on your bed?! I want to be a fresher!’). So yah… I’m curled up in my room,
stuff everywhere, with a hot chocolate, which isn’t actually that hot because
the microwave failed. Conclusion – we should get on okay in the day, but the evenings are a different matter at the moment… Why
am I not a normal teenager? I just hope I’m not waking up to
absolute madness in the kitchen tomorrow morning.
So, that was my Day 1. My flat were brilliant, but I really struggled because I don't drink alcohol - clearly something that everyone else had in common. As the week went on, I receded more (apart from Tuesday night, when I actually ventured out), stayed at home on Skype to my friends and family. One of my STYCs (second and third year contacts) suggested I went upstairs to join in with them because they weren't going out, yet I was too scared to go. Oh, how I regret this. Don't do what I did, don't hideaway because the first people you meet aren't exactly your kind of people - no matter how lovely they still are.
It doesn't feel like there's half the substance to this post that I wanted... Ah well.
Katherine
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