A five and a half hour journey later, the pain of lugging boxes and suitcases up the stairs and a new, rather clinical feeling room, I had finally arrived. For weeks I had been wishing the time to pass to this moment, the freedom of university, and the lifestyle it brings with it.
Yet standing in my bare room staring out the window overlooking the resident smoker steps, I kind of longed for that swaddling cloth of a safety blanket, and all the comfort and stability that living at home with your parents brings. Throughout the whole unpacking process it finally dawned on me, this was my home for the year, and these strangers were the people I would have to live with, whether we got on or not, we were stuck together.
I can’t deny it’s definitely gotten easier, though there are still some aspects of living so far from home that are still bizarre to me. Take for example accents: I don’t have one. I’m from the South and I don’t even have so much of a slight London twang. So moving to where I consider the North (I’m a Southerner, anywhere above London is considered north to us) and to where accents are a plenty was almost a culture shock to me! It really made it hit home how far away I was. Though a couple weeks on I sometimes find myself slipping into a Northern accent. Hey I’m becoming a native!
As well as that, as hard as I tried, my first week also saw me contracting the dreaded freshers flu. Yet unlike most, my body couldn’t hold out till the end of freshers week. No, only 4 days in and I was hit with what felt like bubonic plague. Though I did my best to party through it, guess thats what being a fresher is all about; and I wanted to make the most of it. People are right when they say you only have one freshers week. In that week I made a friend for life, and like every fresher did some things I’m not completely proud of (though mine were extremely tame in comparison to others!) And all in all I had a brilliant time. So heres to the next three years, and all the adventures they’ll bring with them!
xo
