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My first week at University…🎓

It is nearly a year since the biggest change in my life happened…I moved to University. I am fully aware that a lot of new students will be heading off to their fresh starts in the coming weeks so I felt this post may somewhat help. This is a little insight into the first 7 days into my new home.

The Journey…

I remember the journey like it was yesterday and it’s honestly not a day that I would ever like to repeat.

My mother, Stepdad, my dog and I headed off around 11am to start the 3 hour journey. As part of the journey we dropped my dog off at my sisters so he could be looked after whilst my parents were helping me move. When I had to say goodbye to my dog it felt like my heart was breaking into a million pieces. I cannot express how much I love my dog and he is my best friend. I was so fearful that he would completely forget who I was and would hate me for leaving him. I know now that these fears were ridiculous. My beautiful boy hasn’t forgotten me and everytime I come home I am greeted with the best welcome I could ask for from him. It makes the 3 hour distance that little bit more worthwhile.

Anyway, the 3 hour journey besides the tears, went without a hitch and we safely arrived at my University Accommodation.

The arrival and unloading…

When I arrived at my new home I went straight to the halls office. Here I was able to collect my keys and was shown to my new flat. Whilst doing this my parents were looking for a parking spot so the impossible task of unloading could begin.

Unloading the van that we had driven up took an hour. The reason it took this long was because my flat was on the 5th floor, in the second block and the lift wasn’t particularly quick. I’m thankful for my parents helping me though as it would’ve taken me ages to do it alone.

Not long after unloading the van my parents had to leave for their 3 hour journey back home. Leaving it too late would’ve meant being stuck in A LOT of traffic. I was pleased they did this though as I don’t really like goodbyes. Prolonging it would’ve just made it worse. We had a hug goodbye and I was left to my own devices, after my initial cry of course.

The evening of the first day…

That evening I should’ve been busy unpacking unfortunately I went shopping instead. Yes, really. Instead of working through what I already had I was silly and just bought more to unpack. I will not be doing the same this year as I know now that it’s just easier to start the task of unpacking, even though it feels like a chore.

I was exhausted though and was able to sleep very soundly in my bed that night.

Get Ahead…

I was the first person in the flat for 2 days. This was because my university offers an event called “Get Ahead”. This event is there to help anyone with mental health difficulties, learning disabilities, physical health problems/difficulties etc, to settle into University before the chaos fully starts.

This event enabled me to have a in-depth tour of where I would be studying, allowed me to register as a student earlier, I was also able to register with the University Doctor sooner and it also gave me the opportunity to meet and create a support plan with the University’s wellbeing service. Of course it also enabled me to move into my University Accommodation a few days earlier. All these things wrapped into one event helped to make the transition much smoother.

I am glad I did this event as it allowed me to meet many new people too.

If your University offers something like this it’s definitely worth attending. I was also able to chat to other individuals who were attending the event, beforehand via Facebook. This helped as it eased the anxiety slightly. Take the offer if it arises, I really do recommend it and find the individuals beforehand.

Exploring the City…

The first few days before the rest of my flat arrived also allowed me the opportunity to explore the city. I’m from the back of nowhere in the middle of the countryside so I did fear that the city may be a little overwhelming. Exploring it though helped me to realise that it wasn’t that bad. The city that I moved to just feels like a big town rather than a city. It also just feels right, it felt like home in those first few days and even now… It still feels like that.

Meeting my new flatmates…

Eventually came the day where my new flatmates moved in. I won’t lie, it was a daunting day but I shouldn’t have worried. I was extremely lucky to be placed in this particularly flat. On day one, 3 of us immediately clicked and eventually the rest of us grew closer together. We had a night-out together that week, had a roast dinner together and just had general ‘get to know you’ chats in the kitchen. Some of those individuals are now my best friends. I couldn’t imagine life without them anymore.

That first week flew, as did the rest of the year. It’s true what they say, time flies when you’re having fun. Even with some of the rougher days I was having and the never ending assignments, I really did enjoy my first year. I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

To anyone who may be heading off to University this year or even the next few years, trust me, once you get over the hurdle of settling in, you’ll enjoy it. I thought it would take me so long to settle in but it actually only took a few days. You’ll get there, I know you’ll hear it a lot, genuinely everyone is in the same boat.

There were still some days throughout the year where I caught myself thinking “I wonder what going on at home at the moment?” but it’s normal. Home life doesn’t just switch off because I’m now 3 hours down the road.

For anyone who may want to know, I did eventually finish unpacking, a week and a half after I moved up there…

My top tips from this post are:

• Set plenty of time for your journey just in case you hit any traffic.
• UNPACK. Don’t do what I did and go shopping, just get it started and it’ll eventually be done.
• If your University offers you an event like Get Ahead, do it! Trust me, it helps.
• If you can, chat to your fellow flatmates/course mates on social media before you head off. It helps to somewhat lessen the anxiety.
• Remember if you’re unhappy, whether this is to do with your course or accommodation, talk to someone and they’ll help you out.
• Also remember everyone is in the same boat, work through it together.
• Most importantly though, remember there is ALWAYS someone to talk to. I was lucky to have an incredible halls manager and night-time security staff, whom helped me so, so much as did the friends I’ve made.

Good luck to you all!🍀 Just remember to study whilst you’re having all that fun!

Thanks for reading, love to you all.

The Battle in my Brain Author X X X