As I write this I know there may be a few of you out there who may be venturing off to University very very soon! It’s an extremely exciting and horrendously nerve wracking time, and I know I’m not the only one in the blogsphere who’s either reminiscing or dishing out advice on starting that journey. However, I personally feel I’ve probably had one of the more unusual times during my technically four years of higher education.
I’ll start this off with the pre-disclaimer that I decided to stay at home for University. Long story short, after much debate and a little disappointment after not getting into my first choice school, I ended up at a University with a 40 minute train ride to get in.
One thing you need to know about being a commuter is that it’s hard. Both socially and logistically.
Unlike others who could stumble home after a night out during Freshers or make fast friends with people in the student dorms or shared houses, I really had to try and make an effort to make an impression during seminars or lectures.
Luckily, I had a few friends who I went to College with who I caught the train with regularly, as well as others I knew from secondary school who had also decided to commute. One thing I also found out pretty quickly was that other ‘commuters’ tended to find each other and we all sort of bonded over the experience of travelling in. In fact, it ended up becoming my own opener to conversations with others who didn’t commute.
Juggling a 40 minute commute alongside University meant I always had to be two steps ahead in terms of organisation. Whilst I was quick lucky with some parts of my timetable, 9am lectures were a huge effort to get in for (6am wake up calls and 7.30am trains to get in on time!), 6pm lectures sometimes meant getting home at almost 9pm and huge 5 hour gaps in between seminars were always the bane of my life. And I actually ended up making friends with people I really got on with and could work with, not just because they lived across the hall from me or I shared a house with.
I had to figure out how to use my time effectively and fill the voids between lessons, which was always harder at the beginning of the year when there’s nothing to work on, but quickly changed as coursework and exams cropped up (and I started blogging during my first year!).
Placement year became my turning point. I’ve written about my experiences with my placement year on my blog before, but the real difference wasn’t with myself but fellow course mates when we all came back.
The mood had changed. Everyone was more focused and ready to work, I had people joining me in the library on multiple occasions and we all ended up bonding over stress (which I found was pretty common amongst people at every University). The change in attitude definitely helped me out a bit and I sadly the most social in my final year than I had been in my first two.
In hindsight, I do think the decision to stay at home was worthwhile. I do always wonder what it would’ve been like to move away from home and live like a ‘proper’ Uni student, but I don’t actually know whether I would’ve ‘fit in’ with that kind of life. My experience at Uni suited my introvert nature, allowed me to learn different organisational skills, and gave me a chance to focus solely on my degree.
If I were to offer any advice to anyone who may have decided to stay at home to study, I would definitely say take it in your stride cause it’s tough. It took a long time for me to realise that just because it’s a different kind of tough to what everyone else is dealing with, doesn’t make the experience any less valid or valuable.
For me my time at Uni allowed me to find a real passion in my degree subject and the work that i did, which is why you’re there in the first place right?
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