THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN BEFORE STARTING UNIVERSITY

SO I REALLY WANTED TO DO A QUICK POST ON UNIVERSITY WORRIES, I KNOW THIS MAINLY A FASHION AND LIFESTYLE BLOG BUT I'VE BEEN INSPIRED BY SOME OTHER BLOGGERS AND WANTED TO DO A SHORT PIECE ON WHAT I WISHED I HAD KNOWN BEFORE GOING TO UNIVERSITY.

THINGS I WISH I'D KNOWN BEFORE STARTING UNIVERSITY.

GOING WITH THE THEME OF THE BEGINNING OF AUTUMN AND HEADING INTO THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, I THOUGHT I'D DO A LITTLE BLOG POST ON ALL THINGS UNIVERSITY. MOST OF THE FRESHERS ARE NOW WELL INTO THEIR FIRST TERM BY NOW BUT FOR SOME OF THEM, THIS IS THE TIME WHEN THE HOMESICKNESS BEGINS AND THE DOUBTS BEGIN TO CREEP IN, SO HERE'S A FEW THINGS I WISHED THAT I HAD KNOWN DURING THAT FIRST TERM.

• HOMESICKNESS IS NORMAL. EVERYONE WILL MISS HOME! EVEN IF YOU'VE GONE TO A UNIVERSITY THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD TO ESCAPE YOUR NAGGING PARENTS, YOU WILL GET HOMESICK! I USED TO CRY WHEN I CAME HOME BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO GO BACK TO UNIVERSITY.

• IT WILL BE AN EXPERIENCE THAT TESTS YOU, WHEN I SAY THIS I MEAN, YOU WILL FIND OUT WHO YOU REALLY ARE DURING THOSE FIRST FEW MONTHS.

• YOU WILL MEET A LOT OF INTERESTING/NEW PEOPLE, MAKE FRIENDS WITH ALL OF THEM!

• IF YOU HAVE TO WORK DURING YOUR TIME AT UNIVERSITY, TRY YOUR BEST TO GET A TRANSFER NEAR WHERE YOUR UNIVERSITY IS, I DIDN'T AND I REALLY REGRET HAVING TO COME HOME EVERY WEEKEND TO WORK, MY FRIENDSHIPS SUFFERED BECAUSE OF IT.

• UNIVERSITY WORK IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TO A-LEVELS, IT WILL BE HARDER, YOU WILL MORE THAN LIKELY STRUGGLE WITH THE WORK LOAD AND WHAT YOUR LECTURERS ARE ASKING FOR.

• YOU MIGHT FIND YOUR BEST FRIEND ON YOUR COURSE NOT IN HALLS, DON'T JUST BE FRIENDLY WITH THOSE WHO YOU LIVE WITH.

• JOIN A SOCIETY AND ACTUALLY GO TO IT ! DON'T BE SCARED TO DO NEW THINGS.

• THE LIBRARIAN IS YOUR FRIEND, SHE WILL MAKE THOSE FINES DISAPPEAR.

• CALL/VISIT HOME BUT DON'T MAKE IT CONSTANT, ITS GOOD TO GO HOME BUT YOU NEED TO HAVE A LIFE AT YOUR NEW HOME TOO!

• DON'T GO OUT EVERY NIGHT IF YOU DON'T WANT TOO, GET A BUNCH OF FRIENDS AND STAY IN AND WATCH MOVIES.

• IF YOU'RE NOT HAPPY, GIVE IT TIME. I'VE SEEN SO MANY PEOPLE DROP OUT AFTER A FEW WEEKS BECAUSE THEY MISS HOME OR THE WORK IS TOO HARD. BE PATIENT AND IF YOU STILL DON'T LIKE IT BY CHRISTMAS THEN THERE IS OPTIONS FOR YOU! TALK TO YOUR COURSE LEADER.

• PICK THE RIGHT UNIVERSITY FOR YOU, YES YOUR MUM MIGHT LIKE THE UNIVERSITY THAT IS ONLY TEN MILES FROM HOME AND YOUR DAD MIGHT LIKE CAMBRIDGE BUT YOU NEED TO PICK THE ONE YOU LIKE BECAUSE ITS YOU THAT WILL BE THERE.

• AND ULTIMATELY BE YOURSELF!

NOW EVERYTHING I'VE SAID ABOVE IS OBVIOUSLY NOT GOING TO WORK FOR EVERYONE BUT THESE ARE JUST A FEW THINGS THAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN FIVE YEARS AGO BEFORE STARTING UNIVERSITY, HOW ABOUT YOU? ANYTHING YOU WISHED YOU'D KNOWN?

RACHEL XOXO