Of course, the point of going to university is to learn, be educated and get a degree. However, there is so much you will learn at university that is not academic. Going away to uni can be rewarding for so many reasons and I am here to tell you what university taught me.
Meeting new people: I had friends before going to university but most of them I met at the start of secondary school if not primary school. From this I clearly knew how to maintain friendships, but it had been years since I actually had to actively pursue meeting new people. I’m glad I did; I met some of the most amazing people at university and it has really taught me to be more confident in meeting new people. It may seem daunting at first but if you put your best foot forward and really try to meet new people you will be sure to find those who you gel with. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t find your best friends straight away for some people it will take longer than others, but it will be worth it in the end. Also, meeting people from all different backgrounds when I have lived in one place my whole life with the same people, is a really fun experience.
There’s no time limit on life: Before I went to university, I had so many ideas of what I wanted to do at uni but once I arrived these things didn’t always go to plan. I didn’t even join a society until second year but that was okay, it can be overwhelming when you make big changes to your life. For a lot of people moving to uni will be the first time you’ve moved away from home but I’m glad I have that experience as it has given me confidence to make changes in my life and know that when I do I will go at my own pace. Connected to this is not comparing yourself to other people, people will have different timelines to you and that is okay. Just keep going at your own pace and don’t feel like you have to rush just because other people are doing something. you’ll be much happier without putting that unnecessary pressure on yourself to do something you either don’t want to do at all or don’t want to do just yet.
Take time for yourself: Being at university, you have so many opportunities constantly coming at you. Whether that’s work related or socially, it can feel like you need to do everything. You don’t have to force yourself to constantly participate and sometimes it’s important to just take that time for yourself. People aren’t going to change their opinion of you just because you missed one night out especially when you need it for your own health. This is one of the biggest things I’ve learnt from uni that sometimes you will just want to sit in your room with some snacks and your own company. This is something I try to do a bit more often as self-care is so important.
You will make mistakes: This is a really important one when you’re in such new surroundings. I was so used to my life before university that it was easy, everything was familiar and so I knew what I was doing. University will be a time when you will learn a lot. The way essays are written is completely different to those written at sixth form and so it was very much a learning curve that I had to get used to a new writing style which was difficult seeing that I made mistakes but it’s something you can learn from and you will gradually improve. Not just in an academic capacity though, you are meeting new people, and you may accidentally rub people up the wrong way. Taking responsibility for your actions and owning up to your mistakes is the first step to learning from them.
Budgeting: I wanted to just put this one in at the end as even though I have written a whole post on this it is one of the most vital lessons I have learned while being at university. So, if this is something you struggle with, go check out my previous blog post all about creating a budget and sticking to it.
Eden Emily Blogs 