What they don’t tell you before going to uni

Hey!

My name’s Kavya and I recently graduated high school. I now live 4 hours away from my home and attend University for a Health Sciences degree. #stemgir’lYAY.

This is a short little something about my past few months. The aim is to share my feelings and if you’re heading to uni/college, this may make you a little nervous, but it also might make you even more excited.

I’ll be honest when deciding where to go to school, one of the things that excited me was the distance away from home. Don’t get it twisted though! I love being at home and spending time with the family, but something about leaving my small hometown for a town a little farther away made me very excited. And so, that’s exactly what I did.

I am now writing this 383km away from home! That’s not much… International students would be laughing at me.

Things I’ve learned after being here a bit

1. When deciding on a school, be true to yourself. Do you really want to leave your hometown, or is that just what your friends what?
2. What do you value the most? If it’s homecooked meals… do not leave the home!
3. What program most excites you? At the end of the day, the program is where you’ll be allocating most of your time so it might as well be something you are interested in.
4. Know your limits. Yes.. this one’s for the partiers but in another sense, often shutting off your computer and sleeping does a tremendous amount for your well-being.

Things I learned on my first day

1. Everyone wants friends so just put yourself out there
2. Get ready to answer the same question over and over again (name, hometown, program??!)
3. Don’t be afraid to be alone.

This third point is what inspired me to write this article!

Over the past few months, I have spent more time with myself than at any other time in my life. You might think this is a bit depressing, and at times, it is. But this is a reality for first year’s! FEAR NOT.

When I say time alone, I mean to say that, in university, everyone has different schedules. You cannot expect to be with the same friend group throughout the day as you were used to in high school. That is something that never crossed my mind prior to coming to university. Adapting to this was a bit of a struggle but I have found to really enjoy time alone.

Sitting at the library working on assignments, being by the pier watching little ducks swim by, going to classes, walking home, going to the gym... these are all journies that I many times endeavor on my own.

Photo by Guillaume Galtier on Unsplash

I have come to really appreciate being alone. There is a new sense of independence that comes with it. I feel mature. I feel smart. I feel content. I feel like I don't need to expend too much of my social battery (c'mon, tell me you relate!)

If you take one thing away from my wonky blurb is that if you get to university and start finding that you are alone for larger chunks of the day, don’t worry! It’s a part of the experience. You are learning and you are growing. You come to appreciate how productive you are when you are typing away at a coffee shop, sipping your favorite iced mocha with AirPods in blasting Drake #embracethemaincharactermoment!

I have had a few conversations about this with my friends from back home but also some on my floor. We all sort of miss that feeling of having your friend group to hangout with, but no one said you can’t make new friends at uni.

Making friends

Big topic alert 🚨. Something that scared me before coming to university the pressure to make friends. Every year a new batch of seniors graduate and you see their lives through social media! Partying, new friends, movie nights, study sessions.. and you wonder if that’s what your experience will be like too.

You’ll find that in the first few weeks of school, everyone, and I mean everyone will be making conversations, adding snaps, and generally will want to LIVE IT UP etc..

Then you’ll forget about 90% of the people you’ve met! That’s okay, that’s how it goes.

The important thing about this whole process is to always look out for people who make you happy. Or people who you are comfortable around and whom you don't have to change anything about yourself to feel like you’ve fit in. Or maybe you find people you share interests with or people who simply have a positive vibe.

And don’t worry, these things take time. But I guarantee you’ll find your people soon!

Anyways, as unstructured as this blurb was, I hope it gave you a little bit of insight on the uni life . Disclaimer: These are only my experiences. I am sure others might not relate to some of the things I have mentioned. Nevertheless, learn to appreciate alone time. You are pretty amazing! ✨