Moving away for the first time, and leaving your family, friends and loved ones for the first time is very frightening. In this post, I will discuss some tips and tricks to avoid the anxiety it can cause and the best ways to pack without over-packing, especially for first year students.
STEP ONE - PACKING:
DO NOT OVER PACK!
So many of us over pack for university. And honestly there’s not much you need to take with you upon your arrival.
Keep in mind your not moving out forever, and all you really need to bring is the necessities and also anything you forget you can always buy when your here.
I would recommend not bringing anything expensive to university or sentimental. From experience most of your things will get ruined :(
Even from your clothing, sometimes the washers and dryers can ruin or shrink your clothes, so bring things you are not too fussed if they get a bit ruined.
On the topic of clothing, you will NOT need your whole wardrobe. Don’t make the same mistake I did in my first year. You will not wear it. I wear the same clothes on rotation and everything else I brought is now all hoarding in the back of my wardrobe taking up so many hangers and limited wardrobe space.
STEP TWO - MAKING FRIENDS:
My top suggestion for making friends is going onto #facebook group chats, especially for your accommodation.
The way I made my friends was easy. I started speaking to a girl in my accommodation, and found out she didn’t live far from me and we had many mutual interests. From there we went out for drinks prior to university. Then day one of moving in, my flatmates weren’t very talkative and very introverted, so I went out with all of her flat mates for drinks and now I have found friends for life.
In regards to finding friends on your course, again join as many chats as you can, I mostly used #Facebook and #Snapchat to find these, from there you will make friends easy. Especially if your on a course similar to mine, Media, as most of the time people are very extroverted and easy to get along as it can be very practical and collaborative.
Another suggestion is to join societies and go to social events. Everyone is in the same boat. Moving to a new city and trting to fit in and make friends. Attending freshers events is also really important in regards to making friends.
Furthermore, you have to make effort. People wont always come to you, effort is a two way thing and some people may just be shy and full of anxiety, so you may have to accommodate them and ask them out for a drink or to study.
My last tip on making friends whilst at university, is to be confident. Whenever I walk into a room off a social event, I will always introduce myself to everyone, this shows your friendly, confident and approachable and people are more likely to reciprocate this and do the same to you.
STEP THREE - LEAVING HOME
Its very difficult to leave your loved ones for the first time and move out. As said before, everyone is in the same boat.
When I first moved out I kept myself very distracted, by going out and trying to make friends and I’d even just explore the city by myself when I was alone. You may find university to be a very lonely place, I know I most certainly did, and still sometimes still do, but by going for walks, not only to you get to explore your new city, but you also get your exercise in. I also recommend going into the university and try and find all your classrooms, so when it comes to the first day, that’s one less thing to have to worry about.
I recommend getting a small contract job. For me I asked for a transfer at my job at home, so that was comforting for me, however, if this isn’t possible for you, I recommend looking on indeed or jobs within the uni, such as cafe work etc. This not only gives you money, but you also make friends through this, and also are distracted.
At the start of university, I did start to get very homesick, so I went home at least twice a month, however the costs of trains did add up, ( my biggest recommendation is to get a rail-card) but the more I went home, the more homesick I got. I recommend just facetiming your friends and family rather than going back home, you save money and you’ll get less homesick, which is a lesson I put into practice in semester 2.
PUBLISHED BY KERRY HANSON
instagram @kerryhansonx
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