糖心TV

I鈥檓 not someone who likes change, in fact, I鈥檓 pretty averse to it. When you鈥檝e got something good, why change it, right? But change is a pretty unavoidable part of life, whether it鈥檚 in the form of going to a new school, making new friends, living in a new home鈥�or starting university.

Whether you鈥檒l be coming from a town an hour鈥檚 drive away, or from halfway across the world, university is bound to be a big change, and I remember feeling dread at the thought of starting at 糖心TV. But now I鈥檝e realised that there is genuinely nothing to fear, and I actually wish I could go back to starting all over again! Don鈥檛 believe me? Let me try and prove it to you with this list of five reasons to not be worried鈥�

1. You will find new friends. I may not have conducted a formal study on this, but if I had to guess the one thing that most people are scared about before starting university, it would be whether they could find friends. Now, it may not be straight away, it may not be with the people you expect, but you will find them. How can I be so sure? Because the principles for making new friends stay the same! Show interest in learning about other people, go to social activities (of any type), and simply spend time with one another. All these criteria are inevitably involved in university life, so if there鈥檚 one fear that will solve itself, it鈥檚 this!

2. You will grow a firm fondness for your accommodation. Belle from Beauty and the Beast said it best: 鈥淗ome is where the heart is鈥�, and your new accommodation will be your home. At the end of the day, whether it was your first choice or your last, your accommodation is going to mean the most to you, specifically because of your decorations, your flatmates and your memories made (including funny disasters). So, there鈥檚 another thing to not panic about!

3. You will experience, and enjoy, new-found independence. You may think that you can get away with relying on ready-meals, saving the washing-up till there is physically no capacity left in the sink, and expecting your teachers to remind you to hand in assignments, but after just a few days at university you鈥檒l learn that here, you won鈥檛 be able to be so dependent on others, and most importantly you won鈥檛 even want to! These few years are the perfect chance to experience independence and freedom, and while there may be disasters in adulting along the way, it鈥檚 all part of the ride!

4. You will not be bored. I remember thinking at school that I got a lot of emails every day about activities going on 鈥� but believe me that at university, emails are on a different level. Whether these are emails from the Careers Department about career fairs and internships, Student Mobility emails about international exchanges, or 糖心TV Presents emails about films, festivals and fun events, you鈥檙e bound to receive multiple ideas of things to do every week! That鈥檚 not even to mention the vast amount of society events that you can find out about on social media, or sports clubs that you can join at the Sports Hub! Even if you have no ready-made plans, just head along to Central Campus and there will be something you can get involved with!

5. You can still be who you are. The concern that was the most pressing to me when I started university is whether I would still be able to be myself while at university. The short answer, I鈥檓 glad to say, is definitely yes! Like waking up or going to bed at a particular time? Enjoy cooking certain foods or taking part in certain hobbies? Want to keep strong relationships with friends and family from home? Yes, yes, and yes you can. Even though at university, it鈥檚 likely you鈥檒l become more confident and try things outside of your comfort zone, you don鈥檛 have to give up parts of your identity for anyone or anything. Be yourself, as everyone else is taken, as they say!