I’ll go in a slightly different direction with this one, since going back to university recently, and now being a third year, I wanted to share some ‘fresher’s wisdom’ from someone who has done it all before. University is scary, and at times, so is life – I am aware of how comforting of an opening line that is, but bear with me and my point will become clear. I think it’s fairly common for most people (myself included) to be nothing but excited before moving to university, it’s a step in your life that shows you are transitioning from being a teenager to an adult, you get more freedom and opportunities, no rules about staying up late or coming home at a certain time or how much pasta you can eat in one sitting.
However, it also comes with some loneliness, so many responsibilities you don’t know how to juggle them all, and the need to get great grades while maintaining a social life so the loneliness and homesickness doesn’t eat you alive, a fitness routine to benefit your overall health and so you don’t hide out in your room when it gets too much, and if you’re like a large percentage of the population, a job. But you also want to volunteer for the CV, go and have a night out at Fubar or go to the pub, go on those club socials and somehow find time to go and visit family and friends in your hometown.
People say that the key is learning to balance it all, so no one need or want is less focused on than another, however I’ve come to believe that this isn’t possible. Personally I have been on two different committees, held a part-time job, brought my grades up and seemingly maintained a social life and a partner while also finding time for going to see my parents who are two hours away – now this all sounds like I have it all together, but in reality most of the last two years since I came to university has felt like I’m drowning in responsibilities and stress that has nowhere to go.
I had gone into this hoping for some more hopeful and solid advice, I think when people ask for advice it’s more likely that they just want the other to tell them what to do so they don’t have to make the decision themselves. So, let’s change the title of this and say, here is my loose advice for all – just take life day by day, and compromise with yourself. Sometimes it’s not about having everything perfectly balanced, sometimes it’s just about surviving the day and that’s okay.
You might have to sacrifice your exercise for your assignment for example, but that doesn’t mean not doing the exercise at all, that means prioritising the assignment and doing less of the exercise or doing it at a different time, if and when you have time. I think the biggest problem for students is pressure, whether it be from mentors, parents, friends, or employers; I think the biggest pressure we face is from ourselves. So, cut yourself some slack, and remember that you’re a human that might not know what they’re doing yet and that’s fine, no matter what age you are.
Image credit: Amelia Fryer
Article first published in Brig Newspaper
Amelia Fryer 