You finally shut the car door after loading it up; it’s full to the brim with suitcases, pillows, duvets, your TV, laptop, printer and possibly even the kitchen sink (if you manage to fit it in!). All tightly squashed in, under your belongings you sit and stare out the window. The car slowly (it is weighed down after all) reverses off the drive and you say a final goodbye to your house, your home, your town. Do you feel sad? Possibly. Do you feel upset that you’re moving on, starting a new chapter of your life? Well if you do, you’re not alone, as about 5 million others up and down the country are going through the exact same thing.
Moving away and leaving home for the first time is scary and can be very daunting. It’s perfectly understandable; you’re bound to have worries. I mean how are you actually going to look after yourself?! But fear not! It’s not nearly half as bad as you may first think and in no time that feeling of fear and dread will change to excitement, anticipation and pure joy! You’ll be left wondering what did your house look like again?
You’re finally free! You can start a new life for yourself and just think, uni is supposedly the best three years of your life. So, you better make the most of it! Now put those tear stained tissues down and look towards all the fun you’re about to have… freshers’ week here you come! (Or why not just take part in freshers every year?! Now there’s an idea!) Within your first week you’ll have so many good experiences you won’t have time to think of home, let alone miss it! You’ll be out most nights, meeting new people, joining societies, getting to know your way around campus and the local area, discovering the night life (which Leeds is renowned for), and probably having a bit too much to drink (well what’s a fresher’s week without doing so?!). When are you going to have any time to think of home?
And that’s just the first week. You’ve then got your next three years to look forward to as well! Okay, it’s not going to be constant partying, and you won’t have as much free time as uni, of course, does involve some work! But, even once your course starts you’ll still have so much fun. Plus, you’ll learn a lot about yourself – things you didn’t think were possible. You’ll learn how to cope on your own for starters. A lot of people learn to cook properly (beans on toast does not count), clean (yes you do actually have to do this), iron (creased clothes are not a good look), and generally get out of bed on their own (I’m afraid your mum won’t be there to wake you up every morning), and that’s not even half of it. Hello Miss Independent!
When you do go home at Christmas, your parents won’t recognise you. You’ll be a whole new person and probably have grown up a lot. Just think, you’ll have been living and surviving on your own for a fair bit of time by then. In fact, your parents may miss not being able to do everything for you and in that bit of time you spend back there they’ll probably try and spoil you rotten. They’ll probably do all they can to help you out and still think of you as the ‘child’ you were before you left. Well not anymore! But, of course if they want to treat you and do things for you for that small amount of time then you can just let them. It’s only fair, they’ll feel unwanted otherwise.
Okay, of course this might not happen! Some people don’t gain true independence and do rely on others a lot too. There’s always the student that lives off takeaways, relies on roommates to clean and iron, or worse – just buys new clothes! And as for being woken up by their alarm? More like just missing their lecture! But that’s not ideal now is it? Either way, uni will be one of the best times you can ever imagine and only you can make the most of it. Now go enjoy freshers while you still can, the next three years will fly by!