04/10/2016

3 Ways To Survive University As An Introvert.



First of all I wanted to briefly mention the elephant in the room: why have I been gone for almost a week without posting anything, specifically after saying I thought I was getting my blog back on track after moving to university. Well, the truth of it is I've just been incredibly busy. And yes, I won't lie, most of my time has been dedicated to settling in, making endless trips into the city to buy random crap and/or food and if I'd tried harder I probably could have fitted in some time to blog. But I didn't. Right about now I do want to add that I have no intention of quitting or stopping blogging and I'm pretty sure I'm starting to get a feel for when and how I'm going to blog whilst at university. So bear with me as I'm currently adjusting to the biggest move of my life and for a little while things might not be quite as regular as they used to be. 

But onto the main subject of today's post: how to handle moving away from home, making friends and not feeling completely overwhelmed by the prospect of university. For some people it comes naturally I guess. It's an adrenaline fuelled adventure, leaving home behind - you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, with no parents or teachers to tell you not to. But for others it can be daunting at best, terrifying and fear inducing at worst. Personally I was somewhere in the middle. Coming to uni I was super excited - as I'm sure you all know I worked in retail for my gap year and hated it - but I was also nervous. The thought of having to make friends with a bunch of strangers, living with them and not being able to hide at home was a scary thought. I'd heard horror stories, I still am hearing horror stories, but I was lucky. I live in a flat of ten people and whilst we've naturally split into two friendship groups everyone still gets on super well, and I genuinely wouldn't change a single person.



So as someone who's now been at university for almost three weeks (wow time really does fly) I thought I'd share a few tips and tricks on how to make the most of your time and overcome the initial fear and awkwardness. 

1 - Find Your Flatmates On Facebook

I've spoken to people who have and haven't done this and in the long run, both parties have agreed that it doesn't really matter too much. A couple of weeks of being at uni and you'll have found other friends and it might not necessarily matter who your flat mates are and whether or not you stalked them prior to arriving. But if you're anything like me and the thought of moving in with strangers terrifies you, I can't stress enough how much this will make your life easier. 

As soon as our flat numbers got released I headed straight onto our halls Facebook page and posted a message in the group chat with my flat number. Pretty much instantaneously another girl replied saying she was in my flat and after a couple of minutes chatting with her I automatically felt more relaxed. One thing I feared above everything else was that my flat mates were going to be crazy into the party lifestyle and as someone who hates clubbing finding out this other girl wasn't a huge drinker either made me feel reassured: not everyone who goes to uni wants to get wasted every night. In fact I'll clear that myth up once and for all: yes, there are a lot of people who do love partying, but trust me, out of 6000 freshers not everyone does and it's so unbelievably easy to find people who don't. I spend most of my evenings sitting on my flatmates bed watching movies and chatting and unlike school those people who do love to go out won't look down on you or judge you for not wanting to. So don't be scared to say that you'd rather stay in because chances are someone else is in the exact same boat.


2 - Push Yourself To Be Social

Easier said than done right? For the first couple of days I was constantly exhausted. I wasn't used to being in the company of others 24/7 with nowhere to run and hide and it honestly tired me out. But trust me, it's worth it. Those first few days everyone is in the same boat: no one has friends, everyone's scared (even if they don't admit it at first) and if you shy away in your room you're missing out on the opportunity to make friends and make everything easier. And yes it's not easy to leave your door wedged open or sit in the kitchen but you have to. Swallow the fear that holds you back and tell yourself that you can. As soon as lectures start you'll have plenty of time to be alone whilst your friends are out and about doing their thing, but for the first few days you have to push through. You can do it because trust me, it gets easier. 

3 - Say 'Yes' To Things

Similarly to staying in your room 24/7 the more you say no to things the more opportunities you're missing out on. Like I said above university is promoted as having this huge drinking culture but there are so many more things you can do if that's not your jam. I'm pretty sure most places have this thing called a 'Freshers Fair' during freshers week which is basically a giant marquee where all of the presidents from different societies come and try to promote their club. And there truly is something for everyone: from photography to dance to Quidditch to hockey, whatever it is that you love, it exists. So get involved because it's a great way to meet new people outside of your flat and course without the added pressures of a club environment. Of course lot's of societies do do clubbing events from time to time but the beauty is you can pick and choose what events you go to and what you don't so don't worry.  


Okay thanks for reading my lovelies, once again I'm so sorry I was gone and I'm going to try super hard to get back on track!



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6 comments

  1. Pushing myself on social media is somehing I had to do myself

    Candice | Beauty Candy Loves

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  2. I'm glad you got some cool roommates! My roommate my freshman year was a NIGHTMARE. We shared a dorm room together and turns out she was a super momma to two different guys. Also the first week of school she got super drunk and slept with a guy while I was sleeping in the room and didn't even remember the next morning. Needless to say, I switched roommates immediately after that and my next one was one of the sweetest people I had ever met. That was the only time I had a terrible roommate thankfully. Congrats on starting university! I just graduated this year and am already missing it. It's going to be stressful, but you'll also have a blast :)

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    1. Oh no! That's horrible! I'm glad it all got sorted out for you in the end though. Yeah I'm so grateful I got super lucky with my flat mates to be honest with you xx

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  3. Ah these pointers are so helpful (especially with my ~hopeful~ move next year, fingers crossed!!!) I'd be like you, I'd be so nervous even if the thought of a better life was within reach (ok thats a bit dramatic hahaha) So glad you're enjoying! May it continue :D xxx

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    1. Thank you so much lovely! You'll be fine! I know everyone always says it and it gets really annoying after a while HAHA but it's probably harder *not* to make friends than actually make them. So excited for you lovely xxx

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