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University

That's what your first year of the first year of university is all about - finding a way to reconcile your life as a child with your future as an adult. It's not like you drop everything and everybody you love and replace them; but your relationships and priorities change. They have to. - Rainbow Rowell on moving to university.

I didn't really know what to expect from university, but it certainly wasn't this. I feel like a completely different person, in a good and bad way. I feel like I've found this part of myself that I didn't know existed and simply wouldn't have been able to be found at home, but I also feel like I'm not like I was at home and that takes a while to get used to.

I'm not entirely sure what I was nervous about with regard to coming to a new place and living without parents but I haven't been that surprised by any problems I've encountered. Not that there have been many problems. I spend my time with my flat, whom I get on very well with and the immense amount of support we have for each other is really wonderful; I spend time with people on my course (in and out of uni time), which is just brilliant because books; and I spend time with my lovely, grand, and stupidly talented friends whom make me feel like I can actually do things, like write and stuff. The conversations that have happened, and the things that have generally happened, have been surprising to me - I didn't realise how opinionated I could be and how much I could speak out for myself should I choose to.

The hardest bit for me has been the alteration between how I feel at home home and how I feel here, which I do class as my home too. Obviously the people I'm friends with back home home have changed and gone to university, or started new jobs, or are doing whatever it they're doing and because of this there seems a little mad rush to keep in contact and to catch up and to, almost, keep it as it was. There are some people there isn't this problem (so to speak) with, but others it's sort of a limbo-situation; the changes are odd and we need to find our feet again and, it's not... bad, it's just weird.

That said, university has been incredible so far. It's mad, yes, it's hectic, yes, it's different BUT it's an incredible opportunity that I'm so thankful to have.

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