Well, I say a wild ride but there was very little of my experience that I would personally categorise as 'wild'. So maybe instead I should say that I am about to reflect on the largely tame ride of my university experience.My tame uni ride began on September 16th when I moved 100 miles across the country to begin a new life with complete strangers. Strangers who soon became my close friends even if our first encounter was perhaps not the best introduction.
So many people around me told me how much they loved and missed home and I really wanted to relate but I found that, for me, being away from home was the best thing I could've done. Adopting an adult form of independence I managed to develop new skills (cooking risotto is a skill right?), make friends and be a different person.
No one at uni needed to know my past (although it probably took me a whole two drinks to tell them all anyway) and I was free to be me, even if I hadn't quite figured out who exactly that was yet.
And I won't lie and say that uni has so far changed my life drastically but little by little it's getting there. I'm being the better me that I've wanted to be for a while and it's given me the clean slate I needed to try new things.My biggest learning curve since leaving my small town to start university has nothing to do with being homesick or missing my beloved dtap (yes, I really do love that place). Instead, the best lesson I have learnt is that the world is full of a lot of very different people (and some of them are really old - like how am I one of the few 18 year olds I know at uni, this wasn't how it was supposed to be.)
I know that everyone says the best part of uni is the friends you make (or the nightlife. I mean what? who said that?) but it really, truly is. I've had a blast being the best (and worst) version of me and apparently people like me so I must be doing something right.
I've found the most supportive people who enjoy my writing (or so they tell me) and it has helped me, even in the short term, to become a better and more confident writer - something I have aspired to be for a while now.
While Newbury isn't the worst place in the world (sorry Beardy, but I actually like it here), I cannot wait to be back in Canterbury at the weekend, continuing to live my best life with some of my favourite people. Semester two, lets do this.
--- Aimee ---
