Me and you(ni) – how uni can change your idea of yourself

Coming to uni is perhaps the most exciting and nerve-wracking change to happen in life this far, and with this massive step forward comes a huge rediscovery of yourself.  I don’t think I’ve ever been quite so terrified about making a good impression as I was when faced by seven new flatmates, trying to remember anything cool about myself to try and make myself interesting to these strangers.  So much of uni seems to be about that: knowing who you are, what you like, and what makes you interesting, when in reality who I am and what I like seems to change every time I discover something new. 

There are a few things that you have to figure out pretty swiftly when you first move to uni, and one of them is the time you will spend on your own. Although there will be your flatmates, there’s always going to be a moment you find yourself alone – whether that’s going to bed on your first night or when your flat have decided to rewatch all the Twilight films and you seriously can’t stomach another moment of dark and brooding Edward Cullen. Suddenly being on your own can be scary but simultaneously a chance to unwind and digest all the new people and experiences uni produces. 

The most important thing to remember is that you don’t have to arrive at uni as a completed and perfected version of yourself.  It’s okay to not really know who you are or to not have found the hobby that you truly enjoy – join as many societies as you want and see where they lead you! It’s okay if you don’t get on with your flatmates immediately, and it’s okay if you walk into a lecture and don’t know anybody.  Each difficult thing you do will help curate a more well-rounded idea of yourself, and there’s always potential to change and become a newer version of yourself than you were yesterday.