The secret lives of flat kitchens

*The author of this article has chosen to remain anonymous*

You can’t choose who you live with in first year, and sometimes this feels like the worst thing in the world. Unfortunately, not all of us hit the jackpot with our first-year flatmates and living in such close proximity can feel difficult.

First year is nerve-racking enough without having to navigate meal-prep, cooking, and living with people you’ve never met. Uni kitchens see all walks of life, people holding huge pres where the floor becomes sticky from all the wine spilt on it. Or dishes that have been left on the side for weeks and are starting to go mouldy. Not everyone experiences this, but those of us that are unlucky must deal with it.

Coming to university you meet lots of different people; for me I clicked straight away with my flatmates, but a few of them weren’t my cup of tea. Some of us knew we were different, but I always tried to be amicable. However, with time one flatmate got annoyingly comfortable with sharing his opinion on my cooking, my outfits, my life back home and at uni. Politically we did not see eye to eye which took political debates off the cards. I tried my best to avoid these conversations, not saying much when I went into the kitchen or changing the topic to avoid conflict. However, there was one thing he couldn’t seem to shake, and that was that I am northern.

For some bizarre reason it greatly upset him that I was northern and proud. Going to a university up north and living here all my life, I have a broad accent. To most it isn’t that noticeable, but my southern flatmate did not let it go un-noticed. Considering he goes to university in one of the most northern cities in England, you would think he would be more open minded and understanding. But, he treated me like a mimic, laughing at my accent and making stereotypes like, “don’t you all have tractors where you live, since it’s all farms”. 

One of my favourite conversations to reminisce on is when he said, “The north is grim”, and when I questioned where he had visited up north, he simply replied, “Only Newcastle”. Considering the only Northern city he has visited is where he studies, personally I would’ve been slightly less judgemental. Being in a kitchen and trying to do daily tasks becomes extremely tiresome when someone like this is constantly in your ear, but it opened my eyes to the ignorance of certain people, and in the end, I would just find it amusing that someone could be so simple minded. 

Flat kitchens can be a unique blend of people, but ultimately it is the experience that makes university, and there are so many other places and opportunities to meet friends for life.