But personally, I was right in the middle of these two camps. When I came to university, I knew that I wanted my independence but I also wanted to see my family as often as I could, especially since my journey home is only about an hour.
I’ve never been away from home longer than two to three weeks, I’ve been keeping this structure up since the start of first year, and I’ve still managed to get involved with many aspects of university life. Allowing yourself to have the full university experience and be comfortable in your new surroundings with your new friends, while still visiting home often, is a balance that many students want to strike and I’m happy that I found one that works for me.
Allowing yourself to have the full university experience and be comfortable in your new surroundings with your new friends, while still visiting home often, is a balance that many students want to strike...
Of course, I’m one of over a million students in this country attending university, and my experience is very different from others.
For one thing, I live a lot nearer my hometown than many others do, so there'll be some people who would have to jump on a four-hour train or a plane every weekend to go and see their family. I’m also lucky in that I get on very well with my family and I want to go and see them - for those who don’t, it’s probably counter-productive for them to go home when they could stay at university and continue making memories.
However, I’ve always found that whether I’ve had a good or terrible week at university, I always feel better if I go home, just for the weekend or for the holidays (or a few random weeks in the case of the ongoing strikes). It gives me a chance to tell my parents what I’ve been up to, talk about any worries I have, and reconnect with friends back home.
University is a very different beast for all of us. We’re all on different courses with different backgrounds following different paths. But as much as we might all be focused on our futures, you might realise that finding a balance between university and your home life does you the world of good.