The University Special: Day 1 - Moving

Last week some of you will have received your results letting you know if you got into uni of not. I remember those days and i remember the relief i felt when i got my letter to tell me i was going away. If this didn't happen to you i am super sorry and don't worry something better will come along. I remember the month before i left for uni and the confusion i felt. I didn't have any siblings who had gone before me and i didn't know anyone older than me who could give me advice so i had to work it all out for myself. You don't need to do this because i am going to do a week of posts dedicated to what is going to be the best few years of your life and how to prepare for the change that is about to happen. It was 3 years ago that i was in your position but i remember it like it was yesterday because it was the biggest change to my life.

Today i am going to talk about moving, the basic things you need and some advice on things to take to make your room feel more homely. For my first year i lived in Halls and it was an amazing experience but if you are moving into a house don't worry you still get the uni experience and these tips work just the same. I lived in a tiny room with a single bed and not much space, i was lucky enough to not have an en-suite so i didn't have to share a bathroom. The most important things that help to make your room homely is not buying completely new thing because that makes everything foreign; take belongs which you are used to and recognize. Also if you have posters or pictures on your walls take them down and take them with you. Most places will say that you can't put blue tac on the walls but i did and there are other alternatives anyway. All of this helps to make it more comforting and link you back to your room at home.

Start off by taking as little with you as possible because you will fill up your room quickly and accumulate stuff throughout the year. I only took the clothes that i actual wore and stuff i used. Do not take anything that you don't want to break or lose such as childhood things, leave them at home in your old room because pranks will happen. In regards to kitchen things i had nothing before i found out i had got into uni, i didn't want to buy things in case i didn't go so i had to buy everything new and quickly. After one stop at Ikea i had all the basic things i needed. If i were you i wouldn't buy anything expensive or anything that you wouldn't want broken or stolen because people will use your things and will not care if it broken. If you want nice things wait until you are in a house in second year with friends because they will worry if they break anything. At the end of the year i had managed to keep the majority of my stuff apart from my mugs and all of my cutlery went missing.

Now on to the actual living with strangers and the scariest part of the moving experience. I was sooo scared before i left, worrying what the people would be like, who i would be living with and if we would get on. Before i left i went online and found a page linked to my uni and the halls i was moving to and spoke to some of the people i was moving in with before i moved. This did ease my worrying a little but i was still scared. You just need to remember that EVERYONE is in the same situation and i know what you are thinking 'but other people are louder and better at making friends than me' i thought that before i moved but there are people at uni that will be like you, you just have to find them. When you first move it feels like what i imagine the Big Brother house to be like. It feels strange spending every minute with people you don't know and the feeling that you have to spend a year living with these people. It never gets easier and still feels strange but you quickly get to know everyone and get along. If you don't get on with someone it just means that you won't hang out with them and there are ways of not seeing people because you are all busy with uni and have friends outside of the flat so most of the time during the day no one is there or that was the case in my flat.

I am a very homely person and i am very close to my family so it was very hard for me to move. Don't get me wrong i was so excited to leave but it was such a change i craved my old life where my family looked after (more on the looking after yourself in tomorrows post) but i was away from them. Yes i did cry but this sadness didn't set in until about a week after i had moved and when fresher was just ending and i had no idea what i was doing on my own. I thought i was the only one like this but in secret everyone in the flat had a little cry that week.

The important things to remember are that everyone is in the same situation so everyone is scared, just make the most of it. Make your room as homely as possible with things from home. Enjoy it because it does go surprising quick even though at the start of the year it seems like it will never end. You will feel like you are on Big Brother but it will become familiar in no time.

If you have any questions on moving to a uni let me know in the comments and i will happily answer them. All i wanted when i was looking forward to uni was to ask someone questions but i didn't have anyone so i am here for you if you need.

P.S i would have added pictures but i don't actually have any on this laptop of my old bedroom :(

SophaaRambles xx