Serendipity

It’s strange how some things work out perfectly. If someone had told me at Christmas I would be spending two months in Dorchester, my sleepy town, I would be tearing my hair out. And, although I have felt like that occasionally, I have also learnt that it is good to go home. (However, I have only learnt this with the hindsight gained by going away).

Trust me, this summer wasn’t exactly what I’d planned; I had hoped to get an internship and have something to add to my CV, but alas, no such luck. However I still feel like I’ve been pretty lucky. Not only do I get to enjoy the comforts of SKY TV and a fridge fully stocked with luxuries such as olives and anchovies, (such treats I would happily spend my student loan on, but sadly cannot justify), I also, and most importantly, get to be around my old childhood friends who know and love me despite my eccentricities.

There is something quite magical about being in England in the sunshine, drinking cider in the middle of the day, and reminiscing about who your year one class mates have become. For me, what with my parents in the process of moving to France I naturally felt like the bubble of my childhood life was about to burst. I was also acutely aware that for many of my friends this was their last long summer, most had already graduated and gotten proper jobs in big important cities. Suddenly it dawned on me that it would never be this easy again, it wouldn’t be as gloriously carefree - seeing the people I grew up with was just about to get a whole lot harder.

Thus, the resolution that I must make this summer count seemed even more poignant.

Sun is shining, good company, not in the library…life is good.

Now, I am fully aware that a lot of you reading this will be heading to university for the first time this summer and I definitely don’t want to make the prospect even more daunting, because honestly it is the best time of your life. But university does make you appreciate your home somewhat, obviously there’s nothing better than it being perfectly acceptable to wear a onesie to a lecture and drink Red Bull for breakfast, but going home to your mother’s cooking after a semester does make the food taste even better.

I guess I was lucky, I never really missed home when I started university; there were far too many exciting and new things starting in my life to dwell on the past, but, nonetheless going home did still feel pretty comfortable. Something that’s a genuine concern for many freshers is whether you can still stay in contact with your friends from home when you all start studying in various parts of the country – the answer, is most definitely, yes  (trust me; I am proof of this).

Honestly, if you put the effort in, you’ll be able to grow up with your childhood friends just the same as you always did. This summer taught me that despite having lived away from home for years, having changed as a person massively, and having been absent from big chunks of their lives, I still consider them all best friends.

So please don’t stress, this is a new chapter, not an end.

However, a few tips to make things easier:

1. Don’t try and not miss them – it is natural that when that perfect opportunity for an old in-joke comes up and you have no one to share it with, you will feel a pang of sadness, but whilst at university you will make your old friends part of your new life.
2. Get skype. (Literally, it is the best thing ever.)  Arrange long phone calls. Write letters.
3. Plan when you’ll see each other next. For example, my housemate’s friendship group made a commitment prior to university to always go to each other’s birthday parties!
4. Make the most of the time you do have together; when you know your friends as well - and as long - as you do, time apart really doesn’t change anything. I promise, within five minutes everything will fall back into place.
5. You’ll have so many individual new experiences while you’re apart, but make up for this by having crazy new experiences together. This is what I’ve been doing and it’s made me closer to the people I love more than ever – last year I travelled around Asia with them and this year I am interrailing around Europe. Let me just say, it’s awesome.

Home is always there, it is always comfortable and warm, but university is a whirlwind of experiences that you just have to jump into. Take that leap, head first, and make the biggest splash during freshers week. I have no doubt that you will meet some of the best people you’ll ever know whilst you are at Southampton, and you’ll learn that being away from your creature comforts and your home friends really isn’t as hard as you think it will be. If these people mean enough to you they will stay in your future, and once you’re at university your future is all around you.

University life is great. Enough said.

Florence