Finding home

Towards the end of the Christmas holidays, I was sitting around with my family discussing plans for returning to Southampton in time for exam season when talk turned to the empty fridge that awaited me down South – after some careful meal planning, I’d managed to clear it before leaving to prevent the inevitable food-rotting that always happens over holidays in student kitchens!

Given the length of the journey from the North to Southampton, shops would most likely be closed by the time I arrived, so my parents suggested taking a few items down with me. Unfortunately, without thinking, I produced a Freudian slip of dire proportions, saying “Don’t worry, I’ll order a pizza [Note: a more frequent occurrence this year, it seems!] and go shopping the morning after at home.”

After the initial silence following my use of that last word, I quickly realised what I’d said and tried to backtrack but, suffice to say, I didn’t hear the end of it for the remainder of the holidays – in jest, of course!

I bring this story up because, when talking with my housemates the other day, lots of us found we’d had similar incidents recently, accidentally referring to here in a similar manner, bringing to light just how settled we must now feel at University for us to all do so.  

Conversely, we all noticed how, when we’re down in Southampton, we’ll often speak about popping “home” – the various corners of the country we come from – for the weekend. Talk about a double life!

So despite my slip of the tongue, which wasn’t in any way a slight on the homeliness of the North, my roots in which will forever remain implanted and which I’ll always miss when I’m away, I think it was just an indication of how, after a year and a half of studying in Southampton, I’m proud and happy to be able to call the city my home from home, and to know that I can travel North and South and be surrounded by friends, family and daily inspiration.

It’s fantastic to have such strong ties both North...

... and South, and I could never choose between the two!

It’s strange to think just how much has changed during the spell since I’ve moved into the lifestyle of being a full-time student, both in myself and the world around me, and I’ve been hugely fortunate in how almost every aspect, be it housemates, friends, my course, my accommodation, my societies, and everything else that forms part of my daily life, has fallen into place. The culmination of their influence forms a far cry from the nervous wreck that turned up on day one with a few essentials, bedsheets, some pens and paper, and shirts and jeans, armed with only the knowledge of how to cook a mean beans on toast – although regarding cookery, my housemates might tell you nothing’s changed!

It’s around this point in the year when lots of prospective students are visible on campus for course open days, clutching maps, asking for directions to Building 37 (which can be found online if you’re unsure – and is usually what I have to resort to, as I only really know building names!) or being led around by tour guides, some looking more nervous than others, with interviews potentially to follow. And just as with generations of students before, most people currently at the University have been in their shoes.

Personally, I was lucky enough to be invited to four such interview days for my course, all in far-flung areas of England (the rail fares to which my dad very kindly covered!) and offering vastly varied unique and exciting opportunities which, if it weren’t for the presence of one another, I’d have snapped up on the spot. Southampton and their Electronics and Computer Science department (ECS) were no exception – my graduate brother accompanied me and at the end of the open day asked if he could take the degree as well! – but deciding between the four at crunch time was far from easy.

So when people ask “Why Southampton?”, all I can attempt to do is articulate the vibe I got when I visited that day. I struggle to really explain it, and I know that, in all likelihood, I’d have been content elsewhere, but when I came down and looked around the University and Students’ Union, I felt the buzz of a thriving and friendly University, and it was infectious. I loved the greenery of the Highfield campus, I appreciated the wide-ranging facilities and their atmosphere, and I was bowled over by the sheer warmth of the people. I liked a lot about other universities, too, but something about Southampton just... felt right. It felt like it could be ‘home’.

And when it came down to the ‘informal interview’, the million and one pre-prepared, professional answers I’d had floating around in my head flew out the window. Instead, I had a short, enjoyable chat with a member of staff who asked me a couple of general questions about why I’d applied, and told me what he thought ECS could offer me, encouraging me, for example, to consider its excellent research opportunities. At no time did I feel pressured by them to show off or act up to the scenario, it genuinely did just seem like a chance to ask questions and get to know the University better.

So if you’re invited to visit the University of Southampton or, indeed, any other establishment in the next few weeks, I’d earnestly encourage you to take up that opportunity. Not only should you have a great day out, but having been there gives you something potentially critical to go on when you have to make a decision.

Ultimately, it’s your gut instincts which could prove all the difference in the end, as they did with me,  and having found ‘home’, I’m more grateful for the chance than ever before.

Robin