Southampton you’ve been dazzling – thank you!

This is quite honestly the strangest/hardest blog I have ever written. I am now writing from the perspective of a quasi-student; having finished my final-year exams a day ago it is officially the beginning of the end.

I never thought I’d actually be going to university, not actually actually, and yet somehow I’m graduating this summer… The last three years of my life seem to have just slipped through my fingers and now I have an overwhelming hankering to go back to Freshers and do it all over again.
I have been lucky enough to live with the same people who were in my halls, these people are the best people I’ve met whilst here and have completely shaped my Southampton journey. The thought of not living with them – no longer having breakfast to the sounds of Smooth FM, no more aggressive games of Articulate, Cake of the Year competitions and milk rotas – seems a little bit too tragic for my overworked mental state to handle.

And what a beautiful journey it was – from first year to third year. 

Whilst my exams were hard I think I underestimated how much harder leaving was going to be. And I am speaking about leaving so eminently because I leave tomorrow. And I’m not leaving to go home; I’m leaving to go to Amsterdam (from where I'll be writing my next post!).

Before some of my friends have finished their exams I will have moved countries and started a new job. ARG! If I thought the world was just going to stand still after uni I was sorely mistaken.

BUT ‘this is a new chapter’, or at least that’s what I keep telling myself – along with other idioms – such as ‘all good things come to an end’ and ‘keep calm and carry on’ in an attempt to channel a positive mentality. Because whilst so much of me does not want to leave, screaming to stay in this wonderful uni bubble, I know that I must. No, not that I must – I should and will leave because I want to. And I want to because of university; that epic chapter has undoubtedly influenced the future chapters in my life. This influence gave me the courage to apply to jobs abroad, and take them despite them creating absolutely manic situations in the process.

I could speak no end about the joys I have had at the University of Southampton, but I have tried to restrain myself in this blog – I have met great people and learnt great things which no amount of words will do justice to, meaning that all I really can say is thank you.

I want to thank everyone and everything that made these last three years the best ever. I felt at home within minutes at Monte (my halls in first year) and will no doubt always have an affinity with this University. So until my graduation, so long Southampton, it’s been a pleasure.

Florence