First Month at University | Expectations vs Reality

Hey Guys x

As some of you may know, I started university just over a month ago, and so far I'm really liking it!

However, so many things are different to the way that I first expected them to be, so I thought that I'd share some of these with you.

Of course, these are my own expectations and my own experiences, so if you're currently at uni too, you may not be able to relate, especially if you've left home, as I haven't!

The Workload
Expectation: I didn't expect the workload to be too heavy. My thought process was: 'People spend the whole of the first year getting drunk, so how can the workload be too heavy?'

Reality: Oh how wrong I was! The amount of reading is crazy and was something that I completely didn't expect when I first started! It's not unbearable, but definitely something to be aware of!

Social Life
Expectation: I thought I was going to meet people who spent all their time drinking and clubbing, and that I would have to join them, for fear of being left out and not making any friends.

Reality: This is something that I'm really happy about. Of course there are people who drink and club, but I'm definitely not one of those people! And thankfully, I've found people who, like me, would rather have a movie marathon than a wild night out, and I'm so happy that I have!

Days Off
Expectation: Coming straight from school, I had the thought that I would have to be in university 5 days a week, 9 to 5 every day, with one break and no time off. The fact that maybe, I would have half a day off a week was like a foreign concept to me!

Reality: I actually get two days off a week, and two half days on top of that, so I'm in from 9 to 4 one day, which is great! My timetable is amazing and I'm really happy with it because I know how lucky I am to have a good few days off each week!

Finding My Way Around
Expectation: I thought that I would get lost. Catastrophically lost. I thought that I would be late to every single lecture and seminar because I wouldn't be able to find my way to anywhere, especially because the building is so big!

Reality: I find it so easy to get around now! I know where everything is, but it's so big that I still discover something new every time!

Not Coming In
Expectation: When you're in school\sixth form, well for me anyway, the school take it really personally when someone doesn't come in, and make a big deal about someone being off sick for whatever reason, so I thought that university would be the same way.

Reality: I don't mean this in a horrible way, but they don't really care. Or rather, they don't mind that much, as long as you aren't off every single day or anything. As long as you email your tutors, everything's fine, which is great!

Anyway, those are a few things that I noticed after attending university for a month. If you have any others, please leave them in the comments!

Thank you for reading!

Comment below what expectations you had of school\college\uni and their realities!

Keep Smiling - Lou xx