Students' and Parents' Experiences
Thai Chilli Crisps and Philadelphia?
At school, we would sit around the dinner table talking about university like it was a daydream, a fantasy; a utopia of bright lights and bright people, alcohol and parties, intellectuals and eccentrics. It turns out that we were being ridiculously stereotypical – student life is different for everybody and wonderful in many different ways, so it is unrealistic to try and plan or pre-empt your experience. You have to experience it for yourself.
There are people who come to university to party, but what some people don´t realise is there are just as many who come to work and to socialise in a slightly more modest way. I am sure some students worry that they have to be an extrovert to fit in – not at all. I found this out the hard way, as I spent most of Intro Week suffering from lack of sleep and the infamous "Freshers´ flu". I believed I was meant to go out every night and talk to a lot of random strangers, because that´s what students are supposedly like. Many people, a week later, were complaining that they didn´t really want to do it every night and were quite happy just sitting in with a DVD and a pizza!
Nobody is truly themselves at first: nerves and expectations get in the way. Things quickly settle down however and you are able to get to know people properly: for me, that´s when the fun truly started! I am still amazed every night when my flat gets together for dinner that we are all so startlingly individual yet get along like Walkers´ Thai Chilli crisps and Philadelphia. (Trust me, it works!) For those who are confident enough, knock on your neighbour´s door and introduce yourself. For those who aren´t, just prop your door open and say hello to people who walk by. There are 3 fail-safe questions to ask people: what they´re studying, where they´re staying, and where they´re from. You have to remember everyone is in the same boat, everyone wants to make new friends, and everyone else might be just as unsure as you are.
There are many avenues for meeting people here. One of the best things about being at Sheffield is the "Give it a Go" scheme, where you can attend any activity as a one-off, on a pay-as-you-go basis. It allows you to sample new things, have a laugh with people you go with, or meet new people - at the very least you know you have that particular interest in common! This applies similarly to meeting people on your course. Many departments organise their own social evening; though I have met a lot people simply by chatting away in the corridor pre-lecture!
Everyone suffers from homesickness now and then. They say university is full of highs and lows, but once the first low is out of the way, whenever that may occur, the highs are so numerous that it seems irrelevant. One misconception of going away to university is that you have to sever ties with your old life – again, not so. Many people I know have been home once and parents have been to visit. With friends, the genuine godsends of technology (instant messaging, email, mobiles, and texting) mean you can still be just as close as before.
Going away to university can be whole-heartedly scary, for student and parent. But it´s an experience that shouldn´t be missed, for once you are swept up in the glowing excitement of life, you look back at that first weekend nostalgic and amused at how previously alien it all seemed, when really it´s just the next natural step forwards.
Melanie Stevenson
English Language and Literature
First Year