So you’ve had your place confirmed, you’ve got your accommodation sorted and you’re almost ready to go. Your mind is full of ideas, who am I going to be living with? How many people am I going to be sharing a kitchen with? Are they going to eat my food? How am I going to make any friends? I know that these are some of the things I was worried about. I was both excited and anxious at the same time!
The time of applying for accommodation seems like years ago now, and after having your place confirmed you can’t wait to begin your new course and move into your new home for a year. Most Uni’s have a ‘moving weekend’ at the beginning of freshers, and I chose to move in on the Sunday, meaning half of the people in my flat had been there for a day already. After moving my things in with my parents, we decided to head into Brighton (which I hadn’t actually visited before starting Uni) to get some lunch and explore my new home for the next three years. After a little trip to Asda to pick up all the essentials (and the pre’s) that I’d managed to forget we said our goodbyes and it was time for me to unpack and properly settle in.
As soon as my parents had left I realised it was time to go out into the communal areas and meet everyone I was living with. I was in the kitchen unpacking my shop when one of my flatmates came in to make themselves a tea, and he took me around the flat and introduced me to everyone. I soon realised we were all as nervous as each other when it came to moving away from home, and we spent the afternoon chilling out in the kitchen and getting to know each other. That night was the first night of freshers, and going out is a great way of getting to know people in your halls, as the flat next door invited us to their pre-drinks, and everyone came together to get the bus into town.
After the first night, socialising became easier, as you bump into people you meet out and begin to feel like part of a community in halls. Varley Park is a really great place to live in your first year, as you’re surrounded by students all the time, and especially if you are in catered halls you spend a lot of time in the evening with the people that live around you. My flat had two bathrooms between the six of us, which meant there was never really a problem with waiting for a shower or anything like that, and we all decorated with posters our communal kitchen and living area together, changing the generic feel of the flat into a nice homely living space.
Before you know it, it will be Christmas and time to head back home for a few weeks, and you’ll find yourself referring to Uni as ‘home’ (which will annoy your mum) and missing your friends at University. Halls are a great way of settling into university life and making friends and because you are constantly surrounded by people you don’t miss home as much as you think as your housemates become like your family. Varley Park is a really nice Halls to live in, and as it is not on a particular campus it brings you in contact with a lot of people across the University that you may not otherwise meet, creating a huge group of friends and a real community during your first year.