So, I thought i'd followup with that 20 facts about me (so boring) with a little more about my experience of uni thus far.
I know me being in the second week of my second semester of my first year doesn't make me an expert on university life, but I feel like there is much to be said about it.
I had a very liberal upbringing, my mum is super duper relaxed and never stopped me from going out, coming back late or having boyfriends sleepover. Coming from this relaxed background, there wasn't the usual 'I can do whatever I want now' feeling for me when I came to uni, as I had done pretty much all of it before. Despite this, I was sooo excited to finally come to university and move out of my unbelievably busy house, have my own space and just do my own thing.
I started uni whilst I had been going out with my boyfriend for about 10 months, and although people think that this often impedes on the uni experience, for me it made things a whole lot easier. Through all of my life, I have always been the loud funny (not showing off) one, never had any problems getting on with people or making friends, just generally a sociable person. I assumed that coming here I would flourish, make tons of new friends who I would keep for the rest of my life and have a really great time. Although I do really like my flat mates, your put in a situation where it really is luck of the draw. At Manchester Uni anyway there are no forms to fill out or questionnaires that you answer to find people similar, so flat mates are randomly picked. It can go one of two ways, and I do feel like I have gotten lucky with my flat mates, but nonetheless I still am nowhere near as close with them as I thought I would be.
I have found university, so far, a very lonely experience. I have learned to love my own company, which is NOT a bad thing, but have also gone from an extrovert to an introvert. I am now far more aware of what I say, and often avoid social situations that I know I may feel the tiniest bit awkward in. I cannot blame this on my flatmates completely or really at all, as there were several other things that happened just before and during my first term that set me back a lot.
At sixth form, there had been a lot of changing of friendship groups, and I lost about 6 out of 8 friends who had been my best friends for the previous 5 years. I stayed close with one or two, and ended up in a friendship group, which I did love, with one of my old friends and 2 different people. However I did experience the whole 'best friend going off with another friend' and ended up feeling very isolated, always left out of things, which (not complaining again) made me a lot closer to my boyfriend. Of course when you are in a relationship you have to accept that you cannot go to everything, but I always thing that an invite is appreciated. I ended up not being invited on late night trips and nights out, which had a bigger effect on me than I thought it would.
Anyway, two of these girls came to uni with me, both at Manchester, with my oldest friend living in the flat opposite me. I had kind of hoped that this exclusion would stop here, and although it has a bit, I am not an integral part of their friendship group anymore, which has left me feeling kind of useless. It's like I cant bond with my flatmates, no longer have them and have struggled to make many friends on my course. I have two different best friends, but one of those is living back in Birmingham and the other at uni in Sheffield. As I had never experienced this before, I found it very hard to adjust to a far more lonely life here.
I cant deny that I love uni, because I do. I love the freedom I have, looking after myself, not having to answer to anyone (except my mum still of course haha) and just generally being a free spirit. I really enjoy the nights out I have, exploring a new town and creating my own life. The main thing that worries me is hearing about everyone else uni experiences, making life long friends, deciding what career to do etc. I have, thus far, done none of these things, and it makes me very worried thinking that I never will.
I just want to write this for anyone out there who is deciding on whether or not they want to go to university, deciding between catered or self-catered halls, or how far away to go from home. I have loved living in a self-catered flat as I have very bad relations with food, but I really would recommend catered halls, as they are far more sociable and i've heard it is a lot easier to make friends and meet people. I would also say to THINK CAREFULLY before committing to coming to uni, your going to be paying the debt off (up to £36 grand) for the rest of your life, it is not a decision to be made lightly. Don't just go, which I feel I did, because you think it is the right thing to do, or because your worried you'll never get a job without a degree. Yes of course degrees make a difference, but they are not compulsory. Your happiness is far more important, in my opinion, then your education. Having myself experienced points of such sadness since being here which I have never experienced before, make sure you think very carefully about going to University.
Although this story is of course my own, and everyone has different lives and friends I do think that a lot of people feel like this and will relate. University is such a wonderful thing, but you have to make sure it is 100% what you want. Of course doubts are normal, doubts about how to make friends or what you'll eat, not doubts about if you will actually be happy there.
I really hope this helps someone out there to make the right decision,
Bless up
Zoe x
Wednesday 27 January 2016
Sunday 24 January 2016
20 Facts About Me
So I thought I should probably start this whole blogging thing off by allowing whoever (if anyone) is reading this to know a bit more about me. Taking the totally generic route, I'm gonna give you 20 facts about me.. enjoy x
1. I've got a big heritage, I'm quarter German, quarter Pakistani, eighth Polish and Russian and one little quarter English! People however often mistake me for Greek or Cypriot, but no I'm just a very weird pic'n'mix of things
2. I used to live in Essex, then when my parents got divorced I moved to Birmingham with my mum, and now I am at the University of Manchester
3. My mum and step-dad are moving to California in the next year or two, Andrew, my step dad, is a math genius so has just accepted a position at the one and only Caltech. Despite this wonderful achievement, I cant help but focus on the holidays that will be coming up haha
4. Anthropology was not my initial choice of university course. I applied to study marketing and management and that was the plan up until results day, when I decided to listen to my friends and family who were telling me that marketing was NOT for me, and changed to anthropology which I am sooo thankful I did!
5. Despite knowing that I am a VERY outgoing person, making friends with almost everyone I meet, I have struggled more then I ever thought I would at university. This is another reason why I wanted to start this blog, not only to explore my fashion, but also because I know that if I had've read something about what university it REALLY like, I perhaps would've made different choices about coming
6. I am currently madly in love with someone who i've been with for over a year now - eek
7. I have a PATHOLOGICAL fear of little holes on a surface, like genuinely cannot look at them or even think about them ughh
8. I love clothes and style and want to explore this passion further in the next couple of years
9. I have quite a few issues with body image and self confidence, probably stemming from a major weight loss and eating problem I had in 2011 - I know it was a long time ago but things like that don't just go away
10. I am OBSESSED with the sun and tanning, I know its bad for me but I always feel so much better about myself when i'm all golden and glowy
11. My mum is 100% my best friend, I would do absolutely anything for her
12. I often get taken advantage of, maybe because sometimes i'm too much of a wimp to stand up for myself (boyfriend is forever telling me off for being like this)
13. I am hoping that in the future I can work with children in some way, possibly through teaching, children protection, or in the police department. I am a very very caring person and extremely maternal, looking after people is something I do very well
14. I am really really bad at telling anyone how I feel unless they force it out of me, regardless of the fact that I hate people who bottle their feelings up, I do this nearly all of the time. I have however got better in the last year
15. I get very easily affected by things, even the smallest of things will have a big impact on me, quite a sensitive person
16. I love music
17. One reason I do love my degree is because I am so intrigued by other cultures, why certain people act the way they do, why some customs are so bizarre in different places
18. I have the curliest most frizzy hair in the world
19. My grandma has been an of an on alcoholic since I was born and it has just made me respect and admire my mum even more through her hardships of dealing with my grandma
20. I really want to keep this blogging stuff up and not give up on it in 2 days time! However I do have an exam tomorrow morning so I need to stop now
Bless up,
Zoe x
1. I've got a big heritage, I'm quarter German, quarter Pakistani, eighth Polish and Russian and one little quarter English! People however often mistake me for Greek or Cypriot, but no I'm just a very weird pic'n'mix of things
2. I used to live in Essex, then when my parents got divorced I moved to Birmingham with my mum, and now I am at the University of Manchester
3. My mum and step-dad are moving to California in the next year or two, Andrew, my step dad, is a math genius so has just accepted a position at the one and only Caltech. Despite this wonderful achievement, I cant help but focus on the holidays that will be coming up haha
4. Anthropology was not my initial choice of university course. I applied to study marketing and management and that was the plan up until results day, when I decided to listen to my friends and family who were telling me that marketing was NOT for me, and changed to anthropology which I am sooo thankful I did!
5. Despite knowing that I am a VERY outgoing person, making friends with almost everyone I meet, I have struggled more then I ever thought I would at university. This is another reason why I wanted to start this blog, not only to explore my fashion, but also because I know that if I had've read something about what university it REALLY like, I perhaps would've made different choices about coming
6. I am currently madly in love with someone who i've been with for over a year now - eek
7. I have a PATHOLOGICAL fear of little holes on a surface, like genuinely cannot look at them or even think about them ughh
8. I love clothes and style and want to explore this passion further in the next couple of years
9. I have quite a few issues with body image and self confidence, probably stemming from a major weight loss and eating problem I had in 2011 - I know it was a long time ago but things like that don't just go away
10. I am OBSESSED with the sun and tanning, I know its bad for me but I always feel so much better about myself when i'm all golden and glowy
11. My mum is 100% my best friend, I would do absolutely anything for her
12. I often get taken advantage of, maybe because sometimes i'm too much of a wimp to stand up for myself (boyfriend is forever telling me off for being like this)
13. I am hoping that in the future I can work with children in some way, possibly through teaching, children protection, or in the police department. I am a very very caring person and extremely maternal, looking after people is something I do very well
14. I am really really bad at telling anyone how I feel unless they force it out of me, regardless of the fact that I hate people who bottle their feelings up, I do this nearly all of the time. I have however got better in the last year
15. I get very easily affected by things, even the smallest of things will have a big impact on me, quite a sensitive person
16. I love music
17. One reason I do love my degree is because I am so intrigued by other cultures, why certain people act the way they do, why some customs are so bizarre in different places
18. I have the curliest most frizzy hair in the world
19. My grandma has been an of an on alcoholic since I was born and it has just made me respect and admire my mum even more through her hardships of dealing with my grandma
20. I really want to keep this blogging stuff up and not give up on it in 2 days time! However I do have an exam tomorrow morning so I need to stop now
Bless up,
Zoe x
University
Hey, I'm Zoe and I've been reading blogs and watching youtube videos for the best part of 7 years now, which despite me being only 18, does make me feel a teeny bit old haha. Currently I'm in my second semester of my first year of uni studying Anthropology - an experience which has turned out to be very different to what I envisioned it would be like.
This is my first post on here so I'm not going to delve into my personal feelings and attitudes towards uni just yet, but I was inspired to make this blog to develop my personal style further, I want to try and explore my fashion and show how I personally wear clothes and what they mean to me. I do have a complicated relationship with my body, so clothes are a huge part of my life, I don't just buy excessive amounts because I'm a hoarder - well maybe a bit - but it is mainly because I have a perpetual feeling that nothing looks quite good enough on me.
Hopefully through starting this, I can learn to appreciate what I wear more and value what I do have, along with helping anyone else who is in a similar situation to me in terms of mixed feelings about uni.
Sorry this was a bit rambley, but I'm just getting started at this
Bless up,
Zoe x
This is my first post on here so I'm not going to delve into my personal feelings and attitudes towards uni just yet, but I was inspired to make this blog to develop my personal style further, I want to try and explore my fashion and show how I personally wear clothes and what they mean to me. I do have a complicated relationship with my body, so clothes are a huge part of my life, I don't just buy excessive amounts because I'm a hoarder - well maybe a bit - but it is mainly because I have a perpetual feeling that nothing looks quite good enough on me.
Hopefully through starting this, I can learn to appreciate what I wear more and value what I do have, along with helping anyone else who is in a similar situation to me in terms of mixed feelings about uni.
Sorry this was a bit rambley, but I'm just getting started at this
Bless up,
Zoe x
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