University of Stirling was my first choice in my UCAS application because I would have to move into accommodation to go to this university.
I had plans for my first year and I knew if I commuted, I wouldn’t have the same experiences I wanted out of university.
My other choice was University of Strathclyde and since I already spent a year commuting to City of Glasgow College for my HNC – my parents knew I could handle a commute for this university (doesn’t help that my sister has commuted to University of Glasgow for four years already).
I didn’t want that experience for four years though – I already had it for one year and that was enough. Waking up at 6am to make it to my bus in time for a one hour and a half commute was something I would get tired of after a while.
It would make joining societies hard as well – since most university societies start between 6pm and 7pm (which was the time I would arrive back home during my year at college – I wouldn’t have joined any societies with that mentality).
During my first year at University of Stirling, I have joined six societies – I will admit that I went overboard with the societies – because I have freedom to do whatever I want. The type of freedom I didn’t have at home. I could come back to my flat at 3am and no one would bat an eye – they’re just flatmates after all, not my parents that cared about that.
I have grown in ways that I never would have if I stayed at home during this year at university – from cooking for myself (I still struggle with that, it’s not my forte) to socialising with different groups of people.
When people told me that university speeds by and you would blink and you’re graduating – I thought they were lying, until I was looking at my laptop writing this article and thinking:
‘Where did the time go?’
First year was a whirlwind of experiences that I can’t believe I was lucky enough to experience – it may be coming to an end, but it’s also the start of best years of my life and I am so grateful I chose University of Stirling to be where I have those years.
Featured Image Credit: Pexels
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2nd year - History and Journalism student
