Have one day a week to do all your adulting!
Obviously, it’s not the most fun of days, but it’s the easiest way to keep your life together. Sunday was my go-to – it was usually the day I wasn’t hanging out with a society, and it’s a good easy way to distract yourself from stressing out about assignments. Sometimes, I made a competition with myself to see if I could do everything before my washing was finished. When all is said and done, cleaning up around the house will take an hour or two max if you focus. Find a good audiobook or a playlist to keep you going while you do it – usually there’s a free trial you can get on audiobook sites, or get yourself a half price Spotify premium account with your NUS card which you can *cough* buy at the Student Union office *cough*. Reward yourself with comfort food and binge-watching something on Netflix at the end of the day – you will definitely deserve it.
Go exploring:
Get to know your new home – Cambridge, Chelmsford and Peterborough are vibrant and diverse cities with plenty going on in the day and night, interwoven with long and fascinating histories. There’s always something to do, whether it’s delving into your local museum, doing typical tourist-y days out, or finding a new place to chill out hidden away from the main attractions there is something for everyone. Find yourself a local delicacy to make a day of it – there are an abundance of great local, independent restaurants you can try offering fresh, handmade food.
But if you’re looking for something completely different, we run trips and events called Give It A Go’s – we’re off to Harry Potter Studios, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ely, Langdon Wildlife Park – the list goes on. Find all the rest of our trips on the website!
Get going to as many events as you can:
Hands down, the best thing I ever did was go to the LGBT+ Society’s first event when I was a fresher. It was the very first society meet that I went to, timid and shy but willing to get involved. Safe to say, at the end of that year, I was on the committee running it. You’re here to make a new life, and the friends you make just popping along to a coffee social, crafting with or spending a long afternoon playing board games with will be the ones who make it for you. It only takes a small spark of curiosity to grow into a roaring fire of excitement.
Cook some home comforts:
One of the best things that kept the pangs of homesickness – and hunger – at bay, was finding a good old family favourite and cooking it up for myself. Your parents will have learned lots of little tricks over the years to make life easier that you won’t find on a typical recipe website. Even better – cook one of your favourites for your flatmates – it’s a great way for your new friends to get to know you and share your home experiences.