A Letter to My First-Year Self

Hi Jess! So, you’ve just turned eighteen and you’re ready to move to university? I can’t believe it's only been a year since then - I’m a completely different person now! Let me fill you in on my year and give you a bit of advice. 

Firstly, I know moving to university is scary, but this year has genuinely been everything you wanted it to be and more. I can’t find the words to describe it, but all that I can say is that you’ve truly found your people and have evolved into the confident, ambitious, kind woman that we always have been deep down. Moving away from home was definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done (the first two weeks will be especially rough), but it was also one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. I know you didn’t get the exact accommodation you wanted, but the people you’ll live with are the loveliest people and I wouldn’t change them for the world. I’ve now moved into my second-year house with some of them and I can’t wait for the party to start. 

Speaking of partying - I know you said you weren’t going to be that into clubbing, but girl we love it. There’s no better feeling than getting in from a 4-6 Friday lecture, spending two hours listening to the perfect playlist and getting ready, pre-ing the pres with 13A-5 and a game of King’s Cup, heading over to C1 and having the best night with the best people. The social aspect of university honestly is just as important as the academic - throw yourself into every opportunity that comes your way. 

In terms of the academic side though, studying psychology at degree level has been so cool! My favourite aspects so far have been some of the more biological modules, as well as writing our own research reports in the style of real academic papers. I feel like I’ve been challenged to the perfect level, without anything being too overwhelming. University content is of course a step up from A Level, but the volume of content is definitely a breath of fresh air compared to year thirteen.  

Now time for some advice. As boring as it is, please make revision materials for modules you know you have exams for as you go during the semester. It makes life so much easier in the summer when you can focus on revising rather than rushing to make materials to revise from.

Also, prioritising a healthy routine in terms of food, exercise and sleep is one of the most important things while you’re at university (you cannot survive on chicken nuggets, fish fingers and five hours of sleep, Jess).

Finally, I asked my gorgeous friend Zoé (who you are going to absolutely love) what her advice would be, and she said to remember that so much happens at university, that if you try and do absolutely everything, you’ll burn out and will be able to do less in the long run. Don’t let FOMO get the better of you and put a cap on your night out limit if you need to. 

This year has consisted of some of the highest highs and lowest lows of our life so far- from finding friends for life, to experiencing heartache for the first time - but all of it will be so worth it. As difficult as things will be, every experience you will have this year and every single person that will come into your life will be there for a reason: to bring you joy, to learn something new about yourself, and arguably most importantly, to teach you a lesson. Reflecting on how different I am now to the person I’m writing this to honestly makes me really emotional, because I’m proud of the person I’ve become, but also because I’m so excited to see how different the person sitting here this time next year will be. 

You’re about to embark on such a special journey, and my last bit of advice is to savour every moment and to take all the photos and videos to remember as much as possible. I envy the fact that you’ve still got all of this ahead of you! You’ve got this