Happy (slightly belated) 2017 everyone!
I love January because it always seems like everyone is in a transition period, still recovering from finishing the previous year. I am pretty sure I will be on the same boat with everyone and still spelling the year wrong for a few weeks yet!
With Refresher’s fair coming up, and the prospect of welcoming new and old students back to Leicester, I thought it would be fitting to write a post about home and how it compares to university. I have always found it an interesting topic because the people I have met here have come from all over the world, making the community more vibrant and friendly.
Plus there are different reasons as to why people choose to attend the university they do. The most important thing is to ensure that it is the best fit for you.
Home
I live in a small town in the Southeast. It is always strange commuting down to visit my parents because it is completely different to life in the city. Whilst Leicester boasts a shopping centre, a handful of large chain cinemas, and two large stadiums – home is comparably quieter. The town centre is familiar and it is near impossible to manage a short visit without running into half of my high school classmates.
The university closest to where I live is in a much bigger town and surrounded by beautiful greenery. Although there had been the temptation to stay at home, I did choose Leicester in the end because of the strength of the Biological Sciences department.
However, the scenery is a definite selling point and although it might not feature high up on people’s list when choosing to go to university, it is important to go somewhere that you enjoy walking through and spending time in. Three years (and more) is a long time!
Leicester
The aspect I enjoy about Leicester is the compactness of the city. Initially, moving from a town like mine to a city felt so daunting and everything seemed huge at first viewing. But once I was settled, I realised that the city was organised simply and I navigated with ease from the train station onwards. Plus, a unique point about Leicester in my view is the diversity of the student population. This means that a lot of students you meet are keen to wander and get to know the city too, leaving you with a fresh pool of travel buddies to get to know!
I love to travel and see new things for sure, but attending university is such an enormous milestone that I found the smoother transition between locations a comforting contrast. It is definitely enjoyable being able to walk to the city centre from the university without waiting at a hundred traffic lights. Similarly, the lack of crowds is always a bonus.
Personally, it is a fantastic place to practice independence and to learn how to have adventures in a smaller and less overwhelming environment compared to a capital city.
The Future?
So I thought I would include a snippet about my future plans with graduation peeking around the corner. As much as I love Leicester, I am a southerner at heart and I am an aspiring Londoner too. Carrying all of the navigational know-hows from my time at Leicester will definitely put me in a stronger position to survive the tube system of the capital.
So that’s it for now! Today’s post, if the title hasn’t given it away, was actually inspired by the movie ‘La La Land’. If you have the chance to see it next week, please do! It is a fantastic movie and what better way to start your 2017 than with beautiful melodies.
I will leave you with the trailer here. Maybe I’ll do a movie-inspired blog post for next week?
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