Introduction

Annie

‘There is no place like home’

L. Frank Baum’s fantasy The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

This is a phrase I believe the majority of university students will have thought of at some point during their first year at university, whether on the first day (before you tuck into your first student priced pint) or not until your second semester (with cooking and the ever decreasing student loan taking their toll). After you have got through this period, university life can truly begin (as does the partying).  For me, this took me a year and a change of university of 217.1 miles.

Being the first person in my family to take A-Levels, deciding I would apply to go to university to pursue my dream job of become a solicitor was a big and daunting deal. I had no idea which university to go to, only the course I wished to study. One factor I did not even comprehend was the location of it. I thought going to university would be straight forward, so finding a university that had a good social life and was reasonably well respected I set off down South. However I shortly found that being too far from home; I missed family and friends and could not see myself living there happily for the next three years, despite having met an amazing group of people. I could not put my finger on what it was that was stopping me from being completely settled but I knew I had to do something about it. Surprisingly UEA was not one of my original choices. I believed that I would not get into such a highly regarded university and in my eyes, settled for second best. This was my mistake, I doubted myself and my ability. Confidence is something that can be easily knocked, especially starting in a new environment, but recognising my mistake is why I chose to do something about it. We must learn to pick ourselves up and if needs be start again, we can and we must.

In the summer I set out to apply for a university transfer to UEA and it  is the best decision I have ever made. Being the new student, where friendship groups are already established, it was a daunting experience but one I was sure I could make work. On my first day people made me feel like they wanted to help me, especially with my attempts to negotiate my way around the Arts building. I realised that although I didn’t initially know anyone, it was all going to be okay.

Changing universities has made me realise that Law is the area that I still want to go into and I have completed work experience in a firm based around Norwich. The most important thing I have realised since starting my second year as a law student is that we must make the effort to do what we can and reach out for any opportunities given to us within university and outside of it. Being now half way through my degree this is something I will be doing  in my new university and new city.