By Louis Sherman
1st year BU student, BSc (Hons) Applied Geography
The leap from your home life to university life isn’t all about the university itself, it’s also about the area surrounding the university and the towns or cities close by. In the case of Bournemouth the most famous landscape close to the university is the award winning and stunning seaside. For me this was not so much a change as a development, as my original home was fairly close to the seaside. The biggest leap for me when it came to Bournemouth town is the urban environment itself.
Although my original home was close to the seaside, it was also as rural and as typically countryside as you can get. Therefore this leap from a tiny rural hamlet to a relatively large urban town was a huge jump and the first few weeks at BU proved this to me. Where I live it is shocking to hear a car go past after about 9PM, let alone large groups of people going out to clubs and parties. This was probably the largest leap for me, just getting use to this completely opposite environment to which I usually live. It is these leaps that make university what it is and it’s what makes you develop as a person.
These leaps may seem quite nerve-racking at the moment if you haven’t moved to university yet but do not look at them like that. Look at them as further opportunities to develop as a human being, as well as ways of finding more people to get to know. Take advantage of these leaps, if you are going to a completely new landscape why not explore it and get to know it? Get used to living in an urban environment as this may help living in one in the future much easier. At the same time if you come to BU the first thing you have to be sure to do is find and enjoy the beach. I never realised how much time I would spend down at that beach until I got to the university and although I do not want to wish away the time, I truly cannot wait to spend my first spring and summer in Bournemouth and on that beach.
These leaps will happen to everyone who goes to university and is something that you must just embrace and completely take advantage of. Being scared of this leap from home to university life is completely normal so do not worry, just make sure that whatever university you go to, make sure you take advantage of everything, not just university, but the town or city surrounding it too. You can have some great experiences in these places.
