Student & Graduate Stories

Guest blog by Thomas Sutherland, BA (Hons) Film

Independence at university didn’t come as one sudden shock; instead, it was a collection of opportunities that allowed me to grow and feel like an adult.

In the first week I chose my own meals, made new friends and spent money socialising with them. After that, university started, where I realised I needed to take responsibility and manage my time, money, and meals appropriately. I calculated a weekly budget with my maintenance loan and other sources of income to accommodate for food, rent and bills, savings, and fun. When lectures began, my schedule felt structured and organised. I would wake up and get ready for my lectures and still have designated time for going over my notes, seeing friends, and enjoying my hobbies. I would also do a weekly shop where I followed my budget strictly. Once this routine set in, I started to feel truly independent, like a real adult.

One big change from college was academic independence.

Whilst there to support you, lecturers won’t remind you of deadlines or manage your workload for you. They will teach you the content thoroughly and prepare you to complete the assignment as much as possible, but the workload, research, and time management are all responsibilities that must be managed independently. Whilst it seems daunting initially, these responsibilities create a great sense of pride and independence when submitting the work.

Once I’d adjusted to the academic side of things, I started to notice the more personal side of independence too.

Moving away from home made me feel quite homesick, which demotivated me on quiet days when I had no lectures. However, here I learned how to balance work and wellbeing, as well as how to reach out to friends for support, including contacting my family regularly. It was reassuring to realise that others around me were going through the same things as me, and that independence doesn’t mean doing everything alone, but knowing how to manage living as an adult.

Looking back, the independence I have gained so far at university has become one of the things I value most about the experience.

It wasn’t something that appeared in one day, and it definitely wasn’t something I perfected instantly. There were moments of doubt, of course, where I thought uni life wasn’t for me and that I wasn’t ready to live by myself, but sticking to my routine and my budget, I learnt something new about what I’m capable of. By the end of my first year, I felt more confident, more organised, and more prepared for my future. Independence isn’t just a skill you gain at university, it’s a mindset you carry beyond your studies and with you long after you leave. University gives you the space to figure out who you are when in charge of your own life, whilst still surrounded by people in the same position that you can talk to.