When making your final UCAS applications were you really considering the fact that you’d be fleeing the nest in September to discover your inner personality and style? Maybe you chose Loughborough to find your inner sports person and discover new things…but surely that does not actually mean that you have reinvented yourself…
Well, take a look around Loughborough and you are unlikely to find many people who have changed since they arrived. Perhaps they’ve acquired a lot of Loughborough stash and like to wear it everywhere they go, proving that they’re in the Gymnastics society for instance- but they’re just proud and excited. They’re probably still the same as when they arrived. Go ahead and join as many new societies and sports as you can manage; you’re simply experimenting to find out what you like to do in your free time and what you’re good at, hence working to shape your university life and your future.
We naturally have to adapt to a new environment and a new group of people, which will inevitably result in some changes. Staying true to who you really are and knowing what that means is still incredibly important and you should not feel the need to change for anyone. You may embrace a new style, but most teens have already gone through a so-called ‘phase’ by the time they’ve hit 16; if they have at all. Nevertheless, fancy that unique, highly patterned, very bright pair of jeans? Go for it. Embrace it. University is the best place to experiment with what you wear, even if Loughborough does not seem quite as varied as you might have expected university to be! Express yourself if you feel like it, but in my opinion you should always simply stick to who you are.
