On preparation, exploration and being "fun enough"

Welcome to First Year Diaries, our student blog series where we look back on the many different experiences of first year at Queen Mary. This entry was written by Jessica, a Neuroscience student.

The photos used do not represent the people in the stories.

How old were you when you started your first year at Queen Mary? 18

Had you ever been to university before? No

Arrival Day

Tell us a bit about your life growing up

I grew up in Hong Kong and moved to the UK in Year 9. In school, I would like to think I had managed a balance of social activities and academic work. I did various sports like netball and badminton, played the flute in orchestra and also was part of the magazine editorial club. University was always the path that I wanted to pursue after school as I wanted to go more in depth in the subject that I was interested in, before finding jobs and going into employment.

How did it feel when you got to campus for the first time?

I had stuffed my parents' car with all my luggage, and we pulled up on Bancroft Road to slowly transfer everything from the car into the room. I was very nervous as I knew Fresher's Week was going to start the next day, and I would have to be independent as well as meet many new people. Initially, moving in was fine as my parents were with me, but the jitters began to hit more once they left and I was left alone in my room.

Which hall of residence did you live in?

Ifor Evans Place

Did you start unpacking as soon as you got to the room?

It was quite late by the time we got everything into my room, since we had arrived into London in the afternoon. My parents wanted to have dinner before they left so I didn't start unpacking straight away. Instead, I started unpacking when I came back from dinner with them. I decided to unpack that day, because university would start the next day and I wanted to feel more at home with my decorations on the first night so that I wasn't too homesick or scared.

Tell us about meeting your first new flatmate

When I met my first new flatmate, they were very nice and we had a short conversation about the normal things, like where they are from, what course they did, etc.

Soon after, I had met all the flatmates with a short conversation and they all seemed friendly, but I knew that I would need to spend more time with them to know if I wanted to be friends with them. Especially since they are flatmates and you get to see more of a person when living with them!

What did you do in the evening?

I went to eat dinner in Hackney with my parents at a Vietnamese restaurant. Then, I went to Sainsburys to get the essentials that I forgot to bring with me and then my parents left to go back home.

How were you feeling when you went to sleep that night?

When I went to sleep, I felt anxious for the year ahead and felt very out of my comfort zone. I remember feeling very alone as many people talked about going out clubbing at night and I was just sitting in my room. But on one of those fresher's WhatsApp group chats, there were people saying they too felt alone, and seeing those messages helped me stop feeling so bad about myself.

I was glad that I had unpacked everything and was ready with my schedule for the week ahead, but I had no idea what to expect.

Freshers Week

Describe freshers week at Queen Mary in one word:

Unpredictable

What did you get up to?

I think my freshers week wasn't as stereotypical as the movies make it out to be. I was never too much of a going out person, especially if I wasn't sure of the people I was going with, so I only went out a total of once in that whole week.

I mostly spent time hanging out around campus and East London, trying to put myself out there to meet new people and getting the hang of buying groceries and cooking for myself. As I got close to one of my flatmates, me and her went and walked around the Welcome Fair together as well as grocery shopping.

In the first week, there was a night where I felt very homesick and I couldn't sleep. I also felt like I was missing out because I wasn't going out everyday. But, I think back and I think it is good that I didn't push myself too far out of my comfort zone and it's good I took my time with it.

How did you feel when the first day of classes was looming?

As I had the induction lecture and was able to meet some of my coursemates there, it didn't feel that scary as I kind of knew what to expect and where to go. I also had people to text so that I didn't feel to alone when walking into the lecture theatre and was able to travel with others. It felt like a turning point to finally have the first day of lectures in the first year of university in my life.

The First Week of Classes

What was your very first class/lecture like?

My first lecture was challenging as I came equipped with my iPad, pencils and paper so I could be prepared, but I had no idea how lectures were delivered, how the teaching style was and how I should be recording notes and learning content. Going into a lecture theatre for the first time and not knowing where to sit while everyone seems to watch you walking into your seat was definitely very daunting, but arriving on time or early really helps. Since the introductory lecture's content wasn't too difficult, I left my first lecture feeling pretty good and prepared.

Did you meet any memorable people in your classes?

In first year I had many modules where they had given us group projects and oral presentations. I don't like group projects and presentations as much as the next person, but looking back, these courseworks forced me to meet many people from my course that I would usually not have approached.

I was also pleasantly surprised by all my group partners and how eager and how hard working they were. I am glad that I was lucky to have good group project partners who all pulled their weight. During Fresher's Week, I had met a coursemate who also used to live in Hong Kong and moved to the same city as me when coming to the UK, finding out that we had many mutual friends. Because of this, I had stuck with her for most of the year and got very close to her.

One Year On…

How did your feelings about your classes change with time?

As the year progressed, classes got harder as I feel the second semester's modules were harder than the first. But, we were given enough guidance from our lecturers and also had "office hours" where we could speak to lecturers about any problems we had with learning content.

I appreciate how much easier content was in first year as it allowed me time to juggle everything else that came with starting university, and I didn't have to worry too much about struggling in the academic aspect.

On the whole, what was your first year at Queen Mary like?

Overall, my first year at Queen Mary was better than expected, considering I didn't even know I was coming to Queen Mary until a month and a bit before university started. I really enjoyed being in London and having a plethora of things to do whenever I got bored sitting in my room. It was better than expected, and I was able to find a group of friends who I enjoyed hanging out with.

During the freshers month, I had put myself out there and went to at least 10 different taster sessions, like basketball, ABACUS, rowing, first aid, bubble tea society, etc. I am proud of myself for doing that and because of it I was able to meet so many more people, even if I haven't spoken to them since. I also think because of this, I have no regrets with how I spent my first year as I felt I did everything to the best of my ability, tried out new opportunities and explored living by myself for the first time. I probably only still keep in touch with 10% of all the people I met during the first week/month, but I am glad I came out in the end meeting a group of friends I genuinely like and click with.

If you had any advice for current or incoming first year students, what would it be?

My advice is that, as much as you know or want to put yourself out there in the first year, don't be too hard on yourself if you don't and know the limits of going out of your comfort zone. I struggled with this because I felt disappointed in myself for not being 'fun enough' and going out more.

Another piece of advice would be to not worry if you haven't found your people or haven't clicked with anyone yet. "Clicking" with people can sometimes be instant, but more often takes time and experimenting with different people. This was something I suddenly started panicking about around a month into the year, but I realised after that I could find my people, I just needed to give it time.