Moving and starting something new is scary (and exciting). You never know what is going to happen and how it’s going to change you. But change is everywhere, and after spending a whole term here, not only have I changed, but I’ve adapted.
Moving to Manchester as well as attending the university has given me the chance to grow and explore new opportunities. Here’s a few things from my first semester here I’d like to share.
Time Management
Every student you’ll ever meet will discuss the importance of time management. It’ll be on the top of all the ‘best life hacks for students’ across all corners of the internet. While none of them are lying, there’s a difference between understanding how to manage your time and truly managing it.
I spent a lot of time across my first term at Manchester trying to balance my personal time against my work and study schedule. I tried every different technique; pomodoro or time blocking, and often found it wasn’t about the time I had spent studying. I was dedicating large chunks of my time to my mandatory tasks.
I found my time was truly balanced when I started taking moments in my day, that were reserved for nothing. Whether on my long bus commute into the city, arriving early to lectures, I vowed to these moments of pausing. These are not often listed under the importance of time management. These small moments allow you to cement yourself into your environment. But I’ve understood them as the most important part of living anywhere.
Communication
Communication is key. I’m not referring to the clichés of embracing new friendships or reaching out to lecturers. But as young adults, entering a large cohort with people from all over the world, it’s critical to understand that communication is the one thing that will bring us together, and also highlight our differences. People express their emotions in drastically different ways. Something I only experienced after opening up to my lecturer, who didn’t quite understand where I was coming from.
This taught me that, although communication can be easily pinpointed as a verbal transaction, accented with cues from your body. Sometimes you’re going to get lost in translation, and that is completely ok. We’re thrusted into this environment where a lot of elements are experimental, and we’re afforded these opportunities to embrace mistakes in the simplest ways – even if this means sending your lecturer an email to brush over any miscommunication.
Saying no
People across social media preach the importance of saying yes to opportunities, and that reigns true. However, knowing that it’s ok to turn down plans when your mental health is feeling low, or declining invitations because you truly don’t want to go, is nothing to be ashamed of. Whilst I have been saying yes to new things, I have also been saying no.
As students, there’s a lot of changes happening in the first part of an academic year, that standing firm on your choices can prove to be beneficial. This is the furthest I’ve been from my family, I know all of the choices I make here are a reflection upon myself, and those are reflections worth investing in.
Spontaneity
One of the woes of university is scheduling – timetables, work, study groups. And yes, it’s so important to plan to help you manage your time, but, I’ve found that being spontaneous is crucial for many things; building friendships, mental health, and enjoying Manchester. A quick decision to stop at a local cafe or enjoying Manchester’s night life because your friends asked you to last minute can do wonders!
It’s easy to become rigid with schedules of readings, assignments and contact hours with lecturers. Last minute plans allowed me to spruce up my weeks from time to time. This is what’s great about the Student Union, they’re hosts to concerts and gigs, activities and loads of different workshops that can work their way into your schedule. I booked tickets for a last minute concert at the SU and it was such a great stress reliever at the height of term, It’s also something I would not have done before being in Manchester.
With an environment as bustling and ever-changing, switching directions and going with the flow are part of the course.
The thing that Manchester has taught me over and over again, is to go with the flow. If you get on the wrong bus, or accidentally sit in the wrong lecture theatre, it’s not the end of the world and within days it’ll be a funny anecdote.