University of Portsmouth: First Year Diary

September 2017-Part 1 : Before I Leave

   I am very excited to be starting university this year. I am also apprehensive, acutely apprehensive. However, I find confident solace in the fact that preparations for my departure for Portsmouth are going well. Even before I arrive I feel the tantalising pull of independence guiding me towards a fresh start, a fresh start that will allow me to become a completely different person and to be myself at the same time.
    At this point, before I leave to sail across the channel towards a sea of new experiences, I hope that I will make a good impression on people. I hope they will find me to be a worthwhile person to be around and that we will all find mutual interests, interests that will be the seeds of blossoming friendships. Hopefully these relationships, as well as those formed during my life here, in Jersey, will stand the test of time.
   Before the looming mountain of new academic challenges manifests itself in a pile of books and essays, I know I have to conquer the summit of my own doubts and worries. This, the start of a monthly diary summary for my first year, will hopefully help me sort through my thoughts, and allow others to gauge for themselves how well they think I am coping.
   Hopefully this ever-expanding collection of my experiences and feelings over the year will eventually become a source of inspiration for those, whether they are in a position similar to mine or not, to know that university, in my opinion, at least for now, is the best thing for a shy person who just wants to come out of their shell. I think I will find that there are many people similar, different to me, which is something I can't wait for.
   I want to document my experiences and feelings so I can become an inspiration for others coming after me in the future. This is just the start of a life changing journey, a rollercoaster that I am ready to ride, with the expected highs, the expected lows, as well as a constant sense of fun and thrill thrown in. Life is an open book, and I'm ready for my next chapter.