Are you a new, old, young or an already experienced student? Do you sometimes feel like you struggle to make new friends or keeping the ones you already have? Then I know how you feel and I’m here to try to help you.
Starting university can be hard for everyone, maybe you just moved here, away from family, friends or previous relationships. Or maybe you’ve lived here for a while and feel a sense of loneliness sometimes? Loneliness can be a struggle for everyone, for those with or without large inner circles, the feeling of loneliness can often be amplified by moving to a brand-new place, starting a new life somewhere else somewhere you might not be familiar with or used
I recognize this feeling well myself, during my first semester at UIA, especially the first autumn and winter months I struggled quite a lot with this feeling. I had neither a large group of friends, nor many close friends. I had some who I felt, and still do feel, thankful for that I had during those times, but I never had a large group of friends who I could turn to and hang out with during those cold dreary Kristiansand days. Outside of those few close friends I had who I knew I could reach out to, I still felt alone sometimes. Sometimes more often than not, but after the snow melted and the sun came out again, I knew I didn’t want a repeat of those previous months and so I got out of my comfort zone and tried to make friends. And that is why I joined Unikum, something I’m still grateful for. Unikum is a truly great group of people from all over the world who come together, to write, to hang out, to comfort each other. Unikum for me was partly how I solved my loneliness and how I began to expand my comfort zone.
Comfort zone is a dangerous thing, you feel safe inside of it, but then you might not go out of it and expand it. Which is something too easily regrettable, especially when the darker months roll around and people may not go out as much as they did during the summer and spring. I know the feeling of that comfort zone all too well myself, and it can be scary to expand it, but usually, and most often, it’s safe to do so, and you can look back on previousdays, weeks, and see the personal growth you’ve gone through and the struggles you have overcome, and those are all good important things to go through. If I hadn’t left my comfort zone and joined Unikum, I would most likely feel the same sense of loneliness as I did this time last year. But I’m thankful that I took those first important steps to change and began, for me, what turned into an avalanche of good changes.
I turned from a quiet, sometimes lonely new student, to a more extrovert, happy, fulfilled and grateful second year student. And Icouldn’t have done it without the friends I have now, and that is how I think many students feel, especially during their beginning university years. Life is hard, but there are steps you can take to make life better, if you take life one step at a time and do the same with your comfort zone, you can soon enough look back and see the personal growth journey you’ve taken part in and live a hopefully happier life together with more friends than when you started.
And to whoever and whenever you are, I wish you the best of luck on your journey and I have all the faith in the world that you can conquer what you set out to overcome.
