Turn and face the strange.

Change can be a wild beast. I like to tell myself that I love it; “you’re a free bird gal, chase something new every single day!” When in reality I spend the majority of my evenings demolishing digestives and rewatching Gilmore Girls. A creature of habit and a comfort lover.

Exhilirating as change is, I often feel a heavy weight of intense uncertainty surrounding it. Not quite full blown anxiety, just a constant unsettled feeling like knots in my stomach.

My whole life has drastically changed in the last 3 weeks.

I left my full time job as a creative copywriter where I’ve worked and consequently upheld a steady routine for the last 10 months.

I have begun my MA at Newcastle University, moved back out of my parents house and into a flat with my boyfriend.

Despite being together over 3 years we’ve never lived in the same county – from travelling between Yorkshire to Lancashire, to the latter from Durham. We’ve basically become veterans of the transpenine express, and being under the same roof feels strange but brilliant!

Sometimes the way I deal with intense change is to throw myself into it 200mph. Doing everything, talking to everyone and forgetting to breathe tbh.

This time I’m gonna chip away at the experience steady. It is exciting, but I’m not gonna go in head over heels then subsequently suffer the post-freshers crash.

I’ve also tried to resist all the freshers freebies as I really don’t fancy putting 2 stone on again like I did after my first year freshers. Blame it on the Wetherspoons.

Change is rejuvenating but it can drive you to dark places as well as good ones.

New starts are intimidating, it’s important to avoid the slump by establishing good routines and foundations to ground you when you start to slip under. Even if it’s something as small as a morning cuppa, brekkie and a few episodes of Drag Race.

Facing the strange bewilders and frightens some as much as it drives others. If any of you guys have started uni or moved etc make sure to look out for those around you, change isn’t comfortable for a lot of people and a friend can be a real help!

I’m going to try and do the same; get involved with what’s going on around Newcastle and generally just try to be less of a 22 year old Nana.