First Year Commuting Blues

After a two year break from academic life, I realised I wanted to pursue a career in creative writing. As someone ‘born and bred’ in Camborne, Cornwall, studying at Falmouth University was a no-brainer, however upon being accepted onto the course, I immediately became worried about what university life would be like with me as a commuter. Would I be missing out? Would commuting affect my willingness to study? And as a slight introvert, I was also concerned about making friends.

Initially I felt that my concerns were rather childish; as a 20 year-old man returning to university, surely I shouldn’t be afraid of the other kids in the playground? When I arrived at induction week I was relieved to find that everyone shared this concern with me, and we all became united in our mutual childish fears. I was overwhelmed during this first week, unable to believe how accepted I was as a person and a writer. This fantastic community of writers taught me that no matter how different we all were, we were united by our passion for writing and so there was never a reason to be afraid. This is the beauty of studying in such an artistically driven university, full of students eager to learn and collaborate, and welcome their fellow artists. So I would advise any new students not to worry about making friends, because you will, and it will happen naturally.

I can’t say that starting university as a whole has been easy. It’s a large commitment, and if you’re commuting to campus, I would advise that you are prepared to get up early, and get to campus early. The Woodlane Campus doesn’t have the benefit of a student carpark like the Penryn Campus, and parking nearby can be difficult, so I’d often find myself panicking about finding somewhere to park in time for my 9am lecture on Monday. The solution was of course, I had to get up that half an hour earlier to ensure I would be able to get a parking space. Losing sleep is definitely a negative aspect of the commuting process, and sometimes I do wish I had made the leap to student accommodation but it has not deterred me from my studies yet. And it has become a great excuse to visit McDonalds in the mornings which has also made other students a bit envious of my car!

Outside of commuting and mingling, I can only advise new students to: