If you’re off to uni this autumn or are moving away from home then this post is for you! 😀 I don’t know about you but I’m so excited! It’s going to be a great time to make new friends and experience new things! 😀  Moving away from home is one of the biggest ordeals that one can go through, you are no longer under the influence of your parents and you have to start being independent and make your own decisions. Yes it can be scary, but it’s a rights of passage and it will be a chance for you to grow as a person and become more confident. 😀 Instead of being nervous about what the future will hold just enjoy living in the now and think about the fun you’ll have when you’re away from home! 😉

This blog post is in collaboration with the lovely Rose Wild who took all these amazing photos! You should deffo check her out on instagram because she’s so talented and is just starting out so needs she needs some TLC! 😀

Making Your House a Home

Moving home means that you get to redecorate everything ! I guess nowhere will be home but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make it your new home ! The best thing is to do is go on a classic IKEA shop before moving in, buy all the decorations and furnishings that you love, go crazy with it! 😉  As soon as you get to uni, start decorating your room like mad ! 😉 The kind of things to get are cushions, cute bedding, picture frames or wall frames etc. Something I really love doing which I’ve done it at home and will be doing it uni is to print off an unprecedented amount of photos, off sites such as snapfish or photo box. Then you can simply decorate your room with all the photos in anyway you like! I like to hang my photos using ribbons or stick the photos on buntings and hang them around the room, its a pretty cheap way to decorate but it’s so affective! 😀 Another place to look for cute home deco is Primark! Sounds strange I know, I was surprised myself when I went in there hahaha 😉 . The stuff they do is very similar to what urban outfitters does, that very indie very trendy interior design stuff with lots of geometric shapes and a copper colour schemes. Okay, so another crazy place which does really cute decorations and crockery ( lol I have a little obsession with mugs haha 😉 ) is Tesco’s. Yasssss Tesco’s! They do pretty cute homeware stuff and really really nice mugs hehehe 😀 😉 .

I guess  the main thing is decorate your room the way you like it so that it feels like a home and not a hotel hehe 😉 .

Making New Friends

As I said earlier, this is the time for making new friends and experiences!! ! The idea can seem daunting, moving to a new city, living in a completely new environment and having to make new friends all over again. Although it can be scary , the truth in the matter is that everyone will be in the same boat and will have to make new friends! The easiest thing to do is just to be friendly and socialise with everyone, just be yourself! People are going to like you for who you are and not a different person you’re trying to be. You’ll find that the people around you will like exactly who you are!

Another tip which I picked up when moving from school to college was to make friends with lots of different types of people and to have friends in different social groups and backgrounds. Over the years I’ve  found that each one of my friends have a different purpose, one might be to have a good time with, another one to have those deep convo’s and ones that do both! By having lots of friends from different places you will have know more people for different purposes! My final thing about friendships would be never to write anyone one off or be outright mean or ignore people if you don’t initially get on very well with them. It sounds stupid, but just because you don’t necessarily like get on with someone at the start, you may start to like them more in the future! 😉 Be treated the way you want others to treat you 😀 .It works every-time !

Home Sickness

Although I know that you’re gong to have the time of your life at uni, there is no doubt!! However home sickness is something that I think everyone goes through and one point or another. Whether it be missing everything about home or something small like your mum’s cooking . Everyone at some point will feel some sort of home sickness. I’m not saying this to be harsh or to scare people, I’m only saying it so that you know what the symptoms are and the ways to tackle home sickness! <3

1.  If you’re starting to feel home sick, don’t hide it or bottle it up, talk to someone whether it be a friend or a family member! In most cases I would suggest talking to a friend because otherwise you may feel more homesick talking to a family member, which will not help your case 🙁 . Don’t be scared to tell them exactly how you feel and what you’re missing about home, if your friends know what’s wrong they will be able to comfort you and help you through the difficult time. I know that it can be embarrassing and awkward because you just don’t want people to know ; but don’t be embarrassed ! :* As I said earlier, everyone goes through it so why be ashamed? Bottling it up will just make it worse and the feeling will last longer which is definitely the last thing you want.
2. Get those comfort in! Whether it be comfort food or a board game that you always play at home. When it comes to food, I know that people generally like to live a healthy lifestyle and eat healthy green food that is good for you… But when you’re home sick, the best thing to do is to make your mums signature dish. Cooking is a great way to take your mind off things and help you relax a little. It may not be exactly the same as what your mum cooks but it’s the thought that counts !! You can always cook for your friends and have a little gathering which will also help take your minds off things and also means you a nice evening in with the squad 😉 .

In the worse case of home sickness I believe that there is no harm to invite your family to come and visit you for a weekend. Some people would say that it’s a weakness to ask your family to visit you, but I don’t think it is! If seeing your parents makes you feel better and helps you relax more then go for it! Of course it’s important not to go OTT with it otherwise it will be hard to say goodbye. But just go for it! 😀 No shame in asking the fam to visit you, I know I will be definitely be doing that! It’s also nice just to see how everyones doing too! 😀

For all you moving out or doing to uni, I hope this blogpost was useful to you in some way!! I’m so excited to be going to uni this autumn, to meet new people and to experience something different! So I hope these tips will help you settle in to your new environment.

I shall see you in my next blog post!

Lots of love, Izzy xxx