You left home, moved to Surrey from another town, city, or even another country? I did too. Left everything and moved here from half way across the world. What would one expect in such a situation? Shock, anxiety, homesickness, and what not. What does all of that make you do? It makes you question your decision to come here. Almost everyone goes through that phase. I didn’t. I did question my decision to leave my home on a couple of occasions but never my decision to come to Surrey. Not once.

I’m writing this article hardly 9 months into my time being here, you’re probably reading this when I have been here for a whole year, and this University has given me more in the first 6 months alone than I could have even imagined. People long to visit other places, go to London maybe, so do I.

But I’m always looking forward to going back home, rather coming back home. Back home to Guildford, my accommodation, my university, my home, my room, my flat mates, my widespread beautiful campus.

A campus where I can go to the library any time of the day, even the night, to the front room and play games or listen to people sing, or sing myself in one of the regular karaoke nights. Where I can go sit by the absolutely stunning lake any time I want, I can get out of my room and land at the University Co-op to get a quick snack or buy myself anything from a can of milk to a bar or chocolate. I can aim to go to the Hillside café and end up at the Lakeside café or vice versa and never regret wherever I end up. My home where McClaren just casually shows up for an event in a MCLAREN, where the careers team tries to help me finding a job more than my own self, where the avenues to address my queries are more than the number of queries itself, and where my mental and physical wellbeing is taken care of in a very motherly kind of way. A wellbeing center at day time, a peer-to-peer support network in the form of Talk Together, a partner for my time of crisis late in the night in the form of Nightline, and if I don’t know what to do, a campus safety team that is present 24/7 like guardian angels. 

Sorry did I forget to mention about the Sports Park? My bad, but you will find out, and when you do, you will be pleasantly surprised because no matter whether you are here for one year or three, it is never enough to experience everything that Surrey has to offer from nearly 170 student clubs and societies to a million different things you can do at the sports park. And don’t forget that the time it takes for you to get to Central London from Guildford is much less than the time it takes for you to get there from some parts of London itself.

If all of this information doesn’t make you feel comfortable and you still need more support, drop by the Students’ Union to meet me or the other amazing sabbatical officers. I am your VP Voice this year, and I will ensure that your voice is heard. 

Remember, there are Universities only caring about academics, and there are Universities only caring about parties, and then there is Surrey where you study hard and you party harder!

VP Voice, Waleed

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New to Surrey? The Union and University have so much going on throughout September and beyond for you to get involved in. From Volunteering, Networks, Clubs & Societies, Course Reps and Support- and much much more, your Union is here for you from the start to finish of your University journey. Find out more about the Freshers Events here.