The academic year has started a new cycle with Fresher’s Week at Surrey and the real deal starting next week. The faces keep getting younger, not really, I just get older. The first few weeks of university, or any new challenge for that matter, is quite scary and I can see that on faces during talks and the ‘lost looks’ as students look for their next talk. The way the coffee shop has filled up, I assume the important places have been found.

For the Freshers, this week will be the start of another journey to greatness in life, a slow slog at the start that will speed up far too quickly by the end, graduation and then another new chapter (let’s forget about taxes and mortgages for now). In an informal poll at the welcome talk, the students on my cohort highlighted independence as one difference between school and university. When they look at the final year students, they will see where they are heading; ‘kids’ only a few years ago, they have matured into young adults that are eager to start earning some ‘real’money ans wary at the same time. What will happen when we leave this comfort zone of university?

Your next four years will be a roller coaster of academic achievements and emotional ups-&-downs. The ride will sometimes make you scream, in the end it will be fun. You will collect many stories for the grand-children in the distant future. One piece of advice, don’t tell your parents or your children the naughty bits, keep those for later.

Photos of University of Surrey campus courtesy of Tina Webster