Over the course of last week I packed most of my possessions into two large suitcases, a box and a guitar case - the latter holding my kitchen utensils. On Saturday my parents drove me to Cambridge to drop me off at the University. This day - aside from being packed with matriculation, meeting our college families, a BBQ and a "bop" - represented the start of a new era of my life; intense studying, "discovering who I am", and becoming a responsible adult. I am yet to make a start on any of these endeavours, but I have managed to find Sainsburys, lock myself out of my room, and survive almost entirely on a diet of free Pizza.
While I am yet to do any maths whatsoever, each day here has been packed with extra-curricular activities; between 9am and midnight each day we've only had two or three truly free hours. This both has been a refreshing change from the aimlessness accompanying three month summer holidays, and should prepare me (albeit rather tenuously) for the intensity of the Cambridge terms.
What have I learnt so far? Firstly, being intelligent has very little bearing on other personality traits. The vast majority of Freshers are nice people who are keen to get involved in conversations and very few will be judgemental or unkind. Most students are nice people, but are (myself included) also quite lazy. Thus the majority of a Cambridge student's friends will end up being from their college; I have met far more second and third years from Jesus than I have Freshers from other colleges!
In my first few days at Jesus, I have had to attend a number of formal occasions. While on the whole I dislike tradition and excessive formality I have found the events neither excessive nor elitist. Perhaps surprisingly, one can usually decline alcohol without any significant social repercussions, and there will always be others around who do not want to get drunk.
In addition to getting lost whenever venturing outside of their accommodation, another duty of the Fresher is to not only sign up to the societies that they think they may enjoy, but also to every other society in sight. I assure you that in this area of Freshers life I have excelled.
Unlike the Cheer-leading and Korfball societies, one of the societies which I actually plan on actively participating in is the Christian Union. On a college level the CU have been great already, organising a "getaway" before term started, and hosting events (usually with free food) where we can pray, study the bible, find churches, encourage each other, and make many Jesus related puns. Did I mention they provide free food?! The inter-collegiate CU seem to be pretty active too, and I really enjoyed being at Kingsgate church on Sunday.
University is a great place to redefine yourself, to make some lifelong friends and to engage in the activities that you've always wanted to try out. It is a place in which you can devote yourself to the nurturing of your brain, to study what you are passionate about, and to meet like-minded people on the same journey. More importantly perhaps, it is an opportunity to strengthen your faith and become more dependant on God.
The next blog will likely come from an incoherent, sleep-deprived, caffeine-addled, deadline-swamped version of myself. Please do not judge me.
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