DCUSU's Vice President For Welfare & Equality: On Changing for the Better at University

With every new day comes change. With every new year comes change. Whether you’re starting a new school year, heading to college for the first time, coming back to university or whatever your situation may be – change will be there with you throughout. New people, new experiences, new environments, new pressures, new things to learn, new things to sleep in and miss. Different ways of learning, different socialising scenes, different examination processes, different responsibilities, different ways of thinking, different drinks offers, different methods of payment.

Change brings with it a whirlwind of emotions. It can be terrifying, yet empowering and exciting all at the same time. What we fail to realise is that change is inevitable, unavoidable and is one of the main conditions of the human experience. We forget that we are constantly surrounded by change – the time, our age, the season, the weather, relationships, our phone battery percentage, the latest version of an app, our job roles. We’ve survived it all relatively unscathed, so a bit more won’t do us any harm.

Adapting is key, which can also be incredibly challenging, but doable. The best way to conquer the frightening concept that is change is to embrace it, and take it in your stride. New people? They’re not so bad. New experiences? They make great stories. New environments? These will help you learn what you like and don’t like for future reference. New pressures? These aren’t so fun, but will help build your resilience and teach you a lot about yourself as a human. New things to learn? Using your brain is actually thrilling.

New things to sleep in and miss? Sleep is important, never forget that. Different ways of learning? Reading, writing, re-writing, listening, cramming – figure out what best suits you. Different socialising scenes? Intimidating and intriguing, from silent discos to book clubs to 5ks, there’s something for everyone and it’s all there waiting for you. Different examination processes? More variety than the rote learning style of the big bad LC. Different responsibilities? Grocery shopping, budgeting, washing your own clothes, getting yourself out of bed, semi-adult beginner stuff isn’t as hard as it sounds. Different ways of thinking? A breath of fresh air. Different drink offers? Seek out your favourite spots that are easy on the pocket. Different methods of payment? Hard to keep up, but Revolut and ApplePay are the way to go.

So go and conquer, take that change in your stride and “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Whether that’s adopting a new way of thinking, meeting some new people, or applying for a Revolut card, you’re killing it, just keep going.