How To Make Uni Feel Like Home:

Students (including me and don't lie probably you too,) are no stranger to homesickness and uni can feel like a daunting place even at the best of times. For the most part, you'll have moved to a new city even perhaps a new country as a lot of my friends have, and everyone expects you to dedicate 100% of your time to your degree but realistically if you're like me, SAAS won't pay all your bills so that ties you into a part-time job which comes with its own responsibilities. What I'm trying to say is that this can all lead to university life being a little dare I say it, lonely...

In fear of sounding cringe, you probably came to uni to begin the rest of your life, what I mean by this is that you are maybe working towards your dream career or along those lines anyway. And maybe you received hundreds of compliments and congrats from your friends and family back home, so the last thing you want to do is admit that you're struggling. Well a lot of these problems don't have an easy fix but uni life does seem a little easier when you have a homely environment to return home to at the end of the day, so here's a few tips to turn halls or your student flat into a home.

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DECORATING:

This one does require a little bit of an investment, however you'll hopefully have a little spare cash to treat yourself with, with that part-time job that you've been tied into. Decorating your room is essential to giving yourself a homely vibe at uni. I have a few luxury homeware shops that are my go to for my decorating bits and bobs such as Anthropologie, Oliver Bonas and Urban Outfitters. Now you don't need to spend an absolute fortune in any of these places a few well picked items will make all the difference to your room. However IKEA, and H&M are my favourite for affordable homeware.

Prints will add a sense of character to your room and also let you show some of your personality. I have gotten into a habit of collecting one postcard from every place that I travel to and this now has lead to me having a postcard collage which is almost like a little scrapbook wall which is really nice actually as these never fail to bring a smile to my face. I was also kindly given a bigger print of the breakfast club (one of my favourite films) by my flatmates which I love and definitely allows me to show some of myself when I have guests over. Also a top tip from me is that a good print always receives compliments in my experience.

Pillows, now this is a bit of a weird one but having a few well picked cool pillows in your room is definitely worth it. This means that you ca have basic more affordable bedding whilst still allowing your bed to look luxurious and well accommodating. Home-sense, TK Max and Next are the places that.I have found to sell the best decorative pillows.

Candles are important for me to feel at home. It's almost although when decorating people only consider sight and smell is this whole sense that people forget about. You don't need to spend a fortune on this aspect either there are plenty of great smelling candles out there for under a fiver, home sense has a whole stand dedicated to these.

I love having plants in my room even just to oxygenate my air and keep my room fresh. But it's just an added bonus that they make any room look absolutely great. Gold accents are great in any room also and getting cheap gold plant pots from places like IKEA are a great way to introduce this.

When it comes to decorating in order to feel less homesick photos are great, sometimes its nice to just see a picture of your mum or best friend whilst you're working on that assignment you have no clue about at 5am that's due the next day. I'm a bit of a retro b*tch so in order to do this I use my polaroid camera to get these great snaps. I use the install mini 8 for anyone who cares. However, you can also buy an install printer which I absolutely love as it can be used to print photos from your phone.

Apart from that decorating wise, treat yourself to anything else that will help spruce up your room. I am a big coffee lover and its not so much a treat anymore as it has become a necessity to get me through my day, lol. To help feed this addiction I recently purchased the most beautiful coasters from Oliver Bonas which are beaded and each with a beautiful bee design on them.

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COMPANY:

The company that I have found myself, has to be one of the biggest factors in making uni seem like a home. I am fortunate enough that Aberdeen is a relatively small city so most of my friends stay within walking distance meaning that I can easily visit them. I think it's also important to note that the company I have gathered at uni is also vastly different to the company of that, that I kept at home. Although I didn't realise this at the time most of my friends were white, straight, cis gendered etc etc. However, since coming to uni I have friends from all over the world, which allows me to be more educated on their culture (or fully embrace it such as the time I stayed with Joanna in Finland for a week), something that I love. I also have found friends from different ethnics and groups such as the LGBTQ+ (which I have to admit it is nice to be around my own people with similar struggles and interests) and people of colour. This I think has made me more diverse in my friend groups and also more educated on different issues I perhaps wouldn't have realised.

I think the main thing for me is that I enjoy having an open life and I hadn't quite realised how closed it was before. Obviously, your friends are your friends and I would like to reiterate there is nothing wrong with any group of friends as long as you are maintaining being educated with issues around the world, in my opinion.

My friends also impact my home life as I couldn't be happier staying with my two best friends (Fiona and Joanna), living with people who make me happy and I believe bring out the best in me is honestly such a blessing and I am so grateful for this. So my only advice would be when choosing you flatmates make sure its people who are similar to yourself and also people who respect you own space, as I think we work so well due to the fact we all love spending time with each other constantly however still give each other the space we need. If I'm completely honest I think this is essential to anyone living with each other i.e relationships etc.

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HAVING A LIFE OUTSIDE OF UNI:

Uni culture is extremely time consuming although it may not appear that way, what with the nights out, social gatherings, revision, actually attending classes and the list goes on and on. I think the main tip I have to make uni seem like home is breaking free of your uni bubble even just for a little while. For me, the way I achieve this is through having a part-time job. I work at Greggs and while this provides a little extra cash each week I have also received great friendships here. Friends who I go out with, have cute little wine nights with and can talk to when I need a chat. Sometimes it's nice just to have that little space outside of your university bubble to breathe.

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I just want to take a moment t say that I am so aware of how fortunate I have been with my experience at university as I honestly could not be happier. But if you are struggling as I know I have done in the past maybe try and incorporate a few of these ideas and hopefully they will help.