Radio Article Attempt

Aimlessly wandering the hallway I couldn’t suppress the nervous feeling that had taken up residence in my stomach. It was so quiet; I couldn’t be the only person there surely… It all seemed so foreign to me. The emptiness and clinical style furniture made me feel like I was in a doctor’s waiting room. Could I really live here for a whole year? Standing in what would be my room, I tidied myself up and got changed from my crumpled travel clothes, hoping to make a good impression on whoever it was that would be filling the five other rooms. As someone who is permanently awkward, with the social skills of a chair, I was dreading the impending weeks of trying to convince people they should be friends with me. Was university really the best idea for me?

Fortunately whilst I was in the kitchen, two girls came in bright eyed and eager to introduce themselves. Unfortunately I was stood with my head in the bin, not quite the impression I had hoped to make. This happy and enthusiastic introduction gave me hope that perhaps this would work and I could belong here after all. As we chatted and gave the standard information to one another; what we’re studying, where we’re from, I discovered that I was living with a girl from my hometown, Braintree. It was one of the most surreal moments of my life. What were the chances that of all the thousands of potential flatmates, I would be living with a girl who had for the past eighteen years lived five minutes down the road from me? This was the defining moment when I felt like flat fifty two could be my home.

Unpacking my things I came to the sudden realisation of how much stuff I had, and how little shelf and cupboard space I had to fit it into. Words cannot begin to describe how excited I then became when I realised the mass of storage space under the mattress of my bed. I then came to the realisation of how lame I was for finding this mundane discovery quite so exciting. As her parting gift to me, my mum, bless her, made my bed and reorganised all of the unpacking I had done. Apparently my form of organisation has no logic, and it is impossible to deny the fact that everything is better if a mum has done it.

Although my awkwardness has not improved, whilst being at university I have developed my social skills, learned to cook, learnt much pointless yet interesting information about America from my Californian flatmate, and gained thighs of steel from the hills. So maybe with time university will kick the gawkiness out of me.