{"id":149641,"date":"2025-09-15T23:55:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T22:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.society19.com\/uk\/?p=149641"},"modified":"2025-09-15T23:55:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T22:55:56","slug":"heres-why-leaving-university-was-such-a-difficult-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.society19.com\/uk\/heres-why-leaving-university-was-such-a-difficult-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s Why Leaving University Was Such A Difficult Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I packed away my final items, I tiresomely unburdened my own weight onto the floor and took a glance around at the empty room which had been my home and solace for the last two years. The last time I had seen this empty sight, I was full of excitement, intrigue, and optimism. Now all I felt was despair; like I was just as stripped and bare as the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

I wondered whether I would ever find this kind of happiness again.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some people sigh with relief and spend the better half of four weeks celebrating the end of university. That wasn\u2019t me. Leaving university was really difficult for me. It was something I had begun to dread at the end of my second year and since then it felt like a black hole of uncertainty was floating nearer and nearer to me; sucking away the life I had fallen in love with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u2018Big Real World\u2019 Couldn\u2019t Seem to Get Any Smaller to Me<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve all heard people drone on about the big wide world outside of university. To me, it seemed like false hope and advertising. The number of opportunities to explore new things at university was countless: dancing, sport, book clubs, game clubs, film nights, cooking classes. You could even wake up one day and decide you feel like the next Harry Potter and join the quidditch team. At home, the communal opportunities consisted of a mum\u2019s coffee morning and an elderly social group.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

The Sense of Freedom I Had Grown Accustomed to Stayed Behind at University<\/h2>\n

Taking a midnight stroll to clear your mind from the stress of assignments seemed perfectly normal at university, at home, it\u2019s a cause for concern. Staying up late to finish tasks and then catching up on sleep the next morning was no longer a fair compromise but concerningly lazy and slouchy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I loved making my own rules at university and having no judgments to make me reevaluate it. I knew what needed doing and when by, the rest of the structure was mine to make. Suddenly, the rigidness of normality was imposed upon me and I\u2019m still trying to adjust to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I Felt Like I Was Going Backward Rather Than Forward<\/h2>\n

\u2018Onwards and upwards\u2019 they say when you graduate. Sometimes it didn\u2019t feel that way to me.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was beneficial for me to move back home and save some money in order to be stable in my later years. I\u2019m always really grateful that my family took me back in and made an effort to welcome me. No longer did I have to worry about whether I\u2019d have enough money to pay all of the monthly bills, and of course that\u2019s a big positive. I finally had money again: I could finally save!<\/span><\/p>\n

That being said, despite the stress and constant worry I had about paying my way through life at university, there was always this satisfying thought that I was managing my own business \u2018like an adult.\u2019 I was more independent: I was working my way up the ladder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

It Was An Abyss of Constant Worry<\/h2>\n

What do people think of me?<\/em><\/p>\n

Will I actually be able to get a job?<\/em><\/p>\n

How do I live up to these expectations everyone has of me? You know, those expectations I\u2019ve conjured up entirely in my head.<\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone will think I\u2019m a failure. People will question what the point of going to university was if I don\u2019t immediately blow them away with my new sparkling, ambitious career.<\/span><\/p>\n

This was probably the worst one for me. Leaving university is full of uncertainty. Some people thrive off that, but I don\u2019t. I\u2019m the type of person that needs to feel secure; like I have a place. But where was my place? Where do I fit in now?<\/span><\/p>\n

University Can Be a Huge Challenge, But For Some People, Leaving is the Hardest Part<\/h2>\n

I think there needs to be more discussion on graduates post-university. Some can spiral into a pit of depression and anxiety, take <\/span>The Bell Jar, <\/span><\/i>for instance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The best way I had of dealing with the transition was opening up to others. People who had been, and people who hadn\u2019t. I found it really comforting to hear others had felt the same way as me, but it was also warming to enlighten others who hadn\u2019t been on how difficult it can be.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Once you graduate, that\u2019s it. You go from university being your whole life to it being merely a distant memory in the past. I feel like some graduates, such as I, would really benefit from a form of \u2018after-care\u2019 – a bit like the kind of system people are advocating for on <\/span>Love Island<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Either way, I haven\u2019t lost hope of finding my happy place again.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

How did you find leaving university? Was it a welcomed experience, or did it take you a while to re-adjust? Comment your own experiences below!<\/h3>\n
Featured image source: https:\/\/thoughtcatalog.com\/marisa-donnelly\/2017\/03\/7-reasons-to-pick-up-a-side-hustle-even-if-you-think-<\/a>youre-too-busy\/<\/a><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I packed away my final items, I tiresomely unburdened my own weight onto the floor and took a glance around at the empty room which had been my home and solace for the last two years. The last time I had seen this empty sight, I was full of excitement, intrigue, and optimism. Now…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25445,"featured_media":149642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":true},"categories":[1793],"tags":[8841,22925,22926,10781],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-149641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uni-life","tag-graduation","tag-leaving-univer","tag-leaving-university","tag-life-after-uni"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHere's Why Leaving University Was Such A Difficult Time - Society19 UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Leaving university can't come soon enough for many people. 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