Change is Inevitable and Unstoppable

You know that overwhelming feeling? It doesn’t even necessarily have to be overwhelming in the negative sense. It can be a good sort of feeling if the overwhelming brings happiness. I always find the end of a semester is where everything builds up and when everyone just needs a break from university to go back to their home and find their roots again, so that come the start of the next semester everyone is refreshed. Yeah university is fun but it's also very stressful, especially third year.

Home always floods my mind with memories, both good and bad. I went home to Essex on Wednesday - Monday and took some time out from university. I went to see Imagine Dragons with my sister, caught up with two of my close friends at the pub and spent a lot of time with my best friend Michaela, as well as chilling out with my mum and brother. Myself and my two friends Ben and Kevin spent a great amount of time reminiscing about past times as we sat in the pub. It's quite shocking to think how far we have come, and how much we have grown up since college. Over the past two and a half years of being temporarily separated from some of the people I grew up alongside I've grown to appreciate how much home and their presence means to me, even if they haven't been around from the beginning of my childhood. Home has that sense of familiarity and comfort. It's the place you were brought up, the place that has shaped you and made you who you are. For me it's always just been the one place as I have lived in the same house all my life.

The past two and a half years have already had me grow as a person and even over the past year a lot has changed for me. When I was younger a year used to seem like such a long time but the older I get, the quicker this time seems to pass. It’s quite a terrifying feeling in some respects.This may sound ridiculous, but I feel so much happier in myself. I have adapted to change and come to terms with the fact that change is inevitable and unstoppable. I think it’s the one thing we need to not be afraid of because it can never be prevented. I think this is why I have such an open mind about travelling or moving about because it quite honestly just doesn’t scare me. I know the thought of moving too far away from home is daunting to some but honestly after the ‘fight or flight’ period passes, you will realise it’s one of the most incredible things you can do for yourself. I had these exact thoughts when I got to Germany in April and by the time I left in July I was tightly attached to Dusseldorf.

In life, as generic as the saying is you see people come and go. It is a way of life. I think about all the people I know, friends, family, previous friends and those that have become strangers and I notice how they have come and gone, travelled back and forth, moved from job to job and finding what suits them best. If we were too scared of change we’d never find the guts or strength to do this. For some people it’s the dream of the simplistic job and family which are in their minds and that’s great as well because at the end of the day everyone’s ambitions and hopes will be different.

I’m in my final year of uni, about to finish my first semester out of two and then come January it will be about five months until I’m completely done here. I'm ready to leave, it's not because I hate it it's just because I'm getting a bit bored of it and the same things. People are planning what they’re going to do after; looking into grad jobs, looking into internships and looking into masters etc. I think it's okay if you haven't even started to truly think about what you want to do. I’m not worried that I haven’t even thought about it, well I guess I have thought about it but not put pen to paper. I’m focusing on the present and letting the future unravel as I go along. I probably sound like such a day-dreamer which admittedly I am but as I said earlier, a lot can change in a year and I don’t want to make the mistake of planning to do something I am not set on. For now my thoughts are taking some time out, getting a job then possibly looking into completing a TEFL course so I can teach abroad. If you’re dead set on your futures then I guess I’m pretty envious of you because if anyone else is anything like me, then you’re constantly undecided about anything. I just don’t think there’s any point getting too worked up about it because it will always work out. If one thing doesn’t, then something else will come along and that's something I've learnt from not just my own experiences but other people's.

Laura Whitehead