Do you feel bad for not enjoying university? Before you went to university, everyone told you about how amazing it would be. They told you about all the great friends you’ll meet and the fun parties you’ll go to. Do you feel like you’re the only one?
You’re not alone, there are thousands of students every year that are not enjoying university. There are many people who come to university each year full of hope and excitement, only for it to not be as fun as they were promised. It can be very disheartening and get you feeling down.
Don’t worry, there are ways to get through it. Here are 5 suggestions that might help if you’re not enjoying university.
If you just don’t gel with your flatmates or classmates, you might feel like you’ll never make great friends at university. But it just means you need to put in some extra effort.
Lots of universities have many great clubs and societies you can join. Here, you’ll meet like-minded people who you already have one thing in common with and everyone else is there to make friends too. You might even find that are there are other people feeling they’re not enjoying university as much as they should too.
2. Go and Explore
When you’re feeling down and out, it’s easy to lock yourself away in your room and not participate. But this will only leave you feeling worse and won’t improve your situation at all.
Instead, get out there and go exploring your new city. Check out the landmarks and museums and go for a meal or coffee by yourself. It’s a great way to become more independent and you’ll start to feel more confident too.
3. Keep in Touch With Home
Whether you’re studying abroad and have left all your friends and family behind, or just come from an hour or so away, it’s important to stay in touch with home.
Call your parents or talk to your best friend about how you’re feeling. They may have experienced a similar situation, where they were not enjoying university and could offer advice. Maybe even get a friend to come visit and stay for the weekend. Having a friend with you can help you feel more confident and you could start making friends with them.
Maybe you got to university and found that the course you wanted to do isn’t what you actually want to do anymore. Some people stick it out because they’re already doing it, but if it’s making you unhappy you can change it.
Speak to your university and find out if you can change your course and join another. If it’s early enough in the year, you might be able to switch without much hassle at all. It’s definitely worth asking and it could change your whole perspective on university life.
5. Eat and Sleep Well
One big reason for feeling down and low is actually because we aren’t eating or sleeping right. You might realise that you’re not eating much or very healthily and that your sleeping pattern is erratic.
Make steps to eat healthier and get into a regular sleep schedule. It’s amazing the impact this can have and you might find that before long you have much more energy and feel much happier.
These are a Few Ways to Feel Better When You’re Not Enjoying University
If you’re not enjoying university, it’s not the end of the world. These are just a few things you can do to help yourself feel better and make strides to make your new city feel like home.
If you truly hate the experience and end up feeling depressed, please be sure to talk to someone and seek help – if you need to drop out, there’s no shame in that either.
Feeling homesick at university? Check out our blog post for tips on how to deal with it.
