First Semestre at University: A Recap

I have completed my first semestre of my 5 year degree in Psychology and with success! I started the semestre in September and just finished my exams in January. It is over and it feels so good.

So I decided to share what I learned during these months of moving to a different city and by myself.

1. Your environment should be a priority

In Portugal, there are not residents or dorms for students to sleep in. So we have to rent rooms, and they can be extremely overpriced and not good at all. I rented a room very near my university but the lady who own the house lived there as well, and well I hated it. I hated going there and I feel so awkward. I felt my mood go down just because I did not feel good where I was living. Thankfully I am leaving this room and moving to a different one next semester. But now I realized how important your surroundings are! You should feel good and happy where you are staying.

2. You do not need to follow the crowds to make friends

Once again, in Portugal there is something called "praxe" and I believe it is similar to rushing in America. Every single one of my friends participated and before I went I felt that in order to have a good Uni experience you had to do it, and you would not make friends if you were against it. I hated going the times I went and felt extremely anxious and after the activities were over I only felt relieved. I ended up not going anymore and I am so glad I decided to put my mental health first. I have friends and at first I felt like I was missing out. But you are not. You do what you want to do and it is okay if you do not follow the crowd.

3. You are not weak for missing your family

Well, this one is a given. My first few weeks I was homesick and it may sound stupid since I come home every weekend but I missed my parents and brother. And this does not make you weak! It is normal to feel "saudade", a portuguese word meaning to miss something (nostalgia feeling).

- Beatriz