I’m about two months into my new and fabulous Surrey life as an MSc student, and to be honest, it feels like I’ve been here for much longer than that. But in such a good way. In a “wow, I already know my way around campus and Guildford and have been to London almost 10 times and have met so many awesome people from all over the world and have done some pretty cool things so far” kind of way. Until now, I hadn’t actually realized that I’ve only been here two months. It’s comforting to know that I still have so much time left to travel, learn, and get to know people! Anyways, I’ll delve into my crazy adventures since being here another day. I’ll start off with the journey of how I got here…
Once upon a time, a young city girl from Chicago stumbled upon this fascinating thing called Environmental Psychology while she was in her final year of Undergrad studying Psychology at Boston University. However, she had no idea what this actually was, it was like a rare unicorn she’d never heard of before. That didn’t matter though, because Environmental Psychology had already imprinted itself in her mind and she couldn’t shake the desire to learn about it. Once she started researching the topic, only after hours of googling, did she realize there was a problem. This unicorn was hard to find! But one school on a far-off and magical land founded the Master’s program in Environmental Psychology in 1973, before her time, and offered all that she’d hoped for and more. And so she discovered the University of Surrey. She didn’t have to worry about trying to slay the monster (the GREs), because this magical far-off land didn’t have any monsters! Instead, they had kind folk, from students to staff, who answered her emails with helpful advice and information about the school and the unicorn. They helped guide her so that she could be prepared to make the long journey across the pond. She did face some obstacles along the way, like having only a month to get her Visa and having her Visa and passport almost sent to the wrong address. But after all the blood, sweat and many tears, she had everything she needed just in time to embark on her journey.
She thought the tough part was over, that she’d be free of stress once she stepped foot on this magical land, but that was not the case. She was unfamiliar with the happening of the town called Guildford and she realized that for some things in life, she’d have to start from scratch. She’d need a new SIM card with a new phone plan, a new bank account, a new doctor, a National Insurance Number so that she could work and the list goes on. She felt a tad overwhelmed.
Lucky for her, the folk on this new land were kind and patient with her. The other people chasing their unicorns at this new school from many other lands also helped her out, and vice versa. They pointed her in the right direction and together, they tackled these hurdles. Then they started to discover little adventures they could take along the way, like the Chocolate Festival in London, pub quiz night at the King’s Head, the archery society, TEDx talks and more. The city girl now has new things to tackle, like assignments for her unicorn, but luckily there’s this incredible view of the campus lake to help her out!!!
Okay, so I realize talking about myself in the third person is a little weird, but I figured reading about how I got here with unicorns and a far-off magical land might be more entertaining. I hope it was enjoyable : )
