Should I reinvent myself at university?
Lianna Tosetti contemplates her changes in personality coming to university
Picture it. Arriving at University for the first time. Waving goodbye to your old life as it drives off with your parents, leaving you and a completely fresh slate behind. For some of us, this is an exciting time to reinvent yourself. You can tell your new flatmates anything you like; “Do you have a boyfriend at home?” one may ask. Yes, I have 6. “What’s the craziest thing you have ever done?” Went interrailing and did shots with Boris Johnson in Prague. “What school did you go to?” Oh, a really, really private one which was highly exclusive, and I was actually captain of the Polo team.
University offers the gift to change who you are. This can arguably be liberating. Say goodbye to the insecure girl who was bullied in class. Farewell to the horrendous school nicknames and toxic college reputation. Leave behind those personality traits that you’ve never liked and wanted to transform. University allows student to embrace their own chosen identity and start again. It offers the chance to improve your character and become a person you are much happier and more confident with, whether that’s someone who wants to try a sport for the first time or develop a different fashion style. However, can it be ultimately dangerous and damaging to completely reinvent yourself?
From my personal experience, the only thing you can be at university is your real self
There is sometimes an overwhelming pressure to fit in at university and to slot yourself neatly into the clique. Yet by reinventing our identity to match university culture, are we lying to ourselves? Are we lying to our friends and the people around us? From my personal experience, the only thing you can be at university is your real self. This is the only way to develop real and meaningful friendships. Fitting in is a natural process and can’t be forced. Besides its difficult to sustain a cool image when you are living with your friends who are therefore witness to every drunken, embarrassing night out or breakdown in the kitchen over who stole the last bit of milk. Overall, university does allow free reign to decide who you want to be and become a more secure individual. Yet, we should be careful to not abuse this opportunity and remember to stay in touch with who we really are.
Cover photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash
