Tuesday 30-08-2016 - 13:48

Hey everyone, I hope you're all enjoying your summer.

It won't be long until you're buzzing around this unfamiliar but beautiful campus, rushing between lectures trying to find the right building.

It will be a very hectic and confusing time, trying to balance socialising whilst hitting the ground running with your academia. If Liverpool isn't your home already, it can be very difficult to adjust to a completely new city with entirely new responsibilities.

At this point in your life it's never been more important to look after your well-being. Your Fresher's Week will be incredibly busy and exhausting - whether you're going out seven nights in a row, exploring the city every day, attending Guild events or trying to organise your course. It can be exciting, but it can also take a huge toll on your mental health.

There is pressure on you to succeed socially when you're thrown into a new city having left old friends behind and feeling lost without close support. You're also burdened with tuition fees, making you feel like the thousands of pounds worth of debt isn't worth it unless you achieve a decent grade with high chance of employability to pay it off. Feeling this overwhelming pressure can create a lot of mental health problems, and it's no surprise that mental illness is a distinct and increasing problem among students.

Remember to take care of yourself. Take an evening off to read that book you've been putting off, experiment with exciting and healthy cooking, join a society with like-minded welcoming people. Try new things and new forms of socialising that work for you. More importantly, don't forget to do the basic things - to sleep, eat, shower - small tasks that sometimes feel impossible, but are necessary for your well-being. If you ever need to talk we've got independent advisors on hand or you can call Nightline during term-time.

Prioritising your mental well-being is a resilient act against a society that only judges your worth by how productive you are. You deserve to indulge in self care, if at least for the sake of perseverance.

I don't mean to underwhelm you about the uni experience - you will no doubt have a fantastic time, make lifelong valuable friendships and learn about a subject you're passionate about. But remember you can't figure out uni all at once, and it's okay to stumble.

I look forward to seeing you at Welcome Week and hope you have a great and smooth transition into University.

Welcome wristbands are available here.