Are freshers' nerves worse when you have a disability?
Alex.Barker | 05 Sep 2017One of my university friends quite helpfully posted on Facebook that next year it will have been 20 years since we graduated. So it must be 23 years ago that I started university.
Pulp, Oasis and Michael Jackson all had top 10 albums and a pint of beer cost £2.50, and the British transfer record was broken with Manchester United paying Newcastle United £7 million pounds for footballer Andrew Cole.
This makes me sad because the years have gone by a bit too quickly for my liking. But I also feel very proud that I was the first in my family to go to uni and graduate.
I’d always wanted to go to uni because all my peers had done so and I wasn’t going to let a disability hold me back. Anyhow, I had no idea what I really wanted to do with my life, so I thought I could take three years at uni and have a really good think about it.
Fresher's fears
Of course, at the start there were some nerves. Everyone is nervous. I was probably more concerned than most because I had a visible disability and I wondered how fellow students would react to me. I needn’t have worried, I soon realised that everyone was just as nervous as me.
I used technology even then to get my notes down but it was laughingly basic. It was an Amstrad NC100. I couldn’t even access the internet on it. How retro darling! Mobile phones were still really basic too, and useful only for making calls and sending texts.
Uni was a blast and I made some really good friends. A lot are still in touch with me through the magic that is social media. The thought of a 'status update' had never occurred to me during my uni days. Facebook, nor Twitter were even glints in their creator’s eye as far as I know. In fact I studied abroad in my second year which was an awesome experience but I must admit that it was difficult keeping in touch with what was going on at home through the medium of email!
Disabled Students' Allowance
So for all you newbies out there, embrace the next few years. Make friends, work hard…. go to the pub occasionally if that's your thing (or perhaps a juice bar!). If you have a disability, make sure you have all the support and provision you need via the Disabled Students Allowance. There’s so much technology out there that can help you with note taking and producing work that shows how able you are - more info on that below.
Lastly ENJOY yourself. It can be a slog but it will be worth it in the end.
Alex Barker BA Journalism Studies. Class of '98. Falmouth College.
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