Finishing university feels surreal in the quietest way.
I went in as a quiet girl. The kind who observed more than she spoke. The kind who stayed comfortable in familiarity. No one from my girls’ school went to the city of Birmingham for uni, so in many ways, I arrived with a blank slate. No expectations. No history. No one who already knew who I was supposed to be.
And that turned out to be the biggest gift.
Moving to a new city gave me permission to step outside of myself. To try. To speak up. To sit next to strangers and let them slowly become friends. There was no safety net of people who’d known me for years, but there was freedom in that too.
University pushed me in ways I didn’t expect. Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just gently, over time. Through shared lectures, late conversations, group work, coffees, and moments of connection that didn’t feel forced. I learned that friendship doesn’t always come from confidence. Sometimes it comes from openness.
I didn’t suddenly become the loudest person in the room. I didn’t need to. I just became more myself.
Finishing uni now, I realise how much that chapter shaped me. Not just academically, but personally. It gave me independence. Perspective. And the confidence that I can walk into unfamiliar spaces and find my place.
Birmingham will always hold that version of me. The one who took a chance. The one who broke out of her shell, slowly and on her own terms.
And as I close this chapter, I’m proud. Not because I changed completely, but because I grew.
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