After achieving the grades that I required to reach university I went through the rigmarole of packing all the things that I felt I might need and that were a necessity for living here; to the most part this has proven to be successful.

After unpacking the car and having a little chat and look around the halls with my parents they left me to it. That was when it sunk in that I was where I’d aimed to be for years, University. Despite the sense of achievement of this I had a slight sinking feeling when the realisation came that I wasn’t going to see them, or my dog, for quite some time.

To counteract this feeling I set up my laptop and set up my Hi-Fi so that I could play music while I unpacked the rest of my belongings and made my bed. The first few hours were when I felt most lonely until I met up with some friends who came to Reading along with me. While we sat in the sun and chatted I reflected on what I had done until this point the exams and my friends I'd left behind. I then realised what some of my friends who, unlike me, were in a place knowing no-one, must have felt.

Things started to pick up after this. Bumping into my neighbour (Alex Musselwhite) on the way to dinner. Got to know him well enough to arrange to go to The Swan (Hall Bar) and have a drink, where I met so many people and went through the routine of asking names and what they were studying without getting to know them first. This proved to be difficult and a poor way of meeting new people.

I had a few issues with my timetable initially - I managed to pick 2 modules, which could not be done with one another. Once the Fresher's Week was over the work began. The first week was mainly introduction to each module and the course as a whole along with meeting the lecturers and finding my way around the university.

Discrete maths is the subject I have been struggling with the most lately as it is a lot to take in during a short amount of time. But having been to my first fortnightly seminar I have found it to be a lot clearer and understandable. Thankfully I also know another student (Deven) who is studying Mathematics and Statistics here, who can also help me with this.

University has seemed like a large leap into adulthood. But living in halls this is a far smaller step than it would have been had I been living in a student house and having to cook for myself. Time seems to go by very fast here in comparison to when I was back at home in college. The timetable has a lot more to it to keep me entertained. Visiting home after a month here, had my birthday away from home for the first time.

First blog really. A little lengthy but to try to summarise a month here isn't the easiest thing to do.