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Aliya
Psychology student at The University of Manchester.

Cake really does bring people together

The warm, sweet smell of a cake baking wafts out of the kitchen. My mum is making her unbeatable Lapis Surabaya (a traditional Indonesian layer cake) for my brother’s cadet re-affiliation. The same cake she made for me to take to University on my move-in day. It makes me think of how far I’ve come since that day. Who knew nine months could change you so much. I remember driving down the road, two minute from the halls I’d call home for a year, suddenly getting a serious bout of the shakes. Getting out of the car, walking up the steps of the main entrance, forcing a smile and attempting to shove down the bubbling nerves. I left out slices of the cake my mum made me in the kitchen with a post it with my name and room number. Never have I been so thankful for a mother’s fretting and insistence. It may seem insignificant but it provided a point to start conversations and that is invaluable when getting to know people. And when you’ve run out of cake, just saying “Hello” keeping in mind that everyone is in the same position, really goes a long way.

This year as been full of ups and downs and frankly, flown by so fast I’ve barely had time to digest it. There are no words that can truly paint a picture for what it will be like, because in truth, no one really knows. But what I will say is, if time travel were possible, I would have really appreciated future me popping up every now again throughout the year gently prodding me with these reminders:

  1. It doesn’t make you any less of the independent strong woman that you are to miss your family and come home at the weekends.
  2. Being yourself and letting it happen is the best way to find friends you’ll really connect with.
  3. Study less and explore more! There’s so much to see and do, world experiences are an education too.

I have come out of first year not quite feeling grown up enough to be at this stage of my life, but also a much stronger person because of it. First year taught me that even when we feel like we’re alone, there is always someone there for us. It’s taught me that academia is not the be all and end all (call me a nerd for only just realising this). But most importantly, it’s taught me that we’re never really ready for change, we can only have faith that we can deal with it when it comes.