By a Content Team contributor.

If you’re about to start university, or start somewhere new, you might be feeling a strange mixture of excitement and nerves. Maybe you’ve been counting down the days. Maybe you’ve been trying not to think about it too much.

For some of us, though, “nerves” can mean something a little more complicated. A new place gives anxiety plenty to work with: unfamiliar faces, unfamiliar streets, new routines and a hundred little things you suddenly have to figure out.

Even when moving away from home is something you’ve wanted for a long time, it can still feel unsettling when it actually happens.

I’m sharing a few things I’ve learnt from my own experience, in the hope that they might make those first few weeks feel a little less overwhelming.

Everyone is figuring it out

One of the strange things about starting somewhere new is how much you start watching other people.

Where are they going? Are they going to the same lecture? Is that where we’re supposed to sit? How do people normally introduce themselves here? Am I being too quiet? Too awkward? Am I the only one who doesn’t know anyone?

Anxiety can make these tiny uncertainties feel much bigger than they really are. You can spend so much energy trying to work out what everyone else seems to know instinctively, as though they’ve all settled in much faster than you have.

But when you actually start talking to people, you often discover they’re wondering exactly the same things.

I’ve found that being open about not knowing something can be surprisingly helpful. If you’re unsure where to go, ask. If you don’t understand something, say so. Even admitting, “I’m a bit lost,” can be enough to start a conversation.

And sometimes you find that the person standing next to you is just as lost.

There isn’t really a script for starting university. We’re all making it up as we go, and you may even find that those little moments of confusion are what you end up bonding over.

Make the unfamiliar familiar

When you first arrive, everything can feel slightly out of place. Your room might not feel like home. You don’t know the quickest way to get anywhere. Even small things take more effort when you haven’t built up that familiarity yet.

So, when you can, explore.

Go for a walk, find a little park nearby, try the coffee shop you’ve passed a few times, work out which route you enjoy walking home.

Putting yourself out there can be nerve-wracking, especially when anxiety is telling you to stay somewhere familiar. But with time, things that once felt uncomfortable can become ordinary. You don’t have to love every new experience. Just letting yourself have them can be a step forward.

And make your own space familiar, too. Decorate your room. Bring something from home. Have a favourite mug, a familiar meal, a blanket, a photo — whatever makes the space feel like yours.

I found that these little things made a bigger difference than I expected. Slowly, your surroundings stop being somewhere you live and start becoming your place.

You might miss home, too

There is another part of moving away that people don’t always talk about: you can be excited to leave home and still miss it.

You can love your new independence and still want your old home environment sometimes. You can have a great day at university and then suddenly feel homesick on the walk back. Anxiety can make that feeling even stronger when everything else around you is already unfamiliar.

None of that means you’ve made the wrong decision.

Keep in contact with your family and friends. Reach out to old acquaintances, too. Do something familiar when you need it. Cook your favourite meal. Invite someone over for dinner. Share food, stories and little moments with the people around you.

Create small spaces that feel safe and familiar, whether that’s a quiet evening by yourself or a cosy gathering with others.

The beginning is often the hardest because everything is happening at once. You’re meeting people, learning your way around, adjusting to a new routine and perhaps, for the first time, making many of your own decisions.

That’s a lot for anyone. Give yourself the space to slowly ease in.

Don’t turn university into another thing you have to be good at

There can be a lot of pressure surrounding university:

Make friends. Join societies. Go to events. Do well academically. Have fun. Make memories.

For someone who is already anxious, that list can feel less like a list of possibilities and more like a list of things you should be doing.

It can start to feel like you’re failing if you’re not having the “university experience” you’re supposed to be having.

But there isn’t one!

Some people find their closest friends in the first week. Others take months. Some people love going out. Some people settle into their courses immediately.

I found my friends months into the semester. I don’t enjoy going out, but I do find time to hang out with my friends. And it took me a year and a half to really understand my course and feel settled in it.

And that’s normal!

You don’t have to force yourself into somebody else’s version of university. Find what makes the place comfortable and the experience enriching for you. Being somewhere unfamiliar can be difficult, but it can also mean growth, at your own pace and in your own way.

And if you’re struggling, tell someone. A close friend, a flatmate, a tutor, your student support team, your family — whoever feels easiest. A student adviser or external counsellor can be helpful too, especially if speaking to someone outside your usual circle feels more comfortable.

You don’t have to wait until things become overwhelming before saying, “I’m finding this difficult.”

Sometimes you just need someone to say, “Yeah, that sounds hard.”

Eventually, it becomes ordinary

The things that feel enormous at the beginning eventually become ordinary.

One day, you’ll walk down a street that once felt completely unfamiliar and realise you’ve stopped thinking of yourself as new.

It happens gradually, often without you noticing.

The anxiety may not disappear completely. But the unfamiliarity that fed it starts to fade. You know a little more. You have a few more people to turn to. You know where things are. You know yourself a little better, too.

So if you’re about to begin, don’t put too much pressure on yourself to have it all worked out.

Be curious. Ask questions. Get lost occasionally. Let yourself miss home. Say hello to people even when you’re nervous.

And give yourself a little time.

You might be surprised by how quickly an unfamiliar place can become somewhere you belong.