Been reflecting a lot about my first year of uni at 18. My hometown was like the set of Cheers (everyone knows your name, and your parents). School was weird and although I had friends, I never felt that I had a place in my all girls Catholic school (1/6)

I was so excited to swap the culchie for the culture of the Big Shmoke (Dublin). I moved in with my best friend but almost instantly our experiences were different. She loved the city life, I was homesick and terrified of fitting it. (2/6)

I went to every party or social that I was invited to (even went clubbing in Dandelion with a flu cos of the FOMO) and went home every weekend to work at my part-time job. My parents took a loan for my fees and rent but I paid for the rest as much as possible. (3/6)

Myself and my best friend drifted, our flat became tense. I was finding myself but also finding that this wasn't my place in the world either. I missed my family (pets) and boyfriend and ran home to my mammy whenever things got tough. (4/6)

No real purpose to this thread other than to push people to remember what they were like at 18, being independent for the first time. Would you really have done anything differently to what students around the country are doing now? (5/6)

Hindsight is an amazing thing but you often don't get it until years after the fact. Think about what it was like for you, and have a little empathy. A lot of scared kids being punished for being kids and probably sick and lonely too. (6/6)