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Don't be a stranger

Week 23

10 February 2025

It goes without saying that the first few weeks of uni will be full of meeting new people, getting to grips with your course, and finding your way around town. Keeping in touch with family and friends back home will likely be near the bottom of the list of things to do, but it's an important thing to remember.

New city! New friends! New experiences!

It’s easy to get caught up in student life, from attending lectures and studying, to nights out and exploring your new home for the next three years. It’s also easy to be a bit lax on keeping in touch with your family back home. 

We're lucky now that we have the power of technology and social media quite literally at our fingertips; so staying in touch is easier than ever. It's a short post this week, but we want to remind you it's important to stay in contact with your family while you're away from home.

Say it with words

Probably the quickest way to stay in touch is by messaging. Set up WhatsApp or Messenger groups for each set of friends or family you want to keep in touch with. This means you can easily plan stuff in for when you come home, and keep up with all the gossip at the same time!

Film it

The next best thing to seeing someone in the flesh is to video call. Whether it’s Skype, FaceTime or Facebook video, you’ll be having a face-to-face conversation with someone from home. It’s also a great way to give your friends and family a tour of your room without them being there (and also means you don’t have to tidy up so much beforehand!)

Going retro

Fed up of texting? Send a letter instead. Sending ‘real’ mail gives a personal touch that digital messaging lacks. You can doodle on your letters, add in some glitter as a messy surprise, or add some photos. Cards are also a great way to stay in contact, so make sure you don't miss a birthday, valentines, Christmas or celebration of good news! And who doesn't love receiving something in the post that isn't a pizza menu or a bill?

Put a date in the diary

Select a weekend once a year when you can have an annual meet up and there's no better way to see each other than face to face! Each year on this date everyone has to make the effort to see each other. If you're all going to different universities you can use this date to all come together and visit each university! You can even continue this tradition once you've finished your studies and head off into the world of work! You can even take it in turns deciding where to visit, which is a great way to see the country.

Get gaming

You probably have one set up already, but one great way to stay in contact is by constantly beating your friends at FIFA or Call of Duty or joining forces in games like Gears of War or Borderlands. You can even hold regular games nights, so every Sunday night, whack a pizza in the oven, put your headset on and get ready for a night in with all your friends wherever they are.

Tasks for this week

  • If you know you're generally not that good at remembering to stay in touch with people, use the technology you have to hand and set up a monthly reminder on your phone and act on it. Simple!