Harry Potter and the Order of Trauma Dumping

There are many things to say about sharing accommodation with other people. You´ll hear about conflicts, messy housemates, loud parties, and getting your food stolen. But don´t let these realities scare you, and opt for living alone. I can´t emphasize enough how different can your studying abroad be when you decide to live in a dorm. If you think about it, you have nothing to lose. I´m spending four months in Leicester, so in case it turned out to be really bad, I could always soothe myself with the thought of coming back home. And what if it didn´t go badly? What if you met like-minded people and spent evenings doing Harry Potter puzzles?

The hack to surviving alone is talking. I would´ve been a mess if I hadn´t had the opportunity to text my flatmate to meet me in the kitchen. I would´ve hated studying abroad if the girls from the other apartment didn´t occasionally text me to pop over and have dinner with them. This is the beauty of female friendships. Women care about each other and are not afraid to show it. We express our emotions loudly and don´t feel ashamed (sometimes I cringe about how clingy I am, but I´m just a girl; what can I do). You can go grocery shopping together, and by the time you reach the yoghurt aisle, you´re talking about how you got catcalled and how it changed your relationships towards men. You´re debating whether to buy white or brown toast bread, and you casually share your opinions on different sexual positions. This is what we do, we get into deep conversation in matter of minutes.

So, if you think you won´t benefit from living in dorms, you will. Even if you didn´t meet anyone worthy of spending time with you, it will move you forward and teach you independence and appreciation of your own company. And that´s something you´ll have to learn one way or another.

Love,

Book and Tea Girl