It seems fair to say that the social aspects of university are considered some of the best and hardest parts of the experience. I was so nervous during the first few weeks but as people kept reminding me everybody is in the same boat and everyone wants to make friends.
When it comes to living with a new group of people there's always that slightly awkward moment of not really knowing whether to broach the subject of your visual impairment or wait to see if someone else brings it up in conversation (which they undoubtedly will).
But it was only a couple of weeks before the fact that I had terrible eyesight was as unimportant or as much a source of amusement as the fact that I was too short to reach the top shelf of the cupboard, or that my other flatmate burnt everything to within an inch of edibility. They soon did the same little things as my friends at home like pulling me across the road with them, passing rather than throwing things and reading out the subtitles on movies.
I was advised by a friend to find at least one society that you enjoy enough to stick with for the year, and I would agree. I play saxophone and have really enjoyed being part of the university big band, which was a great way to keep playing and meet a great bunch of people. I even went on tour to Prague with them this summer, which was definitely a week to remember!
There are going to be those moments when you walk into a large lecture hall and aren't able to distinguish your friends, you can't recognise someone, or you're asked why you ignored a friend, trying to get your attention, in the pub last night. They surmount to nothing in the great scheme of things but they make the day that bit more interesting!
Find out more about starting university.