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I am extremely fortunate to be studying not only in the Netherlands, but at Leiden University. Why would I call this fortunate, you may ask? I previously studied at St Andrews in Scotland and I would also say that I was lucky to have done that as well. But things have changed in the UK as we all know. My bachelors programme was around £1,800 a year. At that price, the level of education was fantastic, and I am still very glad I got the opportunity to study there.

Even though I have a huge imagination, what I am going to write is really something unexpected. 

Four things are recurring in this story: nutella, parmesan, my granddad’s backpack and a moka. 

When I picked my A-Levels my subjects ranged from what might get me into an accounting career, a languages career, a politics, or law career. I have always liked the idea of a diverse career path, or so I believed. I kept my options open because I didn’t know what I wanted, not because I had enjoyed the variety in the first place.  When I applied for a law degree I based my decision on nothing other than the highest grades I had achieved. My achievement had shown me what I would be best at. Which is great, isn’t it?

How often do you consider the possibility that you could be wrong about your most cherished beliefs? How much time have you spent thinking through arguments you deeply disagree with? How often do you seek to engage intellectually with those who hold opposing views?

I raise these questions because I value intellectual exchange and would like to see it flourish, not flounder, in the face of heated disagreement.

You’re a student and you like extra guac on your burrito, mimosas in the afternoon, and organic almond milk in your porridge. You’re subscribed to Netflix, to Spotify, to the gym, and when you look at your overdraft you’re reminded of that Battle of Hastings exam you have coming up… -1066… hmmm, how did that happen?

When you start university and are warned about mental health issues, you assume that the warnings and reminders of support are for other people. The ones who already have mental health issues, and the types of people we might assume are already at risk. It’s not true. Mental health at university exists in a whole different realm to mental health anywhere else and it’s time that that is acknowledged. It doesn’t play by the rules everyone seems to have constructed.