Christina's story

Give a short introduction of yourself

My name is Christina, I am 23 years old and I am studying on the 5th semester of Sociology. I‘m originally from Aarhus, but I moved to Aalborg when I started university. Before I moved to Aalborg, I studied at Aarhus Statsgymnasium until I graduated in 2015. Afterwards I had two gap years, which I spent on travelling and doing military service in Aalborg.

Which considerations did you have regarding attending university?

I had many considerations about what I wanted to do in the future, and especially whether or not that would involve attending university. I actually always had this idea of becoming a police officer, and therefore I had not given university much thought. When I did military service during my gap years, I realised that I did not want to join the police right away, but maybe later in the future. Therefore, I started focusing on university and the endless possibilities that exist there. I looked into every kind of education and stumbled upon sociology, which I really could see myself studying.

Choosing this particular education sparked a lot of thoughts within me, especially since I was living in Aarhus at the time and had to adjust to the thought of moving. Therefore, my first step was finding a place to live in Aalborg. To me it was really important to get all the practical details sorted out first, so I could focus my energy on uni life more peacefully. 

Once I had sorted out the practical details, I focused all my thoughts and energy towards the social aspects. To me that meant making it a priority to attend as many social activities as possible in order to start building a social network for myself. At times, especially in the beginning of the semester, there were a lot of social events alongside the classes had begun. I had to adjust to my busy schedule and find my own balance between uni and social activities.

How did you experience your first day at AAU?

My first day was pretty overwhelming. It started with a shared breakfast on C. W. Obel’s Square, where I was accompanied by a flood of other new students. I found a seat among my fellow sociology students not knowing a living soul. The day ended with a big party in Gigantium, which I actually really liked, because it was a great and fun way of ending a long day. My thoughts of the first day were a mixture of anxiety about not knowing anyone, accompanied by feelings of excitement towards finding out what this whole university thing was going to be like, who the other students were and what it actually meant to be a student at AAU.

Which challenging experiences did you have during the study start?

For me the hardest thing about the study start was probably moving to a new city — a lot of stuff was going on school wise, so that did not make moving any easier. Luckily, I found out that creating a social network was not too hard, because there were many social activities built into the study start. 

Sometimes I feel like it is difficult for me to throw myself into new and unfamiliar things without knowing the outcome of the situation. I am the kind of person who likes knowing what is about to happen and having an overview of the situation. I do not feel like you are able to form that kind of overview of the study start, because everything is so new — this is where I found it important to allow myself to be ‘a beginner’.

Which good experiences did you have during your study start?

What was really great about the study start was definitely the social aspects. People were very positive, and since we were all in the same boat, it did not take long for us to start bonding. It is important to remember that a lot of people are feeling the exact same way you are, so make sure to use and draw on each other and the community that you have built. You will benefit from that during your entire education.

What do you wish someone had told you about student life?

That it is okay not to have everything under control from the very beginning, and that it is okay to mess up and feel like everything is a little chaotic. There are so many different things you have to be aware of, and therefore I think it is important that you do everything at your own pace, in order to not get too stressed out. There is no right or wrong way of studying — it is okay that you do not have time to read every single page from one day to another. We all learn in different ways, and therefore it is important for you to discover your own study rhythm.

I know that being told the following may seem a little confusing at this point, but I think it could have been really nice to know from the start, that you are able to shape your education through e.g., electives and project subjects, which is a smart thing to keep in mind throughout your entire uni degree. That way you will be able to create a common thread through both your bachelor’s degree as well as your potential master's degree. That is surely something I would have liked to know once I started attending AAU.