Change can be a scary thing. A change of people, a change of places, even a change in the mundane activities that constitute our everyday life.
As I write this I am travelling back home on the train from university; the sun is setting gently over the North Yorkshire countryside and I am reflecting on the change within my own life in the past year. It feels like I have taken this journey a thousand times – it has become part of the familiarity of life that I find comfort in. Sometimes I think that is why we fear change. Change and the unfamiliar poses a disruptive threat to the normality of our lives and that scares us. That is certainly the case for me anyway, I often have to remind myself that change is usually a good thing, disguised in my mind as something bad. For indeed this is what helps us grow as people, it is part of the human experience. Initially I was terrified of going to university because it meant leaving my life at home behind, but now I can’t imagine my life without it.
How do we deal with change then ? This is a questions I often ask myself, and in doing so I realise I am dealing with it.
Acknowledging our emotions and talking about them – whether that be to someone else or merely just to be yourself – is the first step to coping with such change. Personally, I find that writing helps immensely. Getting my thoughts down on the page is an act of self-confrontation. It’s like being forced to face a mirror and address yourself directly. Writing is wonderful because of the various forms it can take; from descriptive writing and fiction to journaling and diary entries, it can truly express ones’s innermost thoughts and feelings. Not just writing too, but art. Be this in the form of a painting or a sculpture, or just a quick sketch or a chaotic doodle across a blank page. Art is similar to writing in that it can be expressed in countless ways, even as a simple photo we take that captures the essence of a particular feeling or atmosphere, a preserved moment in time. Creating art is an entirely subjective experience, it allows us to tap into our psyche and convey personal perspective – making each piece unique to the individual. Most of my own personal inspiration for art is found in nature; immersing yourself in the outdoors can be powerful fuel for writing as well . Living in York, I have found no end of wildlife to find inspiration in; the campus is scattered with an abundance of bunnies and many different birds, not to mention the wild flowers and lakes.
In February I attended a lights exhibition at York Minister. An impressive display of moving lights projected onto the minster, with one image in particular standing out to me : an array of flickering candles covering the entirety of York Minister’s façade. Candles immediatley bring to mind hope for me, and as I stood shivering in the cold winter night surrounded by new friends in my new life, I thought how good this change had been for me, stepping out of my comfort zone, and how it had encouraged me to ‘shine my own light’, so to speak!
Written by (WW) Elizabeth, 19
