THAT UNI GLOW-UP

Hi Hiver Students,
It's Abeegail, we are slowly drawing to the end of my first semester in uni and I am bit in a reflectice phase trying to see what worked what didn't, what I need to work on, what I'll be trying again. While looking at all these I just low-key remember something.

Why did no one tell me that uni was like this, I had the out of the movie view of what uni was like, you know the ones were the girls walking to class looking effortlessly put together, with fresh braids, cute outfits, expensive-looking bags that somehow match everything. And the guys, wearing the trending outfits and expensive gadgets. Everyone glowing. Everyone becoming something.
It felt like a phase of life where everything would just… click.

You know, The "UNI GLOW-UP"

I thought it was almost automatic. Like once you enter uni, everything changes, everything shifts. You finally have control; over your time, your decisions, your money, and suddenly, you'll become that version of yourself you’ve always imagined.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Until the bitter taste of reality hit me, and I sat down with the uncomfortable truth.

Because my braids are rarely ever done. Sometimes they stay undone longer than I planned because fixing them just isn’t a priority when there are other things to figure out. I’ve definitely repeated outfits more times than I’d like to admit, and not because I wanted to but because “this is what I have, so this is what I’m wearing”. And that control I thought I’d have over my finances? It doesn’t feel like control anymore, It feels like constant calculation, Choosing between things, Adjusting, and Stretching.

The hardest thing is realizing that not everyone starts from the same place. “All hands are not equal” sounds like something you hear and nod at, but uni is where you actually see it. In the little things. The ease some people move with. The way certain lifestyles seem effortless for them and out of reach for me. And I'll be crazy if that doesn't messes with your head a little. I guess this is why my parents preach contentment.

I just used to think that getting to uni means instant glow up, like the ones in the movies. Now I realize that you work for glow ups and it just doesn't happen because you've reached a particular stage. You'll have to go through the fire of managing with what you have, even when it’s not enough. getting through the week when you thought you can't go on. It's not in the outfits or the hair or how “put together” you look walking to class. it’s in the quiet adjustments. It's in the way you keep going, even when things don’t look the way you thought they would, so that you would emerge as this fine china pottery.

Realizing this doesn't mean I've given up on the version of me, the one with the fancy bag and perfect braids and everything figured out. But it's understanding that she’s not going to appear overnight just because I made it to college.

It's Still Abeegail💗✨
Becoming the "Uni Baddie"

Thank you for Reading.
The images are mine.