Editor’s Letter – “There’s something here for everyone”

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]o you’ve decided to come to Warwick. Excellent. We’re glad to have you. A fledgling university, 50 years young, still very much making a name for itself in the world; yet wholly impressive already. How many other universities are as representative of its student body, in this respect, as ours? Not many.

Time to shake off any unenviable reputations you garnered for yourself while at school, cast away any stereotypes you were unfairly afflicted with, and strike out on your own for the first time, a’fresh. (Apart from when you drunkenly stumble into Pete from Sixth Form at POP!, who unkindly reminds you of that time you did you-know-what with you-know-who at you-know-where.)

embrace the diversity, this opportunity of self-reinvention, and the great range of identities that might constitute your single personal identity.

A sort of university holy trinity of societies, halls and your degree, means you’ll almost undoubtedly make friends of all kinds. You’ll be able to cultivate the sort of social diet you’ve always dreamt of: an eclectic mix of people, cultures and interests.

You will be surrounded by such a wide-ranging spectrum of people, pulling you in a number of different directions, and it can be easy to find yourself lost at sea amongst it all.

I say embrace the diversity, this opportunity of self-reinvention, and the great range of identities that might constitute your single personal identity. After all, that we have as many personalities as we do people we know, is not such an untoward thing.

That spectrum might even be best thought of as all the various sections that make up The Boar – News, Comment, Music, Sports, etc. (cheeky self-promotional plug). Quite simply put, there’s something at Warwick for everyone.

often the quieter, more introspective among us, who find it harder to speak up;(…) will have the most interesting things to say.

Of course, if you’re a self-confident, super-socialite, what the hell are you doing even reading as far as this!? You know it all already. Well, actually, you might look out for those not as adept as yourself in this regard.

Freshers is prime time for the most outgoing; the overt extroverts. But often the quieter, more introspective among us, who find it harder to speak up; to pluck up the courage to start a conversation, perhaps as you both wait for your washing to finish at the laundrette, will have the most interesting things to say. Save time for them. They’ll often make the best friends. (As for any enthusiastic philosophy Fresher, who’d hoped I might have gone on to discuss Animalism versus Lockeanism at the mention of personal identity, I can only apologise profusely. Maybe in the next issue.)

To get back on track, however… Be brave, be Boar (we’d love to have you on board!), but most of all: be yourself.

Right. I think that’s quite enough philosophising for one day.