One of my latest defeats is having the last two weeks issues titled similarly. I promise the content in this one is different. Last week’s issue was an attempt to highlight housing, flatting, and terrible DIY’s I hope you never actually use. This week I wanted to test the waters and do something different. Nexus… Welcome Home? Yes, it is a little cheesy. 

 

I hate writing anything along the lines of ‘your new home is here at uni and living with your friends, enjoy it xxx’. So there won’t be any theme of the sort on these pages. Instead, it’ll be themed around that unanticipated just-got-your-bottom-slapped feeling. Perhaps you’ve experienced it? Let’s be more clear, that feeling you feel when you’re in a group but not really in the group. You’re hanging out with your mates and all of a sudden you’re detached. I think some of the best of us end up feeling the most isolated. 

 

Maybe you haven’t experienced it and that’s fine, but one solution to that feeling is highlighting the importance of community. Another cheesy line? Absolutely. The essence of a small town or a city is made up by the community. As a second-year student, I like the community in Hamilton. I’ve been fortunate to have friends who’ve worked or lived here for a while to show me the rails. That mightn’t be the same for you. That’s why I’m here, to give you my thoughts even if you didn’t ask for them. 

 

Someone can stay in one city their whole lives and never feel at home. Likewise, the traveller can stay in many places and never find a place that makes them feel… warm? Like being in your mother’s womb. I’ve lived in several towns and cities. Seven schools too. I used to hate that I moved around so much because I was never able to make life-long friends you’d see in movies or read about in books. I also hate small towns and I can confirm they’re all racists, inbreds, or incels. And in all the places, small towns especially, I never felt that grounding I thought everyone else had. 

 

Now things are a little different. It was never in my grand and organised plans to go to uni. Honestly, I thought I was going to drop out as soon as I turned 16 and go full-time at the local bookstore. Thank God I didn’t because all my favourite staff members ended up leaving. I considered it a divine intervention telling me to stay in school. Four years down the track and I’m glad I stayed. 

 

It’s the people I’ve met here and the community that’s made me feel grounded- the most I’ve ever felt in my life. There’s something in the air past the piss-ridden streets. I should acknowledge that you might hate Hamilton. I get it, it’s a place people love to hate. Though that shouldn’t stop you from finding a sense of home and this issue might do just the trick.