2021 Graduate Gee looks back on her Falmouth experience

And in a blink of an eye, it’s all over. My time as a Falmouth University student has come to an end, but I, like many other graduates, have gained so much during my time here. 

I have always been told the older you get the faster time passes. I think I understand that now more than ever. It feels like just yesterday that I was dropped off at halls by my dad and left to my own devises, ready to experience so many new things. I don’t think I realised at that point how much of an impact the decision would have on my life. 

The ease of being able to meet and walk into town or to the beach for a coffee/hot chocolate is definitely something I took for granted. It’s often the small things you miss the most.   

I chose Falmouth for two reasons: the course and the location. These reasons both played a huge part in my time here but without the people I met, those times would have been very different. People really do have the ability to make a place even more special. I am very grateful for all the different ways you meet friends while at university. From housemates to course mates, work friends and friends of friends, having the opportunity to meet and talk to people from various backgrounds has been lovely. I think that is one thing many universities are good at – bringing people together. I owe many of my favourite memories to the friends I met at university. 

It’s important to note that some moments challenge you (yes, getting a degree is hard work) and others make you realise it really is all worth it. I will miss seeing ‘my people’ almost every day, having gotten so used to them all living in about a 5 to 10-minute radius. The ease of being able to meet and walk into town or to the beach for a coffee/hot chocolate is definitely something I took for granted. It’s often the small things you miss the most.   

I will never forget living in Falmouth and feel very lucky to have been able to live in Cornwall for the last three years. I’ll miss the moments of free time in between exceptionally busy terms, when you can escape to the beach early in the morning or sit round a BBQ in the evening. I’ll miss going on long walks with a drink of some kind at the end of it and the celebrations after hand-ins (even if it is a bit nerve racking waiting for results). Sometimes these occasions felt few and far between when working in the library or the studio but when I look back, I can remember a fair few.  

The studio became home over the last three years; I’ve spent hours in there, things going wrong things going right, late nights and more. Pattern cutting, sewing, and making will never be quite the same again but I take with me what they taught and will remember that forever. 

Once, a friend and I watched the sunset and then got up super early (before 6am) the next morning to watch the sunrise on paddle boards. We were the only ones on the water. I will never forget that feeling of freedom. I’ve explored so many beautiful places within Cornwall but there are so many more left! I’ll definitely be back as often as is possible, hopefully meeting up with friends along the way. 

One of our lecturers always says that as a student in Falmouth you can see the horizon, which is a very powerful thing as a creative – to be open to all that’s around you. I always thought of it as being able to give yourself to your own projects, without distraction. That’s another thing I will miss so much about university: the studio space and the technical staff who taught me since I arrived three years ago. We have spent the last year with them, making our final collections.  

I think sometimes you don’t think about how it’ll feel to leave, as in the run-up you’re so focused on the final hand in. The studio became home over the last three years; I’ve spent hours in there, things going wrong things going right, late nights and more. Pattern cutting, sewing, and making will never be quite the same again but I take with me what they taught and will remember that forever. 

I could go on and on about things I’ll miss about Falmouth and university, living with friends, parties, days out, successful projects and more. Falmouth will always be a very special place to me and I know I’ll often find myself wishing I was back there. But all good things must come to an end. 

I’m ready now to open myself up to new possibilities and making more memories.