Leoni

Alongside many other HMC students, as it weirdly turns out, we all applied to Worcester and then got pooled to Blackfriars, and then got pooled here, so I am so, so grateful. I was really worried about being in a mature College before, but now that I'm here I've told all my friends to also go for a graduate or a mature College. The age that I was entering HMC was 21, so I was worried that I'd be one of the youngest students here, and I was, but it wasn't a bad thing! It just feels like a college filled with older siblings, which is really ideal.

I'm quite highly strung, so I get up at 7 30 on the dot and I walk into college and I have breakfast and then meet a few people at breakfast and we stay there for about half an hour and then together we decide where we want to study that day. So we've gone sometimes just for a walk to stretch our legs or when the weather's been nice we start in the botanical gardens which has been lovely, or if it's really cold the HMC library because they have blankets and we can wrap up. We come back into college at 12.30 for lunch and then do exactly the same thing – just see who's about, ask if anyone wants to go study, or if anyone wants to get a coffee, all the way up until dinner. If it's a formal night I'll get back home and get dressed and then after formal we used to go to the JCR, but I think because it’s the summer, we've drifted more towards going to the King's Arms or The Turf afterwards, and that's always nice because you get a new group of people every time.

I think the HMC social life was really surprising to me, again because of the fear of being a graduate college or a mature college and having lots of older students I was worried people wouldn’t know how to party, but they do! I mean, I was Club rep at my old college, so I was used to being in a very party-heavy cohort but the HMC lot have outdone me! I've spoken to friends at other colleges and they've been really surprised that our college does so much. I think the MCR in particular are very lucky in that we get to have both the JCR events and the MCR events. At my old College the JCR and the MCR were completely distinct – there was no crossover socially, we were just separate parts of college, so I came into HMC expecting that and was really surprised that all MCR members are automatically included in the JCR, and the MCR events are quite large, but JCR members can sneak in, and that's just really lovely – it adds to the the Cosy Spirit of HMC but also you don't feel too scared to ask if you can join an event. HMC is cosy physically, spiritually and emotionally. It's a really small college, you get used to the environment, you get to know all the buildings. Within the first week I think I was pretty confident I could walk anywhere, see someone and feel comfortable waving at them or smiling at them and not feel like I had to look at the floor and run off.

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