Becoming a mum

Last year I wrote about having an academic family and in summary, I really and deeply appreciate my academic parents and siblings. They brought me out of my shell, gave me more brothers and sisters than I had ever even imagined having, and showed me that St Andrews was not as scary as I imagined it to be.

Despite how much I loved my family, I did not think I was going to adopt this coming year, for various reasons. Mainly I didn’t think that I could handle the responsibility of being a mum to such innocent and doe-eyed freshers and second years. I love giving advice and showing people around the place I love, but I didn’t think I wanted to really get into Raisin and all of that.

But I forgot how different being a student in the Joint Degree Programme is. I forgot how scary it is being in the Joint Degree Programme, especially if you’re a transitioning second year or a brand new freshman. When I went to the JDP reception the first Sunday we got back, I met so many new faces that reflected something I recognized, but I couldn’t place the feeling just then. It wasn’t until we all went to orientation and our pub crawl that I realized what it was: a little anxiety mixed with a desire to stay as optimistic as possible.

That was me.

There were so many things I didn’t know but needed to, so many things I wanted to do but didn’t have courage to. Now I look back on it, if it weren’t for my dad who was in the Programme, I would’ve missed out on a lot of little details about the Programme and been even more confused than I thought I was already.

So when the moment presented itself, yes, I did end up adopting. It’s more than taking them to the best parties and linking them with other people around St Andrews, its about forming the real link between Virginia and Scotland. From person to person.