I am currently attending uni on literally the opposite end from where I live. On an average, it would take me 2 hours commute (2.5 hours on bad days) so imagine the stress of waking up on early hours ( a real struggle for a non-morning person like me), braving London rush hour, long hours of lecture then commuting back. Super haggard veh! For this month, since we are scheduled for 3 straight days, I decided I might as well just stay in. I tire so easily now.

I am not usually picky and I don’t mind staying in hostels/bagpackers. I just made sure that it’s near my school and affordable. Lo and behold, I found one which is half way the 2 uni sites which was perfect.

After a really fun class (it was lab day and we played and grew bacteria!), I went straight to the hostel. Didn’t take me long to find it. It was just in front of the train station, along the main road plus there was Sainsbury’s just across. Perfect. Coming in, the reception and initial hallway wasn’t too bad. Checked in, got the key and got directed into the stairs. You know when you see a place or person even and get that bad vibe instantly? I legit had that. I was already contemplating if I made the right decision.

Then I entered a totally empty room ( 2 single beds and 1 bunk bed) and that doubled. My first instinct was to just go home. I sort of convinced myself otherwise and to just ‘man up’. I kept myself busy instead. Watched as many youtube videos as I can, kept facetiming my husband just so I get preoccupied. When I got more comfortable, I ordered dinner from Deliveroo, ate, went back to watching until…

The curtain started moving. I convinced myself that it was just air although I was 100% sure it wasn’t. I carried on with the videos and then the upper bunk felt like someone was laying in and turned to their sides. Take note, I was all alone.

I panicked. I took all my things, ran downstairs and told reception I’m checking out. I was crying and wearing my tights on simultaneously. I didn’t ask for any refund, just my deposit and just rushed out. At the back of my mind, I remember my other classmate saying she was staying at a proper hotel (quite expensive but wth) so I took the next bus, booked a room and took a few minutes to shake the panic off.

What a crazy day!