A reflection on new beginnings in postgraduate life.

You’ve just graduated, packed up your carefully curated undergrad identity — the friends, the societies, the go-to coffee order — and landed in a brand-new city. Now what? Do you reinvent yourself, double down on what you know, or try something entirely different? A reflection on new beginnings in postgraduate life.

So here you are. You’ve launched yourself into the pod: a brand-new city, a new degree, a new set of initials at the end of your LinkedIn profile. Your perfectly curated undergrad identity has been left behind. Now, in the first few weeks of term, you’re hovering in that strange space between who you were and who you might become.

Welcome to the Master’s POV.

Freshers’ Déjà Vu

Remember how in undergrad you thought icebreakers were awkward? Welcome to round two. Except now the questions aren’t about your favorite color; they’re about your dissertation topic. Half the room already has a research proposal color-coded in Notion, the other half shrugs and says “still figuring it out.” You will oscillate daily between the two camps.

The Reinvention Temptation

The beauty (and slight terror) of a Master’s is that nobody here knows who you were before. You could pivot. You could decide you’re suddenly a morning person, that you absolutely *love* running, or that you only wear monochrome. You might toy with reinvention, but here’s the catch: your real self will leak out when you’re stressed, tired, or late to class (cue late-night takeaway and messy notes).

Editing, Not Erasing

For most of us, it won’t be a dramatic makeover. Reinvention is less about becoming a whole new character and more about editing the script. Maybe you finally join the society you avoided before, or you stop procrastinating (…less). Perhaps you switch your coffee order and pretend it’s a personality shift. These small shifts matter, because they make you feel like you’re leveling up without the pressure of becoming a brand-new person. It’s all about tiny tweaks, not rebooting entirely.

Protecting Your Peace

Here’s the thing nobody tells you about Master’s life: you might already feel tired before it even begins. Maybe you were the person in undergrad who chased every leadership role, packed your schedule with committees, events, and three societies at once. Now? You’re realizing that all you really want is one commitment you actually enjoy… and the rest of your time left blissfully free.

Or maybe it’s the academics themselves. Courses pile up, readings multiply, and suddenly your most radical act of reinvention is protecting your peace. Does that make you old? If so, allow me to be a grandma under my blankets, sipping coffee and reading a book while the rain taps the window. Routine is not a failure; it’s a survival strategy.

Protect your peace. There’s nothing wrong with it, and honestly, it might be the best kind of reinvention you can choose.

Finding Your Pod

The best reinvention actually comes through people. In the first weeks, you’ll meet an overwhelming number of them: flatmates, course mates, even the person who helped you figure out the library printers (a true soulmate candidate). Some stay, some fade, but slowly, you build a pod. Not just a group to study with, but one that makes the chaos feel less overwhelming. The ones who stress alongside you, who don’t need an explanation for the dark circles under your eyes or the painfully chirpy voice you put on when calling your parents.

Closing Scene

Here’s to hoping that by the end of the year, you’ll have stopped worrying so much about whether you’ve become a better or worse version of yourself. You’ll just be… a more you version of you. But slightly reloaded. A little more resilient, a little more caffeinated, but not rewritten.