From Segovia to Madrid: More Than Just a Move

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One of the most interesting features of IE University is the opportunity to study at two campuses. Along with many other students, I started my undergraduate degree at Segovia’s campus and moved to Madrid at the start of this semester. I remember my two years in Segovia as two of the greatest of my life. Living away from home, meeting new people, something was always going on; there was never a dull moment. My favorite part was probably how easy life was there. If your friend texted you to hang out, you would be there in less than ten minutes, there was little to no planning required. If you had errands to run, you would grab your keys, go, and be back in your house in about an hour. Except for that “siesta schedule” and Sundays, which closed all shops from two to five in the afternoon, life in Segovia was easy and calm. Despite this, it is true that it can get repetitive after two years in the small city. After all, there is only so much you can do, and if there is one thing I will dare say about IE students, it’s that we are not stagnant people. We need movement, and we need action. Therefore, after two years of living in Segovia, moving to Madrid is a breath of fresh air. 

Yet, we cannot forget about the big difference between Madrid and Segovia, the bustling capital vs the calm city. We all moved here looking forward to making all sorts of plans, forming part of the crowds, meeting new people, and exploring a new place. Once we got here, the change felt overwhelming, and I will include myself in that statement. From feeling like we had all the time in the world, we had come to a place where everyone is running from place to place, where you’re reliant on a little train to get you to class on time, where suddenly there is too much to do and not enough time, or money, to do it. Personally, I am from Madrid, and I have lived here for most of my life. I know and love this city, and moving back home, living far away from campus and most of my friends, the crowdedness and speed at which the tower works… it drove me crazy. It still does sometimes. If I felt overcome by the move, I could not even imagine how some of my friends who had never lived in a big city were feeling.

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Featured Image Courtesy of Pinterest.

One of my biggest struggles was the busyness that took over us. Life in Madrid not only felt a lot faster, it was also a shock into reality; telling us that we were growing up, that we had to start getting our lives together. Suddenly, my friends were not around me as much as they had been in Segovia, and I was scared of losing them. A big city usually means a busier schedule, including a greater distance between each other, which was very scary for me. Another struggle was the realization that we do not have a lot left together. Segovia was two of our university years, and for a lot of people, that means halfway through. Luckily, I have an extra year ahead of me, but so many people who are important to me are graduating a year before I am, and it is slowly sinking in that afterward, who knows if we will see each other again. Something beautiful about this university is the number of countries that compose it; that also means graduation will disperse us around the world once more—and as we grow up, our schedules will keep packing up, making time for college friends harder to find.

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Featured Image Courtesy of Pinterest.

Lastly, the pressure of the big city and of growing up pushes us to have our lives figured out. IE throws all of these opportunities at our faces: events, internships, and courses, which in Segovia all felt far away, are in front of us right now. These opportunities are amazing, but they make adult life seem just around the corner, and the truth is, it is. Slowly, we have to decide where we are heading and do that without being influenced by where our friends are heading. This time, we have to do it ourselves.

My closest friends will tell me: “Clau, you are a girl from Madrid who has always known what she wants, why are you writing this sad article about college life in the city you love so much?” Well, my goal here is not to make you sad, it is, as always, to make you think. Change is scary, growing up is scary, and Madrid can be scary, too. I know I am not the only one who has felt this way, so I wanted to write it down as a reminder that you are not alone. Time goes by fast, but fortunately, we live in a time where communication is at the touch of a button, and just as all of you who have traveled hours to be here keep in touch with those at home no matter how far away you are, make sure you do the same with the ones that surround you now. University is not forever, and the move from Segovia to Madrid is a reminder of that, so talk to those you love and spend as much time with them as you can. We have our entire lives to be adults, let’s make sure we enjoy being uni students first.



Claudia Monzón
Claudia Monzónhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/claudiamonzonperez
Lifestyle writer in Madrid and third-year PPLELLB student.

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