UEBaes returns: Campus love stories

Content Warning: mention of sexual assault

“I came to uni in a toxic long-distance relationship that ended in the first lockdown. After this, I was threatened with sexual assault by one of my best friends and then sexually assaulted by someone who I thought I could trust. So, this piece is to show you it can get so much better.

We matched on Tinder in January 2022. We began messaging and all I could think was how familiar you looked. I went on Messenger and saw you active and instantly sent you a message saying, ‘omfg I knew I recognised you.’ We had sent each other about 5 messages because of a Concrete Confession about a lesbian wanting to meet more lesbians. But you were in a relationship, so nothing ever came from it. I promised I wasn’t a creep, and we had an instant connection, so we went to spoons for our first date.

We have just celebrated our one-year anniversary with a huge Pizza Hut date. We fit together like jigsaw pieces. You make me so happy. You are my best friend and the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I am the luckiest and most grateful woman in the world. I love you. See, Tinder works sometimes!

Rebecca Patchett

every Tuesday from 12pm-2pm at the Student Information Zone. Allow yourself to spend a few hours getting creative and meeting some likeminded individuals! Come along with a partner, a friend or by yourself to create something amazing. The next session will be Tuesday 14th February. No tickets are needed, just show up and start building!

As you can see, UEA are offering many events this Valentine’s Day. If you fancy staying on campus, why not consider making one of these a date with your partner? They are easy, cheap, and fun activities that you can enjoy together. Don’t miss out, write that date in your diary, or buy your tickets now on the SU website.

Every year at universities across the world, multitudes of perfect strangers come together from all over to an unfamiliar place. In the midst of all this, relationships can blossom and if the stars align, people find their soulmate. This year for Valentine’s Day, a few students from across UEA are telling their stories of love how they came to find the loves of their lives.

I had been through too much love and loss in my teenage years that the idea of being in a stable and loving relationship wasn’t even on my list of priorities when I moved to Norwich in September of 2021. I was doing my foundation year at INTO UEA, and I had booked accommodation for the INTO building.

When I arrived on campus, I was told by the INTO front desk that my accommodation moved to Crome Court. I found out the night I arrived, so I had to find Crome Court and carry all my bags. Not to mention I had to quarantine for 5 days. We met at the smoking area of Crome Court the night my quarantine ended. I wasn’t even meant to live in Crome and the night I could finally leave he was the first person I met. He came up to me after he heard my foreign accent amid all the British accents and asked me if I was new and what my name was.

After I told him he told me to “look after myself” then walked off trying to be mysterious. It didn’t work because I thought it was the weirdest interaction of my life. I even said to myself, “that was weird but, I’ll probably never see him again so it’s fine”. First thing the next day I ran into him, and we managed to have a proper conversation and instantly clicked. We hung out for hours every day and the more I got to know him the more I started to like him. We recently celebrated our oneyear anniversary, and I couldn’t be more grateful. Looking back, I have really learned how to trust and to accept true love.

Before university, I had always promised myself that I wouldn’t get into a relationship until I graduated and found a job. There were flings here and there, but nobody really swept me off my feet quite like he did. I got myself into a pleasant if predictable routine in my first semester at university. We met crossing paths on a night out to a nightclub in the city centre, and he offered to buy me a drink in the smoking area. Our friends clear off and by the end of the night, we were in each other’s arms. He came home with me that night.

I hesitated for such a long time, worried about all the possibilities for this to change my life. I told my friends, and they assured me that even though it was my right to choose, this one was far nicer than any of the others they had met. I plucked up the courage to ask him where he’d take me on a date – come the weekend, we were at the restaurant he suggested. We didn’t stop seeing each other since then.

He always calls me in the morning to ask if I’ve slept well and whether I have something to eat for breakfast and I am always ready to pick up the phone. I brought him to my hometown with me and he struck up an immediate rapport with my family. We told each other “I love you” for the first time a few weeks ago. I feel like I’ve found the one.

Anonymous