u/spacelover04

I'm a first-year software engineering student living in a student residence in Madrid, hundreds of kilometers from home. I visit my family once a month. I spent years preparing for independent life — I had a study routine, kept good grades, read constantly, trained consistently at the gym. I genuinely thought I was ready.

I wasn't.

The good stuff first: I've made my best friends here, I have a girlfriend, and I genuinely love where I live. The social side of student life has been great.

But everything else is a mess.

My parents give me a monthly allowance that's enough to live on and have a little fun — I go out maybe once a month, sometimes not at all. And yet I'm always broke by the end of the month. Last month I tracked my spending: roughly 30% went to vending machines, fast food, and random snack runs. That's it — not going out, just junk food out of pure laziness or stress.

I know how to cook. I just don't, because after a long day of studying, I can't bring myself to do it. The result: I've gained around 10kg since moving here. I've always struggled with my weight — I'm naturally big and was always strong but a bit overweight — but this is a new low. The worst part is I can't seem to internalize that I actually need to change this.

I barely go to university lectures. I study in my room and pass my exams — a mix of being naturally decent at this and putting in the hours. But attending class? Rarely happens. I tell myself it doesn't matter right now, that it'll change as the course gets harder. Maybe. I don't know.

And the phone. I scroll Instagram endlessly. Sometimes I catch myself opening it while watching a movie. I installed an app today (One Sec) to try to break the habit, but that obviously doesn't fix everything else.

I'm not looking for a magic solution. I just want to hear from people who've been through something similar — how did you start getting things under control?