b'THE REST OF US STORIESAlumniStarting at Exeter as an excited fresh, after two long years of A-Levels, I can honestly say that I was not expecting to come out of the other end having taken such a journey within myself, and my very identity. When I was applying to study at Exeter, I had come across a multitude of opinions on various forums and social media websites about the university itself. I was aware that I would be stepping from the comfort of a multiracial sixth form to a university where I would be a minority. A place where my race would make me stand out. Unsurprisingly, the comforts of living in a diverse city like London were slowly stripped away as I began settling into life at uni.Both course life and university life had their unique challenges. I found myself delving deeper into theatre craft but often it felt like it was from a Eurocentric gazeI eagerly awaited for people who looked like me to appear on a lecture slide. Wider university life also found me sometimes feeling a little alien, most significantly in casual conversation where I realised that even culturally, I was different from the overwhelming majority. It wasnt until my second year, as the element of personalisation through module choice became more prevalent, that I began exploring my own identity.I was lucky enough to enrol onto my first-choice modules in both second and third year. It was within these modules, particularly those in culture, choreography and Black British theatre, that I began to explore my blackness within the framework of academia. My own perception of theatre being a traditionally white space was challenged, and then dismantled. I was allowed to think and grow beyond my preconceptions and it allowed me to come out the other end more well-rounded and with even more questions to explore. It was even within the simple pleasures of deconstructing the very idea of museums or reading plays by Black British playwrights like Roy Williams, Arinz Kene, Kwame Kwei-Armah, debbie tucker green, Bola Agbaje and so many more. I realised that the independence of university meant that it was partially up to me to expose myself to these topics and tailor my learning to fit my own needs for development. This all culminated with my dissertation; an exploration of how an underground culture created by queer black and latinx people in 1980s America, spoke on identity and how performative it was. I was also lucky enough to be part of a group that put together a piece based in the Royal Albert Memorial Museum that explored the idea of Britishness 65'