Jens van Vugt: ‘It takes a lot of effort for me to always be fun and social’

At university, you can do more than study. Numerous associations organize tons of activities. Under the motto Jens Tries, Liberal Arts student Jens van Vugt makes videos about those for the university’s Instagram page. But what is there to know about Jens himself?

1. What did you want to be as a child?

‘I didn’t have anything I really wanted to do. I do know that I always wanted to help people. I thought it would be really fun to set up a care farm. Working on the land and working with animals and then talking to people. That idea has also remained as a possibility around retirement.’

2. What do you daydream about?

‘Making videos for social media is easy fo me. I would like to do something with that. Like the videos and reports they make at BNNVara. that would be very interesting and cool to do, I think. So I’m thinking about going in that direction after my studies.’

3. What is your biggest fear?

‘Disappointing people, I find that difficult. I am a people pleaser. As chairman of Extra Muros, for example. If things don’t go the way I want and people find that annoying, I can remain professional. But when I get home, I notice that it weighs more heavily than you might initially think.’

4. What is a perfect night out for you?

‘I lived in France for a while as an au pair and the evenings I there are ideal. Sitting outside at a long table in the middle of nowhere with a group of people. And then the specialty beers and very tasty food comes out. The music comes on and someone brings a guitar. A campfire. The conviviality and the conversations that start then, I really like that.’

5. What music can you not get enough of?

‘I make a lot of music myself. I play guitar and write lyrics. Singer-songwriter music, very acoustic, I can express a lot in that. I often try to keep it a bit poetic, so Boudewijn de Groot is someone I like to listen to. And you can almost always make me happy with jazz, or blues.’

6. You have an unexpected afternoon off, how do you spend the time?

‘Maybe a bit boring, but I’m so busy that chores get left behind. Doing the laundry, getting groceries or vacuuming once. It’s not that my room is always very dirty, but when I have a free afternoon, I really like to do some extra cleaning.’

7. What do few people know about you?

‘I do quite a lot and I’m often in the foreground, so I come across as very social and extrovert. I think a lot of people assume that this is easy for me. But that’s not actually the case. It takes a lot of effort for me to approach people and to always be fun and very social. Over the years I have learned to deal with it and to hold my own in the spotlight. But when I’ve been busy like this all day and I come home, I am really done.’

8. Where do you get your best ideas?

‘I do a lot of travelling. My brother lives in Berlin and my parents live in France. So I get to spend a lot of hours on the bus or train. Those are the moments when I can do a lot of thinking and be creative. That is when I grab my notebook and write poetry or ideas for song lyrics.’

9. Your house is on fire and you can only save one possession. What do you take with you?

‘I have a box with everything I’ve ever written, or that has been written about me. About friends and playing outside or what my teachers in primary school have once written about me. That says something about what I found important at the time and about who I am. I wouldn’t want to lose that box.’

10. What series do you watch to relax?

‘I really like B&B Full of Love. I watch that once every two weeks with my best mate. We do a marathon for one evening and look through everything. He studies in another city, so we doesn’t see each other every night. That’s a guilty pleasure.’

11. What gives you a short fuse?

‘What really frustrates me is when you’re walking through the city centre and it’s busy, for example on a Saturday when the weather is nice, and then someone stops in the middle of the road, so you almost bump into them. If you don’t know where to go, walk to the side and check Google Maps. I’m a fast walker, I’m very goal-oriented and I just want to keep going.’

12. Never exercise again or never go to a concert again?

‘If I have to choose: never go to a concert again. I have never been a concertgoer. I do like to see live performances, in a bar somewhere. For example, a jazz evening in Paradox. But I wouldn’t spend 60, 80, 90 euros to go to an artist in some arena where you can’t really see them anyway. I’d rather be in a pub where someone is making beautiful music two meters away from you.’

13. Cook for yourself or order out?

‘I prefer to cook for myself, I really enjoy doing that. I like to experiment a bit. But life is so busy now, so I sometimes get a ready-tp-cook fresh packet from the Albert Heijn. That’s a godsend, because it’s not difficult and is ready quite quickly.’

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