Going in to my third and final year at uni, it was difficult to control that twinge of jealousy seeing Freshers arriving, entire unnecessary reading list in one suitcase, jumbo box of condoms in another. Not for them worries about dissertations, or thoughts of âwhat the hell am I doing once Iâve scraped that 2.1?â And probably the most difficult thing about coming to the end of your time at uni is that, pardon the clichĂ©, but it really does feel like just yesterday that you stumbled through the hallowed doors of the Big O for the first time.
My friends and I still refer back to the earliest few weeks of first year and laugh. It really is the strangest, most hilariously awkward experience of your life. And I grew up faster than a baby on steroids in those few weeks. There are some lessons you learn as a Fresher that will never be unlearnt (whether you like it or not)âŠ
Halls are underwhelming on first impressions…
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Team Spirit is a must. But donât create your own in-group.
Never is Hall-Loving as strong as during Week One. Your Reps are seemingly born to feed you chants that criticise everyone that isnât on that bus. If youâre in catered Halls, you are not our friend. If you go to Trent, you are not our friend. And, for my block, who bonded quickly and vocally, if you were in any other block, you were not our friend.
Many an awkward memory do I have of sitting at the back of the bus like an over-excited Year 9 while we hijacked the organised chant and screeched âIâm Birches âtil I dieâ down the ears of every unfortunate soul destined to share space with us.
With hindsight: Best to not make the rest of your Halls hate you, eh?
“Group photo, before someone punches those idiots at the back!”
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Think before you speak
This is a general rule for life, but particularly prudent when youâre meeting a lot of people for the first time. You donât know your new friendsâ backgrounds, circumstances, personal histories.
Be tactful if you end up talking about religion, politics, anything potentially touchy. Stay away from âYour Mumâ jokes until you know people a bit more.
With hindsight: Donât have a laugh about someoneâs dead hamster until you know exactly how close they were to it.
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Donât think TOO MUCH before you speak
Because spontaneous comments make for great memories. One friendâs observation on the first night in Halls that âweâll probably be each otherâs bridesmaids!â is still admired as one of the most upfront pleas for friendship known to Freshers.
With hindsight: Itâs good to be optimistic about your new friends.
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Itâs OK to miss your friends from home.
One incident that sticks in mind started when we left one of the girls at a club, thinking she was with someone else. It wasnât until she returned home, distraught because not only was she on her own, but sheâd fallen over in the rush for cabs and been âtrampled by EVERYONEâ, that we realised our mistake. Now, we laugh. The whole thing is a bit funny; I patched up her knee with an unnecessarily large plaster, which she ripped off in the morning to reveal a graze that even Monica Gellar would struggle to find. We managed to comfort her, then squeeze 4 of us in to a rickety single for a sleepover (an attempt soon abandoned).
But the reality of the situation was actually quite upsetting. Weâd left someone alone in an unfamiliar city. The âtramplingâ could have been a lot worse. And it was sad to hear her say âthis wouldnât happen at homeâ, despite her assertions that she didnât blame us.
With hindsight: As a rule, look after your new friends as you would your home friends. Also, single beds are not made for 4 people.
Don’t believe Pornhub – this is the reality of four 18 year old girls in a bed
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Youâre not at college anymoreâŠ
Remember at A Level, when you were top of your class? The teacher loved you, your classmates slightly despised you, your work was paraded as a âSHINING EXAMPLE OF ENGLISH/CHEMISTRY/PHILOSOPHY/GENERAL STUDIES GENIUSâ. Sorry, but probably not anymore. Youâre now amongst a group of people who achieved pretty much exactly the same grade as you did. And, as I found out to my disappointment, some of them, sometimes, are going to do better than you.
This will differ between modules and between individual assessments, but donât expect to have lecturers worshipping you as their star pupil.
With hindsight: The only way youâll get lecturers to worship you is if you consistently turn up to every 9am.
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Itâs OK to ask for help
I was unlucky enough to end up in hospital a couple of weeks in to uni. Iâd been feeling seriously unwell for a while, and when some routine blood tests came back showing some dodgy numbers I was told to get myself to A&E ASAP. Iâll never forget sitting alone outside Portland Building, having just got the call from Cripps. It was the only time during the whole experience that I was seriously scared, because I was on my own at uni, I had seminar prep to do, I didnât have the energy to walk back to my Halls, I didnât even know where bloody A&E was, and I sure as hell wasnât going to call my Mum for help because I was an adult now – (Ha).
I got back to Halls, waited outside for my cab, bumped in to my two flatmates who were coming home and promptly burst in to tears. So much for my no-fuss, sneaky escape. Despite my protestations that I was âseriously fine, itâs probably nothingâ, they came with me; waited with me for 6 hours in A&E; reassured me it was OK to get Dominoâs delivered to a hospital, and waved me off when I was admitted. And when the âquick pop in to hospitalâ turned in to a five-day stay, the lot of them came to visit, my flatmate brought me an overnight bag, called me regularly to catch me up on everything that was going on.
I was so adamant that uni was the time to look after myself. I eventually let my Mum come up to help out when it all got a bit too much, and Iâm not ashamed to admit that there was no bigger relief than seeing her cute little reliable face at the door. And what would I have done without friends who thought of things like fresh underwear, shampoo and conditioner when I had my mind on other things? Well, I probably would have smelt pretty rough. But Iâd also have felt a bit alone.
With hindsight: You may have only known these people a few weeks, but I promise you, theyâre going to be willing to help without any hesitation should you need it. And any favours will no doubt be repaid at some point. Donât be afraid to ask if you need a hand (or some Herbal Essences Minis).
Hospital food ain’t cracked up to much you see…
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Money is a worry for everyone
The first time I was seriously worried about money was around the end of my first year, when the payment for a Tesco order bounced and I realised Iâd maxed out a measly ÂŁ250 overdraft. So much for âIâm never going below 0 while Iâm at uni; I just wonât GET an overdraft!â A quick check of the accounts and Iâd managed to work something out â drama avoided. But worrying about how much money Iâve got has been pretty much a constant thing since then.
What Iâve come to realise, is that itâs an extremely lucky student who doesnât ever have these worries. There are people better off than me who stress out as much as I do, and there are people in a much worse financial position than myself who worry about affording food, rather than âthat lush bag from Topshopâ.
With hindsight: This is the one time of your life you can live out of your overdraft interest-free. Embrace it.
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I donât really have any regrets about Freshers â the week itself or the entire year. Sometimes, I wish Iâd done more productive things with my time than building duvet forts and watching my way through IMDBs entire psychological thriller category list. Iâm in third year and Iâm still yet to do that First Aid course Iâve been meaning to do since Year 1; I still havenât ventured anywhere near that definitely worthwhile CV workshop. Any sensible person probably would have ticked those things off the list by now, but I would never say my First Year was a waste of time. It was solely dedicated to creating some âhashtag memoriesâ â and if you come out of uni without those, youâve done something wrong.
Have a happy First Year, Â UoN Freshers!
When exams are getting too much…build a fort to hide in