‘Freshers is fun’ they said, ‘you’ll have the time of your life’, they said. But Freshers isn’t always what you expect. With horrible hangovers, homesickness, and complete and utter confusion as to where you are and what you’re supposed to be doing, your first experience of uni is often a daunting one. But here are some handy hints to get you through and ones we wish that we had been told before starting at Durham.
CHAT
In a few months time, Freshers’ Week will seem like a blur of ‘hellos’, phone numbers you’ll never use, and continuous knocks on your bedroom door. When you first arrive at university your main aim is probably to make friends, and you will in an instant, as long as you make the effort. There’s no point hiding yourself away in your room or popping off into town alone. Talking to new people isn’t always the easiest, but everyone’s in the same boat, and that girl you’re thinking of talking to in the corner of the college bar is probably just as shit scared as you. If you don’t talk to people, they won’t talk back, and you’re going to have an extremely boring three years.
WATCH WHAT YOU SAY
You’re here to make friends, not enemies, so learn to filter out the load of rubbish that people won’t want to hear. You went on a ‘gap yah’ did you? Well that’s lovely, but there’s only a certain number of ‘this one time on my gap year…’ that people want to hear. And if you’ve met someone you’re not the biggest fan of, you should keep that to yourself too. In Freshers’ Week you don’t really know who your true friends are yet, and news travels fast. You might find yourself in more drama than you first expected.
NAP
After not being at school for months, naps are maybe something you’ve already become accustomed to, and the ability to nap is key to surviving Freshers. Suffering from severe FOMO, you’ll find yourself out every night, and staying up after the clubs close to bond with your corridor buddies, but without daytime sleeps, you’ll just burn yourself out. The cure is a decent afternoon snooze.
LINE YOUR STOMACH
Guaranteed you’ll vom at least once during Freshers. Whether that’s due to going complete alcohol overboard with excitement, or due to being forced to down a Johnny Woodgate, the puking session will at some point surface. You can help yourself, however, by making sure you’ve well and truly lined that stomach of yours. Yes, college food might take some getting used to, and after your beach bod diet, carbs are no longer your thing, but you really do need to make sure you’ve had a decent dinner before you head out on the town. At least give your stomach something it enjoys before all the vodka you’ll be consuming!
VISIT URBAN OVEN
Selling the most luxurious of Italian Cuisine, Urban oven staff will soon become your best friends, and the restaurant is a fabulous late-night spot to socialise. Get pizzas delivered to your college after a tough night of Klute, and your hangover won’t be as painful the next morning.
GET YOURSELF SOME VITAMIN C
Freshers’ week is a shock to your body’s system. After a lazy summer of music festivals, sunning it up and watching too much daytime TV, you’re probably not used to being so on the go. Unfortunately ‘Freshers’ Flu’ really isn’t a myth, so get yourself some Vitamin C in the hope that you can escape it!
SIGN UP FOR SOCIETIES (BUT WISELY…)
College Freshers’ fairs and the Students’ Union fair are musts on your Freshers’ Week to-do list. Although at first they might seem slightly overwhelming, with so many different societies and sports clubs to join, it’s definitely worthwhile. One mistake most freshers make, however, is signing up to so many. You’ll find within a few weeks time that you’ve spent £100s on membership fees and you just can’t physically fit so many meetings into one week. Sign up to what interests you most, you’ll probably only stay serious about a couple, but whatever they are, they’ll make your uni experience ten times better.
DON’T SLEEP WITH YOUR NEIGHBOUR
Freshers’ Week is where everything crazy happens. You’re in a new place, surrounded by new people, and you’ve finally escaped the prison of living with your parents. Naturally we all go wild. But please consider who you take back with you carefully. Some people are just off limits, unless you want your year to be an insanely awkward experience. Imagine passing the lucky guy as you walk to your room from the shower, no make-up, wearing only a towel. Imagine walking in on him in the toilet by accident, because he forgot to lock it. Imagine hearing him with some other girl through your shared wall. Just imagine.
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST…
Completely forget the fact you’re here to study. You’re a fresher, it’s your first week, there should be no books read, no writing done, and instead just you, your new mates, and your fabulous college going absolutely insane.