When we came to uni, people told us the old clichés of “don’t drink too much”, “work hard” and “don’t forget to do some washing”. These seemed like pretty good resolutions at the time. Little did we know that we would be going out 4 nights a week, turning up to seminars still drunk, and only washing our bedsheets when they had chocolate crumbs and hair-balls stuck to them.
So here at HCX, we decided to come up with a list of more important things that we wish people had told us about uni life.
1. It’s OK not to be OK.
Everyone tells you that uni days are the best ones of your life, and that is definitely true (unless you go on to become Blake Lively). But nobody tells you about the bad days. There may be times where you just want to listen to James Blunt and cry in the shower – especially in the first month of Freshers when you’re not really sure who your friends are yet. Uni can be a stressful time, so don’t feel guilty about having a few off-days!
2. Tea & Tequila are the best ways to make friends.
It’s a well-known fact that tea is the key to friendship (providing they put the milk in last, of course!). Don’t be scared to knock on your flatmates’ doors and ask them if they want a cuppa – it’s an easy way of showing that you’re lovely and also that your tea is on point. Then, in the evening, be prepared for Tequila slammers at Arena! Shots are like the glue that hold the group together on a night out.
3. You don’t have to go out all the time.
When you get to uni, it’s easy to stalk your home friends’ Instagram accounts and freak because they look like they’re having more fun than you. It seems like a competition, and you want your 50-second Snapchat stories to prove you’re just as cool as them. But clubbing isn’t the only way to have fun at uni. You can go on cinema trips, have film nights in (big blankets and onesies are essential!), or even go bowling at the Quay. You should also make some time for your one true love, Netflix.
4. You might not get a boyfriend (straightaway, at least).
Most of us assumed that we would find a boyfriend as soon as we got to uni. But it’s hard to find a decent guy to go out with – hook-ups from nights out tend to be a one night thing (not that we’re complaining, our drunken judgements are pretty terrible sometimes!). The boys in our seminars judge us for never doing the reading, and our male friends are, well, our friends. In fact, getting a boyfriend in first year is a massive achievement, and not one that many of us achieve – sorry, Mum!
5. Washing is harder than it looks, so do as little as possible.
Washing is really hard work – not only do you have to work out if your clothes should go into the Colours or Whites pile (sometimes it’s really hard to tell), but you also have to carry the mountain of clothes to the machine and somehow squish them in. Then once you’ve actually washed the clothes, you have to hang them up and, normally, the load you’ve done is too big so they don’t dry properly and end up smelling like wet dogs… Soaking your clothes in Febreze until forced to do a wash, because you’ve run out of underwear, is a much safer option.
Life at uni may not be exactly how we imagined it, but, let’s not lie, it’s pretty great.