Lifestyle

Relive your childhood at UNI

My first year of University has taught me a lot of life lessons! One being that we took being young for granted. Now we have responsibilities and independence we want our carefree childhood back. After years of wishing we were older, arguing with parents, not wanting to do anything that was deemed uncool, counting down until we were old enough to move out and having adolescence tantrums, the moment we go to UNI we’re regretting wishing that away.

It starts in Freshers week with the dressing up. I was probably about ten the last time I went to a fancy dress party, before our body image was all we cared about and hair, makeup and impressing others became the priority of the night. We’re suddenly back to not caring. I now have a suitcase full of fancy dress in my halls, from a school uniform, neon sprayed clothes, blood stained halloween costumes, the stereotypical ‘where’s wally’ and the latest zoo animal outfit. One of the best things about student nights out is hunting the shops for fancy dress ideas and spending half the day decorating each other and cutting up ‘Carnage’ t-shirts.

The food – I never realised how exciting doing your own food shopping can be. We get stupidly excited walking around the isles picking up whatever we want and screaming with joy at how cheap our favourite biscuits are. UNI has reunited me with spaghetti hoops, or letters, or shapes… my personal favourite of sausage and beans in a tin, potato smiley faces, turkey dinosaurs, lunchables and frubes. Why is childhood food so much more fun than an average pizza?!

I used to spend 90% of my spare time as a kid playing on The Sims. Then suddenly it became uncool to spend your Friday night in on The Sims when everyone else was at the park… Now, I’ve realised it wasn’t only me, everyone from our generation loves The Sims. Whilst people think students spend their days sleeping it turns out a lot of them are playing The Sims for procrastination.

Only recently we all got excited for a trip to a fair by the beach. It’s the type of cheap fair that ‘chavs’ dress up for thinking it’s a big day out. We didn’t go that far. But it reminded me of a place I’d go every holiday in the years of secondary school. Then it went through that phase of we were ‘too old’ to go to a fair like that. But it was such a laugh and enjoyable day in the sun – minus the chavs – it actually made a change from going to the pub, doing work, or having a night out. I never knew 20 year olds could get such adrenaline from bumper cars… and so much disappointment at reading the ‘no adults’ sign on the bouncy castle.

Playzone – if you ever hear of one of these near your UNI I have one word for you – GO. Take yourself back many years to those birthday parties at the local soft play area. Even the smell is coming back to me now. Friday nights are aimed at 18+ year olds with the purpose of getting drunk, running around bouncy soft play and racing down drop slides. But we didn’t even need the alcohol. We got exactly the same buzz from a smelly soft play building than we would from a club. And on the plus side we could actually remember this night.

So we may have swapped sweets for alcohol. But students are the biggest kids you will ever meet. We get the same excitement as we would have years ago at the prospect of making a den with bedding and spending the night eating sweets and watching films. So if I could go back to the age of around 14 when all the little things that provide excitement in life (at any age) suddenly become uncool I would say –  do it, because before you know it you’ll be the adult, not the child you wish you could be again. And for anyone going to University next year – prepare to relive your childhood in the best way possible and make the most of being a Fresher!

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