After toying with the idea of going or not going to uni for many months beforehand I bit the bullet and I’ve never looked back. I sailed through my first year of uni with plenty of ups and only a handful of downs, I feel like I’ve just had the best year of my life. I stepped foot into my new life not having a clue what to expect or how I was going to change but it was definitely all for the better. Not only did living alone make me more mature (some of my newfound friends may disagree) and more aware of the world without my parents helping me, I also learnt a few more things than what my lecturers taught me.
You will meet your ‘best friends for life’.
I remember my first day, my mum said to me that this was the place I’d meet the people I kept in touch with forever. After my first week I thought, ‘meh, they’re alright but I can’t see them being my best mates’. Oh how wrong I was, as the weeks passed and I met more and more people I formed a close knit of girls who I am desperately missing after not seeing them for 3 weeks, when does summer end?!
It shows who your real ‘home’ friends are.
Now you don’t see your friends from home every day you keep in contact with people because you want to, rather than people because you have to. It doesn’t mean speaking everyday or seeing each other every weekend but it’s nice to know that you still have those people there even though they aren’t down the road anymore. You may be surprised at the result.
Save your loan.
I know the feeling of checking your bank balance, seeing all that money fresh from Student Loans and sprinting over to Topshop. Don’t do it! Be sensible here, you won’t get any more money for another 3 months at least. Remember that eating meals is slightly more important that the latest pair of heels (only slightly). And try not to go crazy on your first night out, fresher’s lasts a week, sometimes two so make sure you have enough to see you out for the rest of the week and the rest of the term.
Vodka is very naughty.
Do we need to speak more about the situation? Student nights are devils, but angels at the same time. They are irresistible due to the price lists and you may find yourself with a few too many vodkas in your hand.
You will miss you mum.
Don’t even deny it. You did last year and you will again next year. Nothing more to say on the matter.
Eating dinner at midnight is normal.
Tea time at uni started getting later and later, probably something to do with the time we were waking up and our post-uni naps? Eating dinner late is normal: our schedule was usually shower, dinner, get ready and out by 1am.
That’s a little list of things that I learnt from my first year at uni, now I can’t wait to get back into my student lifestyle of sleeping and partying. It’s a shame we have to fit lectures in there somewhere though!
