So its been a long time since I posted anything, but life has been hectic, mainly because I started(and finished) my first year at University, and what a crazy year it has been.
What I will first say before I even begin on this blog is 1) Uni is an amazing experience and I know it sounds cliched but you really do learn a lot about yourself (and also on what you choose to study.....but mainly yourself, 9000 grand to learn about yourself is a lot of money mind you) and 2) Everybody's experience of university is different due to many different factors. So here I my top tips for Surviving your first year of university!
1) The best friends you may make in your first year (and the people you may go onto live with) may not necessarily be the people you meet on the first day, in the first week or even in the first half of the year, so don't worry if you don't think you have clicked so much with the people you meet first.
2) The best friends you make don't necessarily have to be in your halls of residence. I get on great with the people who were in my halls but actually my best friends at University are from my course and also a group of people from another halls who I met in freshers.
3) University accommodation is a great experience but it definitely comes with its problems. Here is my list from my experience.
-Noisy neighbours(upstairs, downstairs, either side, across the hall, 2 floors down) You can hear EVERYTHING, and trust me, I mean everything....Earplugs are a good investment......and also speakers!
-Following from that, drunk students coming back from a night out(but chances are you'll be one of them)
-Pubes in the shared showers
- Massive shits in the toilet or (what I think is worse) Shit nuggets' left in the toilet.
- Vomit, Pee, Spit, Alcohol and many other liquids in the bath
- Lack of hot water when other buildings use there showers
-No cold running water in the kitchen
-A toaster that toasts half your bread and a microwave that only completes half the time you set it to
- Funky smells in the kitchen everyday
-Flys everywhere if windows are left open and lights left on at night
- Ants in the communal area after a heavy pre drinking session and lack of tidying up
- And last but by no means least A LEAK IN MY CEILING FOR 20 WEEKS! Even after many an angry phone call and email to maintenance
...........Not selling uni accommodation am I......put it this way its character building and everyone is in the same boat, you get used to it!
4) The drinking culture at university is massive you cant get away from it but this doesn't mean you cant have a good night out without drinking, it can easily be avoided and though you might get the odd joke about not drinking, no-one really cares as long as its your decision.
5) 'Ohana means family and family means nobody gets left behind' (Stich, 2002) Your away from home at university, no parents to look after you or come and pick you up after a night out, and for a lot of students this is there first time away at home. Something I didn't really expect was how much people look out for each other, even if you don't know someone that well. Everyone(however drunk they are) looks out for each other, you act like a family and you look after each other regardless of anything. In my group(and I think this goes for most groups of friends at uni) we never leave a night out without either leaving all together or making sure everyone is sober enough to be able to get themselves home, we all know where the rest of the group are. Look out for your friends and they will look out for you!
6) My university is pretty small and this is mainly a tip for small university's! Everyone knows everyone and unfortunately secrets don't stay secret for long. However on the flip side, you can walk around campus and probably be able to smile at 7 out of 10 of the people you see and be able to at least recognise 9 out of 10 of the people.
7) The Student union bar is probably rubbish but its cheap and cheerful and if your with the right people it can be a cracking night.
8) Referencing will take up 50% of the time you spend on an essay! Apps like 'Refme' are invaluable as they essentially do your referencing for you which makes your life 10 times easier!
8A) Reference everything, you do not want to be caught out on plagiarising, that can get you kicked out!
9) Unfortunately this has to be said.......Use a condom....its up to you what you do and who you do, no-one will really judge, however university is a breeding ground for STI's so practice safe sex and stay protected. Your paying £9000 a year to get a degree not chlamydia.
10) Budgeting, your student loan wont last forever, as much as a night out at Pryzm sounds good, your going to need to eat for the next week, those shoes are 'sick fam' but that textbook is vital to passing the degree. The bar down the road is hiring, £7 an hour, you can take one night a week to earn some money instead of clubbing. 'Nough said.
11) Learn to cook. Frozen meals get super boring! And also keep your kitchen clean, its just hygienic.
12) Take some time on your own, away from your friends, you'll spend every waking minute with them and you'll probably be living with some of them next year and by half way through the year, believe me, your going to want to rip there arm of and slap them round the face with it,
13) Study hard, Party harder (not quite so literally) Work can get super stressful so don't over do yourself, don't do it the night before and know when your deadlines are. Make sure you take some time out for yourself, do the things you like doing otherwise you'll get more stressed and your grades will suffer for it.
14) Stay in touch with old friends, its always good to have people to go back home to and share your experiences of uni with.
15) The most important thing though is to have fun, especially in first year, it all gets a bit more serious in second and third years! So do everything, try new things, meet new people, join as many societies as you can, pull all nighters, play stupid drinking games, turn your room into a club for the night, spend £500 in one night, eat dodgy kebabs after a night out, play manhunt* in your halls, explode a bagel in the microwave, accidentally set your room on fire with your lamp, punch a glass window, snap a tendon in your hand and be in a cast for 6 weeks, pass out naked in the hallway of your halls and let the very reserved foreign students find you and start freaking out, leave milk in the fridge so long it practically grows legs, walk in on your friends doing it, be walked in on doing it, play egg piñata, have a bbq and tomato ketchup fight, wee in the bath, wee in the sink, wee in an alley way, wee on the rugby pitch, wee yourself, wee on someone else(yes these are all very real things that have been done by my friends and, yes, also some by me) but most of all be yourself and have fun, your paying £9000 to be there make the most of it.
This is nowhere near all the tips I could give you but part of the experience is figuring these things out on your own. So good luck and enjoy it!
*manhunt, a game in which competitors have to get from one part of the halls to the other without being caught by the hunter(injuries may incur from running very fast up and down stairs and running full pelt into 'pull' doors thinking they are 'push')
USEFUL APPS FOR UNI
-REFME- Don't know what I would have done without this for essay writing, by taking the picture of the barcode of a book it will automatically reference it for you
-Uber- Taxi app, order a cab in minutes and no need for using cash as its all done by card. Also Ubers are a lot cheaper than normal cabs.
- Headspace - Stress reliever, 10 minute meditation sessions can help clear and refocus your mind.
- Whatsapp - Brilliant for making group chats which is vital to uni life!
- Domino's - For those nights you cant be bothered to cook!
- Banking apps - so you can always see how little money you have.....
- Google maps - getting around new places is difficult so google maps can help you find your way around.
-(London Uni's) Bus times- Just gets rid of the frustration of waiting for a bus, it tells you how long till the next bus
-(London Uni's) Tube Map- Tubes are complicated, this app will plan your tube routes for you!
-Amazon student- This isn't an app but if you sign up to amazon as a student you can get free next day delivery on Amazon Prime items.....super SUPER useful!
-Yik Yak- No reason, its just funny!
Maddie x
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