In first year, I felt like three years would last forever.
I read articles and watched every YouTube video I could find for tips on moving to University. Now, going into my final year, my constant love/hate relationship with my degree has become a core personality trait for me and my commitment to Wednesday night socials should win awards.
Basically, I feel like I am now well versed in all things uni and so here comes a series of things I wish I could tell first-year me.
Making friends is a three-year event, not a one-week special
Infamous and highly anticipated, freshers week carries its own set of expectations. With my expectations at maximum capacity, I went into my freshers week ready to make friends for life, fall in love with University life, and for everything to fit into place. Though my socially distanced freshers had its moments, I didn’t feel settled, nor did I feel like I was making best friends. To my first-year self, and to every fresher, I would like to stress that making friends is a three-year event, not a one-week special.
Think about all the people in your life that you call a friend. Now tell me, can you give me a step-by-step timeline on how and exactly when you became friends with each of these people? The odds are that you can’t recount every detail of the history of all your friendships but frankly, that is how it should be.
It’s the same at University.
Friendships will bloom and you will settle in. Just give it time. Freshers week probably won’t be the best week of your life and it would be concerning if it was; you don’t know anyone, you may also be in a new city, you are studying at a whole new level, you now manage your own finances… And so much more.
With so many things to figure out, how could this possibly be the best week of your university life?
You’re better off without the wristbands
Now that we have established that your life will not peak during freshers’ week, here is one way it could – the wristbands. You will see many social media posts and messages advertising these freshers events for which you can buy wristbands and you may think this is a good purchase.
Let me tell you now, it’s not.
As far as freshers goes, the one thing you can count on is uncertainty. You don’t know the people at your uni, and you also don’t know what you will feel like doing or which events are good. This is reason enough to refrain from buying the dreaded wristbands which end up being a waste of money – Every. Single. Time.
I got told this as a fresher and I chose to ignore the advice. That is now money I will never get back and while it may not seem much money to waste, the waste is avoidable. Your lovely new student loan is something you will want to keep safe.
Budget, but actually budget.
When people tell you to budget, they mean it.
I have learnt the hard way that figuring out a weekly budget actually does mean figuring out a weekly budget; not spending it all in the first two days of the week then reluctantly transferring money out of your savings to pay for a takeaway. Sadly, this is not budgeting.
It is not fun to later figure out that, yes money will come back, but in the form of 40-hour work weeks at a summer job wishing you could see the money you were working for. But, instead, it all goes towards paying off your overdraft. It sucks (speaking from personal experience, unfortunately).
One of the best habits to get into as a fresher is money management. Figure out how much money you have for the semester breakdowns as per your loan drops and calculate all your outgoings: food, rent, bills, memberships etc. Then sort out how much money you have spare for non-essentials, whatever they may be, and stick to it.
If money management means setting a limit on your card or only taking cash when you go out, figure out a system that works for you
You will suffer the LinkedIn ‘scaries’ and career fear
Studying for a degree inevitably comes with thoughts about your future working life and sometimes this can be very overwhelming.
First-year me delved into the world of Linkedin and for those of you who are unfamiliar with this platform it is the Instagram of the working world and the go to social media for chronic overachievers.
Many University students will have a Linkedin profile as it is a great way to network, learn about different careers, and generally keep up to date with what’s going on in different companies. It is a useful tool for students and adults alike.
However, the danger comes when a career anxious student opens this app and is overwhelmed by the constant flood of achievement posts and internship reviews. This is not a dig at Linkedin. Rather it is a warning to the feelings that the app, and the career talk at University, may evoke. Sometimes, it just seems like everyone around you is succeeding at everything they try, and you are getting nowhere.
But, did you know, it is fine to be at University and not have a clue about what you are going to do? That is kind of the point. You absolutely can and should take this time to figure out what you want to do and to explore potential career paths and avenues – there will be so many opportunities available to you.
Or, if you are finding that your course is interesting but maybe not something you want to pursue after you graduate, that’s fine too. This just one path you found is not for you, and that’s okay. Though it may look like everyone around you has their life sorted out, it doesn’t mean that they actually do.
In a nutshell, this third-year uni student confesses that University is great. However, it is not all ups without any downs. As a fresher, reminding yourself that you have three years to find your friends for life and think about career paths can be very reassuring. The goal is to look back fondly on those three years, so try to enjoy yourself (just don’t put yourself in debt by doing so) because the time flies by so quickly.
