So I thought i'd start a university series over on my Youtube channel as well as my blog (so head over and please subscribe)
My first of many ideas was to list a few things that I learnt in my first year at uni that I wasn't informed on when I did my research online.
P.s - Some are in general and some are for if you move into halls of resident (which I did).
1. Becoming nocturnal isn't an option.
This is mainly for if you choose to live in halls of residence.
But it's so so difficult to try and maintain a normal sleeping pattern.
It's very different to being at home - you have the freedom to go and get food no matter what the time is, have a shower at any time (providing everyone in the halls haven't used up all the hot water) and staying up all night to binge watch new series on Netflix.
You'll find that also you'll get woken up a lot by the slamming of doors and your flat mates being loud. It's funny when you're laid in bed and everyone is still awake and pranking each other and running around like lunatics - you can hear them every now and them stand and go "shhhhh, Amie's asleep", hahaha nope it was always too late and I was wide awake listening to people laughing.
You'll have to get used to the sound of other flats/buildings playing music until ungodly hours and people stumbling back in at 4am from a night out (this isn't so bad when you're one of the people falling through the door with a pizza).
Before you know it you'll be counting down the hours until a lecture is over and you can catch up on many hours of sleep in the afternoon - ready for the mayhem again the upcoming night.
I miss this now though. Being at home where I have to be quiet, can't eat all through the nights without a lecture off my Mam. Also when you're laid in bed and you can't sleep and you've ran out of things to watch - you can't just go next door to see one of your friends and stay up talking. I'm sure my sister would have something to say if I tried this. Although she stays up later than me now - I love my sleep more than anything.
2. The dream life of an organised student will not work.
I am one of the most organised people you'll meet. I'm a complete clean freak and love a good diary/planner or 25.
You see in the movies and online that you want this fantasy idea of:
Starting a new university, making new friends that you'll keep for life. You'll get up early at around 6-7am, have a shower, perfect your makeup and hair, dress smart every day, eat fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, have a healthy packed lunch ready for the day ahead. Go to lectures and listen intently writing lots of notes, go back to your room to copy up the notes neatly, do lots of research and get to bed by 9pm.
DO NOT MAKE ME LAUGH, HAHAHAHA. NO THIS IS A BIG LIE.
This really won't happen. This worked for me for 2 days, two!! And then it turned to leggings and hoodies for lectures, no make up, hair on top of my head, never eating breakfast and sometimes not even taking a notepad to a lecture and using the excuse 'it will go up online i'll just copy it when i'm back at my flat'. But that won't happen either because as soon as you enter your room and see your bed - your clothes end up all over the floor and you're in bed for the next 5 hours regretting not being productive.
How I got a 2:1 I'll never know...
Don't try and live up to any expectations. Don't put too much pressure on yourself and go at your own pace.
Oh - and a Costa a day makes your loan disapear.
3. Discount codes on takeaways are a con!
I know. There's nothing better than having money in the bank and spending it all on alcohol and pizza. But trust me - the takeaway shops also know this!
They give out lots of voucher codes to Fresher's because a lot of them have never had so much money in their bank and will blow it instantly.
Trust me when you buy 3 takeaways a week - it all adds up and when it comes to a few weeks before your next loan day, you will regret the binge eating and living off smart price rice will be the next step.
My advice for this would be to always order in a group. More money spend means bigger discounts and split between 5 of you? Brilliant idea!
I'd say 1 a week is more than enough (I mean come on we are students and if our parents aren't cooking our food - we need someone too)
But really don't go overboard because the pennies add up so quickly and you'll wonder where the heck all your money has gone when you could have bought that Mac lipstick but you spent the money on a pizza (story of my life).
4. You can go on a night out for £10.
Yes it is possible.
It's not like going out in your home town where you need to take the equivalent of a mortgage out down the bars because drinks are so expensive.
Student nights really are cheap.
If you pre-drink hard and share taxis with people (WHO YOU KNOW! JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE 18 DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN TALK TO STRANGERS!) then you can easy have one of the best nights out.
5. PJ's are day clothes.
I judge grown adults for going to Asda in their PJ's when it's easy to shot on some clothes.
But I feel with people a student you have a leniency to be able to wear what you want.
My halls of residence had a campus shop so I always wore my pj's and hair in a towel to go grab some crisps or some toilet roll. Especially if you go in a group the attention isn't so much on you but on the group as a collective.
Obviously don't take the Michael - if you live 4 miles from a Tesco, you should probably put a bra on under your jumper.
6. Not all stationary is needed.
I read so many posts before I joined uni (I love a good list!) about what I should take and buy for uni. Some of them lists were CRAZY!
Please take into consideration that if you're doing English you probably won't need a scientific calculator or a protractor. You'll end up spending so much money on things you'll never even look at.
I bought so much stuff that I never even took out the packaging. Although I am a stationary freak. I have a box full of every coloured sticky note and highlighter - they'll probably last me until i'm 40...
If you want I can do a list of things you'll need to do journalism/english? I wouldn't do an overall list for every course because they're all so different! But if you want one of what I know them hit me up and i'll get onto it.
7. Mix & Match your outfits.
No one can afford to buy a new dress and a new pair of knock out heels for every night out - especially not as a student - unless you don't want to each that week then you go ahead.
There's so many outfit choices that you can mix and match.
Also after Fresher's week, the novelty of looking unreal wears off and you'll find yourself in a pair of skinnies and some converse. I wore this so much and trust me you're a lot comfier than the people in 6" heels. There's nothing better than being to walk at the end of the night and see people around you basically crying because their feet are dead.
So there you go guys!
I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoyed writing it!
Let me know what videos you want to see in this university series
Love you all lots,
Amie
XX
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