It occurs to me that in all the time I've been Blogging I haven't done a single post about University life. Which is ridiculous because at this point it's one of the things I know best at this point. For me, uni has been one of the most challenging and incredible experiences so far and I dread the day I have to say goodbye to it all. So, I made a list of some of the things I've learned about university life!
1) Freedom ruins your sleeping pattern. When I got here I was able to get up at 6.30am every single day without fail regardless of what time I fell asleep and still be a fully functioning human. Now, I struggle to get up before 10.30am. When I was a fresher, there was a 90% chance I wouldn't actually see the morning at all. Since I had the freedom and flexibility of more free time and a completely different timetable to the one I had been used to my entire school life, it became really easy to slip into the habit of having '5 more minutes' in bed. 50 times.
2) There's only so far you can go just blagging it. I'll be honest, I did no revision at all for my GCSEs and next to nothing for my A levels. In hindsight that was irresponsible sure, but I have never been a person that could stare at books and force myself to remember facts and figures. If I am studying a subject I love, I'm very good at remembering things about it, for my A levels that's exactly what I did. I didn't revise for anything and I still got better grades than I was predicted. In first year of Uni, you can kind of get away with that sort of thing too, a lot of my first year language classes were on things I had already covered at A level. It made freshers that much better knowing I could be reckless and pass! In second year, I quickly realised that I would have to buck my ideas up and do a lot of extra research and reading, how else was I going to get any better? If you want to succeed in your subject, the best thing to do is read things from the people who already have.
3) Yes, you should definitely drink that. Students are the most insane people to drink with. Ever. On my first night out here a guy downed an entire bottle of Vodka on the bus to the venue and I could see by his face that it certainly wasn't anything close to his first drink. I have no idea where that guy is, hopefully he's still alive... I'd had drinks and been drunk plenty of times before coming to Uni, but I had never seen so many people let their hair down and go crazy before and it made me feel so young and free! You are only young once, now is the time to live life and do the crazy stupid things that you won't get away with when you're older. If you're playing a drinking game and you're the one necking the dirty pint which may or may not contain milk, saliva, Guinness, washing up liquid and a few floating Cheerios, just do it. You get one shot to make a total prat of yourself with a bunch of people doing the exact same thing, and it's not the worst thing you could be doing!
4) Family means more than just blood ties Since being here I've met so many incredible people that have made me feel special and wanted and have supported me when I have truly needed them. Being thrown into a flat with 9 other complete strangers was terrifying and I never would have thought I'd be as close to them I as am now. When I came here I was a shy girl with few real friends and now I'm surrounded by the best friends I could ask for. Don't be afraid to join a society either, you'll find you meet people with similar interests and hobbies and it's a great way to make friends. My society is my life now, I can't imagine not being a part of it and not knowing all of the talented people I get to share it with.We're so incredibly close knit and I'm thankful every day for them.
5) Welcome to the Library It's going to happen without a doubt, you will procrastinate for too long or you will totally forget about that deadline in three days time that you haven't even planned for yet and you will temporarily move into the library. 24 hour library hours are a god sent gift to the student that repeatedly procrastinates. (Me, I mean come on, I'm blogging not working!) I can not count the number of times I've bought 6 cans of redbull and spent 15 hours typing frantically and trying to make it look as though I really did draft the work 4 times instead of two. Fortunately, I'm only a second year so I don't permanently reside there yet, but next year I can say goodbye to my social life.
6) Experimental cooking Towards the end of the month, when I blew two weeks budget on a dominoes, I start to run out of money and haven't got all that much food in so I start to try strange and sometimes wonderful things with the few things I have left. Pasta mixed with Dorito salsa, or boiled in water with a beef stock cube in it. Rice mixed with ketchup in a toastie. Adding Chilli powder to everything because it needs flavour. You will try some weird combos and you'll find some that you actually like. A balanced died isn't a thing many students manage to keep to, so be prepared to try some bizarre things!
7) Some things aren't forever, and that's okay. When I came to Uni I had a boyfriend and to this day he is one of the most amazing people I have ever been lucky enough to know. I was sure that we were end game, that I would spend my life with him and I thought without a doubt that that was what I wanted. In January I realised things had changed and that I had bigger wants and needs, I still to this day love him very much, but not in that way anymore. For me that was a scary concept because all of a sudden I'm back in the dating pool which I haven't done since I was 17 and that was with an entirely different bunch of people. Slowly I'm learning how to embrace being single as a student, it's fun and crazy and at times a lot of fun. Don't be afraid to embrace single student life!
8) It's okay to cry sometimes I can not count the number of times I've cried since coming here, as a person who hates showing emotions in front of people, it was something I found (and still find) really hard to do. Whether it was work getting me down, relationship trouble, running out of money or even if I just really missed my Mum, my flatmates last year helped me see that it was okay to cry with them, because we were friends and they wanted to be there for me. There will be times where Uni gets overwhelming, it's a totally new situation and you can find yourself feeling very alone. It's natural to feel emotional about things and it's okay to cry!
9) Adulting is hard As a student I'm in that wonderful in between place where people treat me as an adult but I'm not completely sure how to do half of the adult things I should know. I don't know how to pay bills yet, I don't have a full time job, I still love watching kids cartoons and playing Mario Kart. Thinking about it now, being a student is like being one step up from your average teenager, with a lot more sex, alcohol and strange life choices. However, I can also see the difference in myself as a person from before I got here and now. I learned that some people can't be trusted, I learned that in order to be an adult you have to take responsibility for your own actions and live with the consequences of them. I learned to stop taking crap from the people who made me feel low, I learned to talk to people, I learned that love is confusing and messy and fairy tale romance isn't real life. Most importantly, I learned who the people I can rely on are, the ones I can call at 3am when I'm a drunk and emotional mess.
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