THE FRESHER'S SURVIVAL GUIDE #3 | FRESHER'S WEEK

A week of 100 emotions... 

Freshers week isn't just about all the crazy flat parties and nights out; you'll also have your registration and some introduction talks about the university and your chosen subject. It's a busy but very fun week, so here's a little insight into what you may experience and some tips that may come in handy. 

Registering

When I first arrived at my uni, I was sent to a room to register and collect my student card. I also collected a bag full of maps and information about the uni. It took quite a while to register as you had to que up. There were people going around asking if you wanted to sign up for different events and features that the uni offered, however, you still have plenty of opportunities to sign up for these things once you've moved in so don't stress about signing up for everything. 

Moving In

After registering we were able to move in. This involved a lot of signing of paper work so it did take a long time and was a pretty boring experience, but you've only got to do it once! 

Obviously freshers week brings a lot of homesickness, stress and worry over whether you'll fit in and make friends. If you haven't already read our Fresher's Survival Guide post with tips on dealing with homesickness and making friends then you can go and check it out 'here.' 

• Get a door stop

A great tip to get to know your flatmates is to use a doorstep of some kind to hold your door open while you un-pack. Anyone passing by can stop and chat to you and you'll both appreciate that you're already getting to know each other. Also, it means you can't hide out in your room crying because you miss your home life, (I totally did not do this)! 

• Check that everything in your room is up working properly & inform the accommodation staff ASAP if anything isn't 

I noticed early on that me and one of my flatmates didn't have a post box key and my other flatmates did, I thought maybe they were just being cheap and not handing them out to everyone so I didn't bother asking why. At the end of my first year, they charged me £10 for losing a key that I was never given, even after I argued that I never had it in the first place. The staff were really rude and were just idiots. I would have been less likely to be charged if I had informed them as soon as I realised. 

I also lived with a very low power shower for the first couple of months, just presuming that it was because there were so many rooms that they just didn't have great showers, however after actually telling the staff, the maintenance man fixed the shower and it worked amazingly! 

• Buy a box of chocolates/sweets for your flatmates

One of my flatmates bought us all a box of celebrations to share, it was a really sweet gesture and also creates a topic for conversation and of course it's a great treat as we're all poor and hungry students! 

Subject Introductions

I received a timetable in my information pack about some of the events that were planned for Fresher's week. None of the talks I went to were of much interest at all or really that helpful, but at least you get to meet some people that are also on your course. The first was a talk about the university and the subject and another was about how to use the uni computer systems and email etc. As I previously mentioned, I already knew a couple of people from speaking to them on facebook before arriving at uni, so this is where I was able to meet them. After one of the talks, we went to a fresher's bbq and also collected our reading pack, which were absolutely huge for the law students ... I should have realised then that I was going to hate this degree! I spent the rest of the bbq chatting with one of the girls that I'd met from facebook and it was really nice as we were able to talk about the course and were in the same situations. 

Fresher's Fair

Fresher's fair is good for meeting new people, signing up for societies and events and also freebies! This can range from pens to little snacks, which are always warmly welcomed. A lot of companies that come to the fair also give out vouchers and Nandos had competitions that you could enter to try to win a free meal! Mine wasn't the greatest but they're definitely worth checking out anyway. 

Nights Out

And now for the fun stuff! 

• Bring fancy dress

I mentioned this in my previous Fresher's Survival Guide post but it's definitely worth repeating. I think every fresher's week contains fancy dress nights, so it's definitely worth trying to pack some items that will fit the theme. If you love fancy dress then you can go all out, but if you don't then just packing a tie and maybe some spare fake glasses would suffice for a school themed night out. Other popular themes seem to be beach party, so anything flowery! Military is also common so whatever green/khaki items you have laying around and obviously some face paint can come in handy for your camouflage war paint! Pyjama theme also seems like a popular one, but I don't know about you, but I don't fancy going out in my pj's! It's also a great idea to bring a pack of playing cards for drinking games! 

• Share the pre drinks cost with friends

For Fresher's week myself and one of my flatmates took it in turns to buy the drinks for the night, this helped with the cost and it's also keeping you close to your flatmates and building your relationships. 

• Rollasoles are your best friends

If you don't know what rollasoles are, as the name suggests, they are roll up shoes that you can fit into your handbag or clutch for the end of the night when your feet are hurting from your high heels. They are a life saver! 

• Be somewhat sensible

You'll realise that uni is a small place and everyone knows everyone, so if you do something embarrassing or get a little close to a few too many people, word will go around and that's probably not how you want to start off your uni life or reputation, as one of my friends found out. So drink as responsibly as you can and try to avoid doing anything that you wouldn't if sober or that you'll probably regret. 

• Be safe!

The general, tell a friend where you're going if you decide to go off with other people, otherwise they may worry. Always make sure that you travel home with other people...

Fresher's Flu

A cocktail of no sleep + poor eating + alcohol + a load of people in very close proximity = a huge likelihood that you'll come down with the dreaded fresher's flu!

I was lucky enough not to suffer, but then again I do hardly ever get colds and when I do, they tend to go in a couple of days anyway. I still stocked up on cold and flu medicines beforehand, just in case I did catch Fresher's flu! 

Enjoy yourself!

Finally and most importantly, enjoy yourself! It's a great experience and a really fun time of your life. I'm not really a 'big going outer' but I think I went out every night of fresher's week and really enjoyed myself. So go out of your comfort zone and go and have fun! To anyone who is due to start their fresher's week soon, good luck and I hope you have a great time! 

If you haven't already read the 2 previous posts in this serious you can click on the link and catch up:

What to Pack?

Homesickness & How to Make Friends

THE FRESHER'S SURVIVAL GUIDE #2 | HOMESICKNESS & HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS

It's no secret that it's pretty scary moving far, far away to university, where you most likely don't know anyone or the area at all. I think some degree of homesickness is probably inevitable, however everyone's different and we all cope differently to others. I'm writing this in hope that I can help you if you are going off to university or even just moving away from home, as if like me, you'll be most worried about being in a new place where you don't know anyone and wondering how you'll possibly make friends and not miss your friends and family at home too much!

Our 'xbox and take-away night' 

My Story

I was one of the little homebodies, who decided not to move too far away. I moved about 2 hours away, which meant that I was able to go home every few weeks, for weekends and reading weeks. A lot of people did this, however, more people tended to stay at their uni accommodation from September and then only came home at Christmas, when you have time off. I was never looking forward to moving away from home as I'm obviously very close with Hannah and we spend a lot of time together, so I knew that I would miss her. I also had my boyfriend close to where I lived.

Sorry Hannah...

I travelled down to my uni with my mum, nan and Hannah. They helped me move in and stayed for a couple of hours before leaving me on my own in this new and scary place! I was dreading them leaving; I hadn't seen anyone in my flat and I felt like I was all alone. I was feeling very emotional and was trying so hard not to let any tears out, as I hate crying in front of people and I didn't want them to worry. As we were saying goodbye, Hannah hugged me and suddenly burst out crying - lots of tears and everything! This obviously set me off. When they left I didn't know what to do, what was I supposed to do here? Who do I talk to? 

Four of my flatmates and I

Luckily for me, (on this occasion anyway), my room was right next to the kitchen, which I shared with seven other people. I listened out waiting until I heard movement in the kitchen to then go out and 'get a drink.' After tearing for some time, I tidied my self up and with every sound I heard I rushed out to see if I could find anyone. Finally, I was sure that they were at least a few people in the kitchen and went out. They were all just standing around awkwardly, so I said hi... trying to sound as confident as I could. After that it was easy. We started introducing ourselves and then went for a little walk around the area to see what it was like. At the time there were 3 guys and just 1 other girl. After chatting to all of them I felt so much more comfortable; although I still felt homesick and very emotional for the first few days, I was happy that I was making new friends. We then spent more and more time together and the closer and more comfortable we all got with each other, the better I felt about being away from home and my favourite people. 

One of our nights out

My Advice

Find people on facebook before you go

My univeristy, like most had a facebook group for freshers, which I joined. It was full of people asking who else was doing their subject, I picked out the ones who were asking about law, which is what I am studying and added them as a friend. We could then chat and it was nice being able to discuss uni stuff with people who were in the exact same position. I made friends with 2 people, as not many people seemed to be doing law. It's a great idea to find people before you go as when I met both of them I already felt comfortable with them and felt like I knew them. It was nice to be able to text someone, to meet up with so that I wasn't going to my subject events alone. 

Knock on your flatmates doors

I was too shy and didn't want to go knocking on what would be random people's doors, however, it's more than likely that you're all sitting alone in your rooms, scared to come out. Make the first move and put yourself out there to go and find the people you live with, you'll all feel better once you get together and talk. They will definitely be grateful!

My best friend at uni

Keep busy

Arrange to do things with the people you live with, or those that you have met on your course, or anywhere else around uni! Go out, try new things, or just simply chatting in a communal area, like your kitchen can really take your mind off of any worries and really helps with homesickness. One of my flat mates brought an old xbox and T.V with her, which we all played for ages. It was a great way of getting everyone together, as pretty much every male likes xbox and if you're like me and haven't previously touched an xbox, it's just something fun to do. 

Arrange to cook together

Cooking alone in the kitchen can be very lonely and boring! I would often skip dinner because I couldn't be bothered to go through making something, standing alone in the kitchen and then washing up alone. When I started to arrange to cook my dinner at the same time as some of my friends, it made me much more enthusiastic about trying new things, as you always have someone there for advice and company. 

Keep in contact with your friends and family at home

If there's ever a time when there doesn't seem to be many people around to talk to at uni, chatting online or on the phone with friends and family from home can really help. It can be very lonely if you're not with your new uni friends, so it really helps just talking to anyone familiar. 

Fresher's week - Army night

Don't worry

You're all in the same boat; you're all nervous and worried about fitting in. A couple of weeks into living away, I'm sure that you'll all feel much more comfortable and be really enjoying the whole experience. Although I missed my mum, Hannah and boyfriend, I didn't feel like I needed to go home, if it hadn't been planned for me to come home, I would have been more than happy to stay at uni. 

Have fun!

This is probably the first time that you've been away from home, living alone in a new place, so enjoy yourself. There's nothing to worry about and it's a whole new exciting experience. I kind of regret taking first year so seriously, as I turned down a few nights out because I had work to do, however as we all know, first year doesn't count, you only need to pass. You have the next two years to study hard, so enjoy yourself while you can! 

Hope this has been somewhat helpful to anyone who is soon to be going off to uni! Let me know if there's anything else you would like to read about? There will be more to come! 

THE FRESHER'S SURVIVAL GUIDE # 1 | WHAT TO PACK?!

If like me you're a bit of a worrier, then you'll know how stressful life changes can be and how scary they may seem. I've decided to write a series of posts to help all you freshers to be, get ready for going away to uni and hopefully give you some comfort that it really isn't all that scary but instead a great experience. I'm starting my final year at uni this October and I always feel like people who are actually still experiencing what you're going into, are often the ones you trust and believe the most, so hopefully I can help with my experiences.

Firstly, I thought it would be handy to talk about what to pack. When you're away at uni you do have a huge amount of new freedom and independence, but obviously this also means a whole lot of responsibility, you need to make sure you've packed everything, for every occasion and for every possibility.

I cannot pack light and obviously as a beauty blogger, I'm obsessed with beauty products, which definitely doesn't allow you to pack light... Wouldn't it be so much easier if we were boys? they don't need half as much as us girls do! 

What to pack?

I'm sure you could get by with a lot less but if you want to make sure that you have everything you need and to avoid having to get buses or any other public transport all over a new place that you're not familiar with you may want to pack for every possible situation. I had a Tesco Express right next to my accommodation which was really handy as I only had to walk down from my block, through the reception and I was pretty much already there. However, as it was only a small Tesco, it didn't stock everything or much in the way of utensils, plates, etc. The nearest town was about a 15 minute walk away from my accommodation, however, it wasn't the nicest area so I didn't really like walking around there much, especially alone so I made sure that I stocked up on most things that I would need when I was at home. 

Kitchen Supplies 

Before uni, I luckily already knew how to cook the basics. It's a good idea to know the basics of how things work, especially the oven and how to boil pasta and rice as these can be good bases for your meals. Most of the people that I lived with were on the same level as me and we all helped each other out if we needed some advice, so don't worry if you're not the best cook, you're all in the same boat! One of my flat mates had absolutely no idea how to make anything and even had to ask me how you put a pizza in the oven, so we all tried to help him out and by the end of the year he was able to boil his own pasta, add a sauce AND put pizza and wedges in the oven! It's definitely a good idea to get a little student cook book or something, as you do quickly get bored of every meal being pasta and you welcome the change! You can also look up recipes online. One of my flat mates and I used to type into google, 'what to cook with chicken' etc and lots of easy ideas would come up.

I can be a bit of an awkward person and sometimes didn't like cooking with other people and worried what they might think of what I'm eating or how I'm eating it, but honestly that's silly and you really don't need to worry. Everyone has different tastes but no one will care about what you're cooking, if anything they'll be jealous if you're actually cooking something interesting and they're on their sixth pizza of the week! 

Okay... so what do you need to pack to ensure you can cook?

Appliances

1. Toaster
2. Kettle
3. Radio

Some places provide both a toaster and a kettle, however mine didn't, so we all chipped in to buy a toaster, which obviously between 8 of you doesn't cost you much at all. One of my flatmates brought a kettle with him which we all shared. If you're fine with people sharing your stuff then feel free to bring them with you, however kitchen space is often limited so you may find it a better idea to wait until you get there and do what we need, so you all buy a new toaster or kettle and share between you all. 

Another great idea is to buy a small radio between you all, which also won't cost you much once the price is divided between you all. It brightens up the environment and also is a great idea for when you have 'flat parties' or 'pre drinks.' 

Equipment

1.Plates & bowls
2.Cups/glasses/mugs
3.Cutlery

I brought 2 big plates, 2 small plates and 2 bowls from our set we have at home as you don't need a full family set as this will just encourage you not to wash up. If you bring 2, you can be a little lazy with washing up or you may have a guest over who wont want to share your plate with you!

Everyone who I lived with thought I was a little strange that I would fill up 2 glasses every time I had a drink, however when you're doing work in your room, you don't always want to be coming out to get a refill of your drink, so I was glad to always have a spare. 

I did buy a full set of cutlery, 4 forks, 4 knives, 4 spoons and 4 teaspoons. This is handy as they don't take up much room, as they came in a round holder, like a pen holder and it's handy in case you lose one or two. 

4. A big sauce pan and a little sauce pan 

5. Frying pan 

6. A couple of big stirring spoons, wooden or any other spatula

7. Flat baking tray (for chips or any other quick dinner)

8. Deep Baking tray (Incase you get a little more advanced and decide to cook some meat or bake potatoes etc).

9. Tin opener

10. Vegetable peeler

11. Bottle opener (VERY ESSENTIAL & your flatmates will love you)

12. Cheese grater

13. microwaveable bowl 

14. measuring jug (You probably wont often need this)

15. Chopping knife

16. Chopping board (VERY ESSENTIAL, you wouldn't want to use the side board once you've all used the kitchen and discovered that people are not clean and tidy)!

17. Scissors

18.Tea Towels (a few if you're not going to do your washing often)

19. Cling film & Kitchen foil

20. Plastic tubs for leftovers

21. Sandwhich bags

22. Plastic drink bottle, to take out with you instead of having to buy drinks out all of the time.

I didn't use these but you may also want:

1. Pizza cutter

2. Colander

3. Sieve

4. Whisk

Other

1.ANTI-BACTERIAL SPRAY!!! (HUGE necessity, it's more than likely that at least a few of the people you live with will be very messy!).
2.Sponges for washing up (I would advise to keep yours in your cupboard as that's what I did and my sponges remained clean and smelling of washing up liquid, while every other sponge had turned brown and horrible. 
3.Washing up liquid (Mine smelt strongly of mint and tee tree which was a good extra as it made everything feel even cleaner in a not so clean environment, so nice smells are a must)!
4.Basic recipe book
5.Shot glasses! 
6.You may want to bring some cheap plastic cups for when friends come over for pre-drinks, without glasses. 

Food Basics

As money is always an issue, while you're a poor student at uni, I'd recommend making the most of whatever your parents feel like offering you. Most will probably be so worried about whether you're going to survive on your own that they will be happy to buy you lots of food to take with you. Any quick and easy foods are great, like soups, beans, crackers, fruits... (obviously not together)! I found that the milkshake powders that you can buy are really handy, as they're quick and easy and fill you up when you're a little hungry. 

Bedroom Supplies

1.Bedding, sheets, duvet/quilt/covers 
2.Pillows & cases
3.Mattress protector 

Some of this may already be provided so it may be worth checking. I was provided with a mattress protector, but brought the rest of the bedding with me.

4. Alarm clock (Or just use your phone)

5. Desk Lamp

6. Bin & Bin bags, or just large carrier bags (I had a bin provided)

7. Pins (I had a pin board, so needed a lot of pins for photos, uni posters and work etc as we were not allowed to put anything on the walls). 

8. Photos and familiar items to make you feel more at home.

Laundry Items & Other Cleaning products

1.Clothes wash basket/bag and clothes airer (to save paying for tumble drying all the time)!

2. Washing detergent/liquid/powder

3. Clothes hangers (May be provided but likely to not have enough)

4. Spare sponges, clothes, dusting clothes

5. Anti-bacterial spray

6. General polish sprays/glass cleaner/bathroom sprays (Very handy for room inspections)!

7. Toilet cleaner

8. Air freshener 

Stationary 

1.Lots of note pads

2.Folders/ring binders

3.Lots of pens, pencils, coloured pens...

4.HIGHLIGHTERS (I can't tell you how many I've gone through in my 2 years)

5.Sticky notes

6.Revision flash cards

7. Permanent markers (useful for marking what's yours in the kitchen etc)

8. Hole punch

9. Stapler/staples

10.scissors

Other - Fun stuff

1.Alcohol

2.Dressing up items (Normal themes are, school disco, beach party, Military,pyjama...)

3.Face paint

4.Pack of cards 

5. Any other board game that can be turned into a drinking game, or if you're not so cool, like me, I played monopoly with my boyfriend and another couple and drank tea... either way.

6.TV, Xbox & games (One of my flat mates brought hers and we spent hours playing, I would never normally play but when you're at uni it's a great way to bond with everyone and play together)

7. Gym wear

8. Swimwear

Other - Boring stuff

1.GOOD Ear plugs(I lived next door to an idiot who literally played music for the whole town to hear and then decided drums were a good idea...at all hours)! 

2. Medicines for freshers flu! (I didn't suffer luckily! But most do)

3. Sewing kit

4. Passport/ID

5.Passport size photo

6.Offer letters from your uni and any other details

7.Printer & Ink (not necessary but library printer costs can add up)!

8. Winter coat, scarf, gloves (Depending on where you are, it can get freezing when you least expect it). 
9.Painkillers

I hope that's helped, in case you were struggling with packing, obviously you'll also need the basics, like toiletries, clothes, make-up etc, but they were just too obvious to include.