Of all the years we spend in uni, first year is the one with the most feral and embarrassing stories. It’s that time when we all made a messy transition into a type of adulthood. Some of trying alcohol for the first time; some of us failing at trying alcohol for the first time.
So here are the canon events of first year all of you are going to experience.
Not making it to the club after pre-drinks
This one is a classic. We’ve all been there (some of us beyond first year too) and it’s always a humbling experience. The hang-xiety after this one is brutal too after remembering how you drunkenly tried to convince everyone you were sober and could totally make it out.
Pre-drinking is arguably the best part of the night though, so at least you don’t miss out on the best bits of the evening.
Going on a night out with someone who’s new to alcohol
Some people arrive at uni having trained their livers to deal with alcohol after many evenings spent drinking in fields. For some (including me) this was not the case. In every first year friendship group, at least one of you won’t yet know their limits. This sadly means that you will most definitely spend some nights nursing your very silly friends. It’s a bonding experience though and at some point, they will end up returning the favour.
Getting sick of asking the same questions
So what do you study? What college are you in? Where are you from? This is the cursed ritual that has to be carried out every time you meet someone new in Durham. In first year, it becomes like second nature. God forbid you live outside of London or in a small town in the middle of nowhere that nobody’s heard of. Or you study something vague like combined honours or natural sciences.
Getting sharked
Especially on nights out, this one is inevitable. Freshers are outnumbered by older students, so it’s likely if you get with someone in the club, they’re going to be older than you. Worst part of getting with anyone in first year though is that you have at least two years left. That means two years of seeing the same person everywhere you go – the Durham bubble is brutal.
This is a tricky one though, so be careful out there, fresh.
That one drink you had too much in first year now you can never have it again
For me, this one is sambuca. As a fresher, you’re probably going out a lot and so you probably have a go-to drink. Be warned. Being the silly fresh you are, there’s a chance that you might take things too far once or twice (or more than twice). Soon your favourite drink will become associated with regret.
Signing up for 20 societies and going to none of them
Freshers’ Fair is a very busy event every year. Every stall must collect hundreds of emails for their respective mailing lists – but the follow through afterwards is maybe a different story. There are so many options to choose from. Pole-dance, aerial arts, Aperol-spritz, Northern… if only there were enough hours in the week. Between recovery days after nights out at Jimmy’s, and time spent recovering from freshers’ flu, the number of societies you committed to quickly becomes woefully unrealistic (apart from the Tab of course)
Rushing into a housing agreement
The housing crisis in Durham is no joke. As a second or third year you at least have a solid group of friends you know you can comfortably live with. But as a first year? You literally just got here, and the rush for housing starts pretty much immediately. This leads in almost every case, to houses being formed of people you sort of liked in Freshers’ Week, but later maybe not as much.
Making a big deal about going to mealtimes (later you end up walking down in slippers and pyjamas)
This one is pretty exclusive to catered students. But I can remember being in Freshers’ Week and putting in a bit of effort to make myself look presentable before making the walk over to the dining hall. By the end of Michaelmas though, this has all gone out the window. Eventually it becomes a special occasion if a student put actual shoes on instead of fluffy socks and slippers.
Plus, at the beginning, I remember making such a thing about always having a group to sit with. Felt like that one scene in Mean Girls, but every day. After a while you get to know everyone anyway, and sometimes you end up just wanting to sit and eat your hake in peace.
Sleeping through 50 per cent of your lectures
The first year grind is hard. Not because of academics (your grades literally don’t even count this year so stop taking up seats in the Billy B). It’s because meeting new people everyday is exhausting, especially when you in a constant state of sleep deprivation and hangovers after nights out in Klute.
So, you might’ve sworn starting uni you’d never miss a lecture, but now it’s nearing the end of first term, you’re realising your naivety. Just make sure to catch up on Encore after (just pray that the coughing in the background of the lecture doesn’t drown out your lecturer).
Becoming life-long best friends with that one person you meet on move-in day
Probably the best thing to come out of uni won’t be your degree, or your extra-curricular achievements -it’ll be the life-long friends you made there (I know that’s the case for me at least). For many, this was the person you met in Freshers’ Week. So fresh, be nice to your friends.
Dealing with the consequences of flatcest
This one is a rough one. In college accommodation there’ll be at least one couple like this. They might end up married in 5 years – or they’ll break up before they’ve moved out of your flat amd they’ll make your life hell.
The trip to A+E
The fresh are so silly, this one will definitely happen at least once.
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