What my first year at Oxford has taught me

So, it’s the final term of first year. For many of us, this translates into “exam term”, and the inevitable stresses which are bound up with that will consume our lives in the upcoming weeks. Grades aren’t the be-all and end-all though. The girl who sat on her new bed, in her newly-assigned room in a house full of strangers, knew a lot less about life than the girl currently sat on her bed in the room she’s now made her own, in a house filled with people she’s come to know as friends, three terms into her time at university.

I have learnt so much more by being here and some unforeseen feeling of pride in myself has urged me to share some of that with you all.

Taking an ice-cream study break in December with the squad

How to cook (pasta)

I came to university thinking fruit toast was some sort of gourmet speciality, and that I should be proud because I knew how to make it (quick shoutout to Warburton’s Raisin Loaf, you’re the real MVP).

Eight months later, and the plethora of wonderful scents wafting their way up to my room on a regular basis has finally gotten to me. Whether it was because I couldn’t find anything I wanted to eat on the dinner menu, or the way my stomach churned horribly when I thought about eating another microwave meal I can’t remember, but one Tuesday evening I decided to cook myself a meal*. Surprisingly, it actually wasn’t the disaster I thought it’d be.

*By “a meal”, I mean pasta, but it tasted good and that’s all that matters, right?

You learn you can’t do work all the time

I’m sure there has come a time (or several) this year, when you’ve found yourself staring mindlessly at a blank word document or scrolling down to discover the article you thought you’d almost finished reading has about another 28,374,575 pages to go. By this point, it’s probably late evening – you’re tired, feeling the after-effects of late nights studying or partying or TV catch up-ing earlier in the week, and the last thing you want to do is spend another two hours finishing whatever it is you need to finish…

Well, just don’t. That’s so much easier said than done but, honestly, as long as you’re on target with your deadlines, one small break isn’t going to cause the end of the world. Go and book tickets for that student play you’ve heard everyone raving about. Slip on your glad rags and head out to the formal dinner the rest of your squad are going to. Sit in the kitchen with your friends and good food and talk about life. As much as work is important, so is the fact that we only have three years here. Three years to make the most of every experience. So do.

You never know, you may even work better afterward.

You start to appreciate your family a lot more

This one is ridiculously important to me. They’ll irritate you to the ends of the earth about trivial things, enter into your personal space when you just want to be alone, and probably be watching some other show just when the TV programme you wanted to watch is about to start, but it isn’t until you take the plunge and move out that you realise there’s no-one quite like them.

Living a half-hour away from home means I get to see my loved ones more than most, and I cannot describe how lovely it is to be able to meet up and eat out in Oxford with them, without also being involved in the daily “Who Didn’t Do The Washing Up This Time?” debate. It’s a real stress release, and I’ve come to realise I wouldn’t be where I am now without their constant love and support.

Find the people who are on your wavelength and stick with them

I’m not sure I ever really believed that you meet your best friends at uni, not at first, at least. During sixth form, I made, or became closer to, so many wonderful friends, and I felt bad at the thought of  replacing them with new best friends.

But that doesn’t have to be the case. So many people have made the (relatable) point that university students effectively lead two separate lives: you have two bedrooms, two towns/cities you venture into for socialising, two local supermarkets…even your toothbrushes are duplicate.

It makes sense that the same rule can apply to your friendship groups. Plus, at university, you’ll find people who have a similar interest in the subject you enjoy so much, who originate from all different parts of the country and world and have different stories to tell, and who have absolutely zero knowledge of your debatable Year 8 fashion sense. That all sounds pretty fab if you ask me.

You find out what your talent is

From the moment you walk into a Freshers’ Fair you’re bombarded with requests to join all manner of clubs and societies. From competitive sports teams to tea-tasting, when they say at the open day there’s “something for everyone”, they’re not lying.

Of course, there’ll be those inevitable emails cluttering up your inbox afterwards but, among the plethora of correspondences you’ve “willingly” allowed yourself to be contacted with, there’s an almost certain chance you’ll discover something that’s completely right for you. It may be a sport no-one ever knew existed (who knew canoe polo was a thing?), or a drama society performing all manner of plays you never thought you’d have the chance to star in. It may even be sitting in your room, writing newspaper articles. Whatever it is, let it be your stress release and a happy memory to take away from uni.

(Alternatively, it could also be a talent for sleeping for 16 hours and then rushing out your essay in the remaining eight. Congrats to all you fearless humans).

So, there you go. Whether 70 or 40 per cent is achieved this summer, your first year will have been worthwhile in its own way (and pretty fun, too).