The seven types of people you WILL meet at Durham Freshers’ Week

Ah, Freshers’ – what a time. The sheer amount of social mixing you’re faced with can only mean two things: 1) Meeting many, MANY people and 2) Sneezing through the next two weeks of lectures with the inevitable Fresher’s Flu.

During the week, there are a number of Durham archetypes you’re bound to meet, and this is a very brief guide to those people. If you’ve got an ounce of self awareness, you might even find out which category you fit into along the way.

‘I’m finally free!!!’

For some freshers, university is their first taste of freedom from parental inquisitions and small-town surveillance. It’s hardly surprising to think that this can characterise some excited, and potentially embarrassing, core memories for many students.

For this cohort, reminiscing on Freshers’ typically includes scenes of day drinking, regrettable club hook ups, and vomiting in either the college bar, club toilets, or simply against a wall in the street. While that all sounds pretty horrific, it is undoubtedly a learning curve and makes for the funniest stories to be shared at pres in the coming months or years.

The freebie lovers

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Freshers’ is the most perfect opportunity for those in love with freebies (I mean, who isn’t?) to have the time of their lives. Freshers’ Fair becomes their hunting ground, signing up for the Railway and Train Society in hope for those free sweets and badges. Pens and tote bag galore, freebie hoarders convince themselves that each item will be essential for their coming university experience. They attend all talks, maybe even equipped with a notebook and pen in their bag for last minute notes, nabbing up all the free college merch on their way out. Are they delusional or onto a life hack?

The answer is definitely the first, but that never deters their determination for kitting themselves out as walking Durham University advertisements.

The homesick fresher

Now this is a category I’m sure many fit into at some point or another during Freshers’. The homesick type of student typically leaves the club nights early in favour of solace in the coxy oasis of their college room. Or, in favour of crying on the phone to their parent on the walk back to their room.

Although downcast, they are typically persuaded to stick out Freshers’ by an insistent Frep or parent and find themselves eventually coming round to the idea of independence. These types of people are closely linked with the next group, namely the late bloomers.

The late bloomers

Late bloomers are late to the game of Freshers’, finding the booming bass of Babylon to be unbearable and constant socialisation draining. However, after a Freshers’ of unconvinced trips to the college bar and awkward small talk with the people in your flat or corridor, you flourish for the rest of the year.

For most, this comes after becoming slightly addicted to their club of choice. Suddenly they find themselves going out for four nights in a row and ending up in Babs five nights in a week – an objectively cursed amount. Late bloomers abruptly understand the hype for Freshers’, and trust me, they had better prepare for a feral Freshers’ Week 2.0.

The group chat warrior

These types of people start long before Freshers’ Week, but only during that week may you learn the true impact of their social and mythical status. These people are absolute warriors in the offer-holder group chats, texting with seemingly no sleep schedule or knowledge of this thing called “social anxiety.”

However, their impact only becomes fully felt when seen in person. Once you cross the virtual threshold, they’re more than insistent texters, instead becoming an embodiment of urban myth in the flesh. These types of people are intensely social; you will definitely find them in the middle of the dance floor and answering questions during intro lectures.

The rahs

Durham University is undeniably filled with rahs, a characteristic mostly driven by having more Southerners than any other uni in the North. They will ask you what your parents do and wear jumpers that have seen many a skiing holiday to combat the Northern chill. And we mustn’t forget the classic Tom Trunks and Longchamp bag (you know the one). Being a rah is not synonymous with being posh, but rather a lifestyle choice. It’s without a doubt that you will meet a rah during Freshers’. I just thought I’d give you a heads up.

Consider this your official warning or guide to self discovery. Whether you fit into one category or more, remember to make the most of your Fresher’s Week, and may the odds be ever in your favour.