Don’t want to waste your York Freshers’? Here’s everything NOT to do

As Freshers’ Week is now just under a month away, many of us are beginning to compile our bucket lists. 

However, as I reflect upon my own freshers’ year ( and try to remind myself that I am still a little fresher at heart), I can’t help but laugh slightly at my own naivety. 

Your freshers’ year is one of the most overwhelming times of your life, where you feel as though you must say yes to everything. While you may think you have to say yes, it does not necessarily mean you’re making the right decision for you. 

So on that note, here’s everything I would recommend NOT doing in your Freshers’ Week. 

1.Ticket scams 

If you’re currently on any freshers’ group chats, Facebook groups or following freshers-targeted Instagram pages, the chances are you’ve been told you *MUST* buy a certain club night or event ticket or otherwise you’re going to miss out on the biggest night of the year. 

I need you to trust me when I say this: It’s a scam.

Many groups target university students, specifically freshers, to try and profit from them. Often the events they advertise don’t actually exist or operate in the way that they advertise.

My advice is simply just be careful. Always buy your tickets through the official sites; in the case of York, that is York Parties and York Party Network.

2.Dating your Freshers’ fling

You’re on your first night out of Freshers’. Somewhere between downing your fifth Jägerbomb of the night and going back to the dance floor, you bump into each other. Your eyes meet, you introduce yourselves, and 15 minutes later you’re making out with Justin Bieber’s Beauty and Beat playing in the background.

You exchange Snapchats and the next thing you know you’ve entered your first uni situationship (aka the danger zone) 

I’m going to tell you this now: They’re not the love of your life, and the chances are you’re not going to meet the love of your life during Freshers’ Week. 

While I’m not saying ditch them, please don’t waste your freshers year fixating on the first guy who you slightly fancied in uni.

In my experience, Freshers’ and the university experience generally have so, so much more to offer than romantic relationships; especially during your Freshers’ Week. 

Freshers’ Week is the time to get to know so many different people and lay the groundwork for future friendships. 

So still do the shot, make eye contact and even have a cheeky little kiss, but don’t waste more time than you need to on your Freshers’ situationship.

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3. Drinking beyond your limit 

I hate to sound like your mother, but she does know what she’s speaking about. 

Freshers’ Week is an interesting time for multiple reasons, one of them being that it brings together people from all different walks of life. Meaning everyone has had a different drinking experience and, with that, a different tolerance for alcohol. 

Under no circumstance should you feel pressured to keep up or even pressured to drink in the first place. 

Your decision to drink or not to drink, to neck a bottle of wine or only have one beer is entirely up to you. 

While York is a largely safe city, navigating it on your own for the first time is daunting and becomes all the more complicated once you’ve had a drink or two. So on nights out, I highly recommend drinking within your limit, and never pushing yourself too far just to keep up with the crowd.

4. Saying yes to everything 

Everyone will tell you that you have to say yes to everything no matter the circumstances. I’m here to tell you that you don’t actually have to say yes to everything.

While uni is the time to try out new things for the first time and get involved in activities you wouldn’t have had the opportunity to do otherwise, it does not mean you are obliged to. Especially if it makes you feel deeply uncomfortable. 

Just because everyone in your flat is going to a certain club night or joining a specific society does not mean you have to. 

Quite honestly, socialising and certain societies are expensive and are hard to keep up with financially, especially if you are supporting yourself. 

So while I heavily recommend taking advantage of all the opportunities uni offers you, please don’t be afraid of saying no to something simply because you don’t want to do it. 

5. Think twice about flatcest 

While some people will tell you that flatcest is the best decision they ever made, and in certain cases they are speaking the truth. Please, I beg you, for the sake of your own sanity, think twice about flatcest. 

It can be brilliant at first, but it can also go very, very wrong extremely quickly. Leaving your entire flat living in a form of cold war for the rest of the year. 

No one’s going to acknowledge what happened; no one may ever voice an opinion, but it will not go forgotten.

All I can say is, think twice before you risk flatcest.