A thank you and a fuck you to first year me, from final year me

Looking back on our cringe-worthy 18-year-old selves isn't a comfortable pastime. We're confident in saying that most final years prefer the well-rounded human beings they've become over the course of the three years at uni, but it's actually pretty satisfying to think about what entirely different people we've become.

We think a thank you, as well as a fuck you, to the first year versions of ourselves is in order, seeing as they made the great people we are today.

To our fresher selves,

Thank you for feeling all the uni fear and doing it anyway

Let's be honest, we were all terrified about coming to uni, having to fend for yourself, live in a flat with complete strangers and study for a degree.

It's safe to say we’ve certainly come a long way from the pitifully teary fresher our parents left at Taly on move-in day. Some of us even labelled their food and locked their cupboards. Some of us probably didn't turn on the oven, let alone use Target. Uni now feels like the most normal thing in life, with those initial strangers now being friends for life.

Fuck you for being so uptight and easily angered

We all felt a little hot-headed from time to time during Freshers, living with strangers is a little hard to adapt to. Some of us didn’t know how to pick our battles or tolerate other people’s behaviour, which left us spending a lot of first year being the frustrated victim of endless pranks. Our reactions only fuelled the entertainment factor for, in hindsight, our pretty funny flatmates. Uni isn’t the only reason we start to adopt a fuck it attitude by final year, but it's certainly played a big part.

One of the many, many endless pranks one fresher endured

Thank you for eventually changing your attitude towards alcohol

There are many freshers who’d never been clubbing and barely touched a drop of alcohol before coming to uni. So inevitably, many first year nights consisted of chundering and accidental toilet bowl naps.

Yet, we all quickly learn our limits (we hope) and don't poison our bodies with alcohol every weekday at the age of 21. Ok, maybe SU Wednesdays is an exception.

Of course we had to get a selfie…

Fuck you for not doing any societies

What kind of fresher doesn’t join a society?! Yes, there are a few of us out there! We're probably all happy enough now to admit we were a little uptight and money-conscious.

Where was the opportunity-grabbing final year version of ourselves back then? We're pretty sure to say that we're all now finding ourselves over-compensating for our lack of society experience so far, currently juggling three separate societies in the year that counts the most – ask us how that’s going in a few months’ time…

Thank you for breaking up with your school boyfriend

Let’s face it, moving away to uni whilst in a relationship doesn't have an amazing track record. Many of us end up finishing our three-year relationship, probably breaking our mum’s heart more than our own.

Starting uni life is super exciting, liberating and as much as you may have thought you loved your old life, this one is so much better.

Cutting ties with your ex allows you to experiment, have new experiences and as cliché as it sounds, ‘find yourself’. This process continues throughout uni, meaning we're all feeling more sure of ourselves by the time final year comes around.

Fuck you for making all the mistakes that cost you in one way or another but thank you for learning from them and making us the people we are today

You can all go be sick now, but remember to thank us later for the self-love we've inspired and the correct way to reminisce the last three years.

Good luck to us final years for the next eight months and take it easy freshers.