Smoking, rats and mould: Everything that Cov changed about you

We’re all really quick to rip the shit out of Cov and complain and moan about it, and yet whenever someone else outside of Cov moans about it (cough Warwick students cough) we all get really defensive.

Coventry is our baby and it might be a shit hole but it’s our shit hole. Nobody’s allowed to moan about it other than us.

And yet in the entire three years of being in Coventry, it has changed us whether we like to admit it or not and we’ll never forget that.

Here’s a list of everything that Coventry has changed about you.

1. You’re suddenly a smoker

Admit it. If you didn’t try your first cigarette in college, you definitely tried it in the Kasbah smoking area during Freshers’ Week.

It’s okay it happens to the best of us but if you did try it and you actually enjoyed it, please be honest with yourself and stop branding yourself a ‘social smoker’.

We all know that you’ll be two pints in and you’re puffing away.

2. Drugs

Drugs and Coventry go hand in hand and you can’t have one without the other. The smell of weed on your walk to uni is an everyday occurrence and seeing the streets littered with small clear bags and silver canisters is normal.

But to keep up appearances with the family you pretend you’re clueless. What’s a spliff? I’ve never heard of that? I promise mum I don’t know what drugs are.

3. You use Cov slang

Do you honestly remember the last time you referred to Kasbah as Kasbah and not Colly?

Like it or not you’ve adopted the Coventry slang. Words such as ‘Colly’, ‘clapped’ and ‘peak’ are part of your vocabulary now and there’s no escaping it.

4. Midlands accents are no longer that bad

Anyone not from the Midlands regularly take the piss out of Midlands accents but now, they don’t sound too bad? They might even be a little bit sexy to you?

They’ve definitely grown on you since Alex Bowen graced the Love Island villa and now you’re so used to hearing them that the jokes just aren’t funny anymore. It’s time to admit that the accents don’t actually bother you that much anymore.

5. You can’t stop wearing puffers and Fila’s

You’ve got puffers in five different colours and you wear you Fila’s every single night out with pride. It’s called fashion honey, look it up.

6. You start to refer to Birmingham as Brum or Bham

No one ever says Birmingham anymore because you’re cool and you’re part of the Midlands now which means you refer to Birmingham as Brum.

As well as you’re new Coventry slang, you’ve also adopted a little bit of Birmingham slang. This is essential to fit in if you choose to take the train to Brum for a night out like you’ve started too.

7. You’re no longer phased by stabbings or shootings

It’s savage but we’re all lowkey thinking it. Your parents might be worried for your safety when they hear of a stabbing or shooting in Cov but you’re so over it.

They happen way too regularly for you to worry about them anymore. It’s got the point where you’re not even surprised when you hear about them anymore.

8. Rats and mould are part of your daily life

You were really stuck up before you came to Cov but now you’ve lived among the rats and you’ve experienced the mouldy bathrooms of your student house. It can’t get worse than that and you know it.

The rats are now your friends and the mould is just the thing in the back of your mirror selfies and is absolutely nothing to worry about anymore.