Freshers’ Week: What to avoid

Want to hear about what the freshers that came before you thought about Freshers’ Week? Then read on….

Mistakes

You’ll have heard a lot about ‘mistakes’ people make during Freshers’ Week. They drink too much, go to dreadful clubs, hang out with people they don’t like, throw up in the gutter and have sex with someone they need to see in lectures for the next year. It’s the grimy underside of student life at its grimiest and most cringe-worthy.

This may happen…

However, Freshers’ Week can be a lot worse than that. It’s true that some people go too far. It’s certainly not advisable to become the easiest lay on campus within two days. And there is such thing as too much to drink. But holding back and being too cautious is much worse.

Trust me, it’s what I did.

I went out once or twice, signed up to several societies and met a couple of people. It was low-key, nothing grim happened and I didn’t do anything to be ashamed of.

This also may be you.

But I missed out on a lot. It’s an arbitrary social convention, but during Freshers’ Week it is legit to do things that you normally can’t or won’t do. Sure, you shouldn’t do anything truly awful, but pushing boundaries and being stupid is fine.

Opportunities you can’t miss

You’ll get to meet a vast number of people and will never see the majority of them again, but you’re still likely to make some real friends. It’s nice to casually know a fair few people around campus and halls. And, given that you’re meeting so many people, it doesn’t matter if you alienate or irritate some of them.

Go for it!

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about. Don’t worry about doing something embarrassing, or creating a permanently awkward situation with someone. The worst that can happen is you’ll need to avoid a handful of people for a while.

Do it while you can

You also need to remember that you can’t (and won’t really want to) live the full throttle student lifestyle for the entirety of your degree. It’s at times like Freshers’ when you should let go, be stupid, go all out and have as much fun as you can.

It’s a cliché, but it’s the things you don’t do that you regret most.