Gross student things you said you’d never do

University: a time of freedom, dirty pants and Tesco Value noodles.

Student life can be tough but it’s still a time to become independent, responsible and mature, right?

As it turns out, most of us student-types become incapable of being reasonable humans as soon as we leave home. And the things we do to get by can be disgusting.

Skipping the morning routine

So you accidentally ended up on a night out during the week (you can’t argue with Tuesday Boozeday).

Waking up in a bed or on a floor that’s not your own, toothbrush-less and afraid, you nab anything you can find to make yourself smell less like vodka and shame.

Hope he’s at least carrying some gum

Probably still looking -and feeling- like a dog’s regurgitated dinner, you can find a bit of pride in the fact that you made it to that all important lecture that you ended up never referring to again.

Dodging housework

As students we are notorious procrastinators, but nowhere is it more obvious than in our living spaces.

A lack of clean dishes means the same bowl is rinsed and re-used for every microwave meal. For at least a week.

After all, if you’ve still got this one dish, there’s no real need to wash the other plates that are beginning to grow new lifeforms. Not just yet, anyway.

Outfit repetition

Laundry is something you probably didn’t have to think about back home.

Shove your clothes in a basket, a couple of days later they’d be back, clean and neatly folded at the bottom of your bed.

As a student, washing yourself and your clothes can become all too much.

Everyone knows laundry day is inevitable, but your fave (last) tshirt hardly smells once you’ve doused it in deodorant for the third or maybe fourth time.

Vintage is in right now, these jeans are totally meant to look worn to death and food-stained. Nobody will even notice. Betcha.

Avoiding starvation, whatever the cost

When food is low, the use by date becomes no big deal.  In fact, a lot of things become no big deal.

Last year, I was so desperate for food that after unwittingly grating mouldy cheese on top of a shepherd’s pie, I simply removed the top layer and got stuck in.

Granted, I missed a few spots which gave the pie what I can only describe as an earthy taste, but hey, better than nothing.

Everyday I’m hustling

Winching strangers for free drinks, wearing the same underwear as long as humanly possible, washing yourself with toilet water (true story) and peeing in your sink; it’s all just part of the joy that is independent living.

Students may be gross, but at least we’re all gross together. Held together, not by glue, but by some mysterious icky stuff.