Ten things all Leeds freshers are guaranteed to do this semester

Maintain a healthy sleep schedule? Forget it


With Freshers’ Week becoming a distant blur of overpriced club entry and hangxiety (did I really get with two of my flatmates?), it may seem the fresher experience is almost over – but that couldn’t be more wrong.

First semester holds many more moments all freshers are bound to experience, and if you haven’t done them all before crawling back home in December then have you even been at uni?

1. Queue way, way too long for a Maccies

There’s no more intense desire than the craving for a McDonalds after a night out. At 4am, it’s not simply a want but a life-or-death need, and you will be willing to do anything to get your five piece Chicken Selects meal.

This includes standing outside in the freezing cold for about an hour, forgetting where you are and probably showing your ID to the bouncer at the door (what do they even do, anyway). By the time your order is ready you’ll have almost sobered up, and realised once you’ve taken your first bite that you swore you’d be vegan this semester. Hopefully everyone else will still be too drunk to remember.

After that wait, it’s definitely photo worthy

2. Also queue way, way too long for Walkabout on a Wednesday

Unlike Maccies, this one’s actually worth it for the £1 drinks and cheesy tunes after you’ve definitely sobered up during the 45 minute wait.

3. Cook a meal with your flat, before realising it’s too much effort and no one even really enjoys it

You may have had visions of coming together with your flat each week to whip up a Masterchef worthy meal, all sat around the table like one happy family.

But with one vegan, one raging meat eater, someone who hasn’t touched a chopping board in their life, and a flat mate who cooks their pot noodle from their bedroom – group meals will have to remain a happy figment of your imagination. Maybe you’ll pull together for Christmas?

4. Dress up for a Wednesday Sport’s night social or an Otley Run

Being humiliated on a Wednesday night whilst dressed as a grape, a baby, a crayon, or gaffer taped to another fresher you’ve just met, always ends up being more fun than you’d think.

Otley runs are slightly more glamorous – your costume won’t arrive home smelling of whatever eggy-baked bean mix the second and third years have covered you in – but don’t be surprised if someones stolen one of your props (or you’ve stolen theirs).

Swimming cap anyone?

5. Be sick in an Uber

If you haven’t done it already, then get ready for the £80 fine. At this point, it’s practically a birth right. Bonus points for embarrassment if you’re wearing a fancy dress outfit.

6. Kill the plants you bought on campus

Remember the cute plants you bought in Freshers’ Week? The ones you swore you’d keep alive all year? No? Well, they’re probably in your room somewhere, begging for water beneath a pile of dirty laundry. It might not be too late to save them, but maybe opt for a plastic one next time.

7. Either get a Crispy’s after every night out, or wonder what the hell a Crispy’s is

If your accommodation is James Baillie, Devonshire or beyond, then you’re bound to see the disco lights at Crispy’s on the way back from the club, and once you get your first taste of their curry sauce or gravy you’ll never go back.

That is if you can ignore the stories of their hygiene rating, of course. Who cares about food standards when you’re allowed to go behind the counter and help serve chips anyway?

Thumbs up all around

However, if your accommodation is on campus, or the other side of town, you’ll probably never venture anywhere near Crispy’s after a night out. Hyde Park’s best takeaway will have to remain a mystery until second year.

8. Debate over whether the statue is bacon or waves

You know the one we mean. This debate will probably run until the end of time. Bacon or waves? Wavy bacon? Does it even matter? You’ll find out that actually yes, it does matter, and will spend many pres fighting for whatever you think it looks like.

Could even be two worms tbf

(FYI, if you want to end the debate with some facts, it’s meant to represent the motion made by a deaf-blind person to communicate the making of art)

9. Walk into the wrong lecture hall

Roger Stevens is practically a maze, so don’t be surprised if you end up rocking up to completely the wrong lecture. Hopefully it won’t be too late to make your escape, else you’ll have some confused fun sitting through an hour of totally the wrong subject because it’s too awkward to leave.

10. Eat refectory food

And, quite simply, regret it.

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