10 things you’ll learn about yourself within the first few weeks of university

Just think of all the things you’ll know by the time you graduate

2 years ago

As a university fresher you are here in Lincoln to have the best night of your life every night and perhaps the worst mornings, but on top of learning about your nearest sick bucket or how the lecture rooms are numbered by floor first and then the actual room number, second you’ll also learn a lot about yourself and the person you might end up becoming all within the first couple of weeks.

If you want to be single

Not to cause a big panic here but keeping a relationship at university can be tricky especially if it’s long distance. If you have a partner, you’ll realise if you want to stay with them or if the constant temptations are too strong for you to handle. If you’re single, you may also see the actions of certain people out at Quack and want to steer clear of any relationships for the time being. Many couples have survived however, and some lovely relationships have been formed inside the welcoming walls of King Kebab.

Which alcohol your body likes and which it doesn’t

You’ll try a lot of new things in Lincoln especially during the first few weeks, some more acceptable than others, but different alcohols will definitely be one of them. Flavoured spirits that sound nice but end up making your sick smell extra fruity or trying a Guinness for the first time because the internet told you it would make you look cool.

You will drink a lot of alcohol and you’ll soon realise which ones disagree with your body. Symptoms include instant gagging, inability to keep it down, the need for a big swig of drink afterwards, holding your nose or the ultimate tell, when you wake up in the morning and have no clue how you got there or what happened the night before. Can you stomach a sambuca or is it Sourz shots only?

If you’ve taken the right career path

Picking what you want to study for three years is a pretty serious decision to make so you’re allowed to feel as though it wasn’t a great choice to do a sports course just because you like football and thought you’d make the first team. You’ll know if university is right for you early on or if you should’ve just gotten a job and see where that took you. You should find your course fun and interesting and hopefully have some idea of your future and if it lies within the degree. Remember, you can always change courses if you think you’ve picked the wrong one. You’ll have a lot of different thoughts during these weeks and most of them will just be worries rather than any major issues so don’t let them get on top of you.

If you can cook

Many people think they can cook at home but when they enter student accomodation, they figure out that it’s easy to cook when you have all the ingredients and the right pots and pans readily available. Yet, when you’ve run out of spoons, plates and haven’t washed your frying pan in a week things become trickier. It gets even harder when your flat decides they want a come dine with me style night and then proceed to critique you for your lack of seasoning, your presentation skills and the fact that you didn’t wash your hands once. And FYI pasta, microwaved meals, toast or anything that can be shoved into an oven doesn’t count as cooking, but don’t fear as the money you’ve saved on nutritious food can go towards a tasty takeaway a few times a week.

That you have an accent

Lincoln is a city university, so it is full of students meaning you’re going to be talking to people from all over the place in your flat, lectures or on nights out. Lincoln also has a lot of international students from Bangladesh to Zimbabwe so to them you’ll sound even more different. You’ll be spending weeks explaining what on earth you mean when you call a toe a “tinger” or why you should be pronouncing an r in bath. Jokes about your accent will become overused whether you’re a posh boy from Kent, an incoherent scouser or just from Birmingham.

If you can handle your drink

Alcohol is lethal when you’re a student because a couple is never enough and having too many is part of the fun. You might need a tactical chunder at pres or a few accidental spilt shots during drinking games, but you’ll figure out quickly if you can handle downing the king’s cup in ring of fire or if little sips followed by gulps of water is more your vibe.

That you miss your parents constant cleaning

Hoovering six times a day isn’t necessary in student accomodation or a house, even if your mum thinks that’s normal to do at home, but you will be grateful when you go home that you have clean clothes, a fresh bed and clean cutlery. Parents are clean freaks but maybe some of us could do with just 10 per cent of their cleanliness to keep the flat smelling and looking okay.

That your life is expensive

Lots of things cost a lot of money especially if you don’t have a job in Lincoln. If you’re the type to buy everyone shots when you get a little too drunk at Trebles or if you see cheesy chips on the way home as an essential purchase, your bank statement will make for a bad read. Food shops are often the thing that leave many the most surprised as some food is expensive (butter and grated cheese especially are big purchases for a student).

If you have rich parents

You’ll live with people who get the full maintenance loan of over £9000 and some who get the minimum of £5000. People who get the maximum amount will tell you stories of how their parents work as a security guard for the local newsagents and earn £20 and a Fredo a week. These are usually the generous flatmates who love to buy you a drink even though you’ve just come back from the bar.

Your parents wage essentially determines how well you’ll live as a full loan can take you places you’ve never been before like Skegness beach but a lower loan and richer parents can leave you looking for some extra money now and then as Student Finance doesn’t always understand that your parents can’t give you unlimited money.

That your music taste isn’t to everyone’s liking

Music is integral for your university experience, whether you listen to it at full blast in your room, whilst making food, at pres or at the club. But be warned, arguments are destined to happen because of the differences in taste. The person on the aux holds a lot of power and can often make or break the party.

Home offers lots of floors all playing different music so you’ll never be too far away from dancing to what you want to hear. You’ll be wanting to switch floors whilst your new bestie is adamant that singing the wrong rap lyrics and acting out every word in a Dave song is the right thing to do.