All the things I wish I’d done in first year

As first year is coming to an end, it's time for us to reflect on one mad year and let the freshers know what they're in for. I've compiled a list of all of the things I wish I'd achieved in my first year of uni so that you lot don't miss out. You're welcome.

Joined a sports team

I know what you fellow lazy homebodies are thinking, the last thing we want to do when trying to make new friends is embarrass ourselves by playing some random sport every week. If this was the case, this wouldn’t be a regret of mine… But! For you social butterflies that love a drink, it turns out that AU nights are more popular than you think. They’ll save you from being left out when the whole flat is getting their costumes together and going to pres… I guess that’s what I get for being a lazy bugger. Of course if you love sport, then this is perfect for you, but for the ones who are apprehensive like myself, the best part is you don’t even have to go – most of my friends hardly turned up to training and were still went to the socials!

Scouse safari

Joined societies

If sports really aren’t for you, then joining a society or club would be a perfect alternative! There are always ones for your subject, and tonnes more, ranging from the Bar society to the Chess society. There's something for everyone, and I regret not joining in, because having something to focus on other than your uni work can be really fun and actually pretty relaxing. A big regret of mine is not joining the Tab sooner – I love writing and didn’t know it was available, so that is another option if you don’t like any of the societies! To have a look at what the university has to offer, go to https://www.liverpoolguild.org/groups

Not going to catered breakfast

It’s free, it’s hot, you don’t have to make it yourself, and it doesn’t even taste that bad… as far as prison food is concerned. Realistically, it would be silly for a student not to go – but you’d be surprised how many of us just can’t be arsed. I mean, considering most of my flat find it hard to get out of bed before sunset, I think it would be pushing it to ask them to make it there before it closes at 9am…

Carnatic breakfast will be sorely missed, and I’m sure next year when we’re living in a house with no cooks, we’ll really wish we’d made that small trek up to the dinner hall, even if it does seem like miles away from Rankin.

I mean, they could've at least toasted the bread…

Got a mini-fridge sooner

If you are lucky enough to live in self-catered accommodation with excessive fridge space, you don’t know what a luxury it is to have cold water and your food still there untouched when you next check on it. For my flat in Carnatic, we have one fridge between 22 people. Yep. You heard me. So even though keeping a fridge in your room isn’t technically allowed, and you will need to be very careful with room inspections, me and my friends have only just realised how much better this small investment can make your uni experience. God, isn’t that sad?

Gone out more

It’s only now that I’m realising how much free time I’ve had this year, and how much of a bloody grandma you can be relative to how much I should’ve gone out. If there is going to be a time in uni where you can pull off going out every night and completing all the student nights, it’s first year. So, when everyone is heading to Skint, that seminar reading and sink bleaching can wait, just go get yourself a drink.

Hadn't treated my student loan as free money to fund takeaway addictions

It turns out eating shite everyday, ordering food when Carni dinner was shit, and all of those ten quid Tesco lunch trips, really add up. First year has been a real shocker for money management, and balancing it with those midnight cravings when you feel like you could eat a horse.

As Depeche Mode said, I just can't get enough

…actually gone to Uni

Okay so, I have kind of just been advocating for part-time alcoholism, but not attending uni really does bite you in the arse when you have 20 lectures to catch up on for your exam. I think we can all vouch for how nice it would be to avoid those stress filled all-nighters we’ve had to pull when we haven’t started our essay that’s due in for 2pm the next day.

But above all these things, the one thing I wish I'd done is to have not taken it for granted. Kids, enjoy it while it lasts, because I've heard second year is nothing but a bloody headache.