What we’ve learned during our first term at Notts

Weight gained, dignity lost


December is rolling in and like many others across the country, your first term at uni is coming to a close. We can all agree that it’s been eventful for nearly everyone and the staples of Nottingham life have become all the more familiar to us all. Now as we begin to pack all our stuff out of our rooms for the holidays (which is ridiculous) we have a chance to look back on what has been three of the strangest months of our lives.

Everyone had that moment on the first day, generic pulp fiction poster proudly pinned up, Macbook on charge and we sat in our rooms, alone, and thought to ourselves “is this it?”. After a short period of thinking that we were doomed, social outcasts for three years, the Glen’s began to flow and soon we found a group of friends in halls that we could call our own.

The pad

Freshers week came and went, gradually the cliques began to form and we could stop trying so hard with each other. It’s hard enough having to move into a hot and sweaty building with total strangers, but to exchange pleasantries every time you walk past someone is overwhelming.

Campus had been the main selling point for most of us (and rightly so, it’s peng af) however there’s one feature of uni park that got old real fast – the downs. If 9ams weren’t painful enough, the unlucky ones like myself had to trek up this behemoth of a lawn and destroy our calves. All the while golden gods of Hugh Stu and Cripps avoided this monstrosity and could stroll into lectures from their beds with two minutes notice. But, it could be worst, at least you’re not in Broadgate.

No mans land

Besides the missions to and from lectures, Notts life is pretty sweet. That’s not to say there isn’t a learning curve – for example it took me two whole months to realise Oceana was the worst nightclub of all time. By now most of us should have it figured out. We know that Ocean is so bad it’s good, we know that Karni reps will happily sell their soul for “charity” and we know when things get bad we can always rely on the anthology of Trent jokes to keep our spirits high.

Deadlines have become increasingly unimportant as term has gone on. With everything going on in our lives, how can anyone actually work? The semester began with a huge boost of enthusiasm, you made it through A-levels and you’re ready for the next step but over time you fall into old habits and your motivation begins to drop. However, for most of us getting work back wasn’t as traumatising as we may have thought and the attitude that has prevailed is, “I’ll try harder next year.”

For the most part, we’re ending this term on a high. We can go back to our hometowns, visit the clubs that don’t even begin to compare to the ones at uni, and talk to our old school friends about how we’re never going to loose touch (spoiler – you will) and get ready for January exams, which for some reason someone thought would be a good idea. Good job on ruining Christmas, see you guys next year.