10 lessons you’ll learn as a Notts student in your first semester

Semester one may be filled with drink, regrettable moments and confusion but here are a few quips of wisdom from a second year who has done all of the above. It will take a while for you to get settled and find your friendship group, but that is completely normal. You’re not going to find your best friend on the first day (you might, but its rare).

Here are the upmost important lessons you need to know this semester, from a second year veteran who is still figuring it out:

1. Home is never as bad as you thought

There is a somewhat romanticisation about moving away, to start afresh and to reinvent yourself. All of which university provides. But home really is where the heart is. You don’t realise until you go, you finally see the indulgent privileges and comforts of home. Whether it is having a full fridge, a clean house or reliable central heating – you don’t understand how precious these things are until they are gone.

The annoyance of having to think of new meals everyday is exhausting, the eternal question post lecture is as follows “pesto pasta or pot noodle?” I’ve had cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the past two days. No one leaves home and doesn’t wobble and it is totally okay to do that. Go home, see your parents, get some hearty food in you and come back. Whether it’s your beloved pet, home friends or  family – you will have spent 18 years building a community and environment you feel comfort in and to be away from that is scary. Be kind to yourself and remember that it’s normal to miss it.

2. Familiarising yourself with the golden mile

The golden mile refers to the mile long club crawl from Stealth to Ocean and all the clubs in between. As somewhat of a connoisseur of the golden mile take it from me, it is key to familiarise yourself with it. These clubs will define nights out, will be the final destination of the nights you definitely will not remember and will possibly be the meeting of minds and bodies for many.

Familiarise yourself with the urban myths that follow all the clubs.  Say hello to Shirley the Australian bouncer at Bodega to grab a free shot. Confess your sins with a priest at pop confessional. If you want mischief, go to Pryzm smoking area and convince people to backflip while drunk. Unit 13 is for old school Drake and rap and you will meet every economics boy ever in there, so maybe actually stay away from there.

3. Halls are deffo not the Ritz hotel

As a former Broadgate Park resident I can impart my wisdom upon you and those in other halls. You will definitely not enjoy them for the rest of the year. The excitement of moving and meeting your flat mates will last around two months. People will start getting comfortable, perhaps too comfortable at times. Leaving dishes for days, the remnants of a pres that was taken too far. Those paper thin walls give no privacy for any, make sure you remember that. You will come to terms with living with other people, their different schedules, different sleeping patterns, their annoying habits. You may have gotten lucky, or perhaps you are convincing yourself that you have because “you don’t mind” cleaning up after others. Don’t mug yourself off.

Come to terms with people and their quirks because I’m sure you also have habits that everyone hates. The key is to live in harmony and communicate with one another. Just remember, keep your halls clean enough so when the end of the year comes around you can get your deposit back. I was not so blessed with this advice and spent the day we moved out mopping maggots out from the bottom of our fridge.

4. Its not summer anymore, get your head down and do some work

A Level summer was possibly one of the best summers of your life. Perhaps you went inter-railing, or on a lads holiday to Napa.  But it’s now time to get your head down. Aimlessly lying around all day in August was fine but now lectures have started you need to get up. First year may not count in the long run but you still need to pass, which you can’t really do if you’re missing every single lecture. What’s the point of paying 9k if you’re not gonna turn up?

Contrary to popular belief, university is not like an episode of Fresh Meat. It’s not all shagging, drinking and parties, your degree is the reason you’re here, so don’t forget that.

5. Societies

Welcome to Nottingham, filled with students from all walks of life, from all the lengths of the country, and beyond. So it is time to find your people. If you’re not vibing with people who are on your course or in you halls, try to branch out to societies. University life isn’t about just your course, its also about finding people you would have never found at home. From Medieval Combat society to Taylor Swift society, your niche will be covered.

If you’re missing home how about the Northerners society? If you love an argument  how about debating society? Love vinyls and music? Then why not try Portland Music library. Whatever you love, it’ll be covered and if it is not, then you can create one yourself.

6. Lecture friends are not always the real ones, but that’s okay

Peak lecture culture is making a lecture friend in the first term and sitting in that same spot together for the rest of the year. I’m afraid to say it doesn’t make you mates. Just because you see each other in lectures doesn’t mean there is a band of loyalty between the two of you.  The cycle goes as follows: get their snapchat, promises to do everything together, see each other once a week and go your separate ways. You’re never going to be besties with them, but at least you’re not sat by yourself.

Lecture mates are amazing, don’t get me wrong. You’ll always need someone to take the joke with and recognise in a crowded room. But the one thing to remember is that choose your mates carefully or else you’ll be reduced to a revision guide and notetaker come exam season.

7. Freshers’ isn’t all its all cracked up to be

Eat, sleep, rave, repeat. Freshers’ is a fond memory of the night out and the morning after. The hangover anxiety is real, who did you speak to? Who did you profess your love to? Make sure you settle in and take it easy because freshers flu is a killer, you don’t have to say yes to everything.

Freshers’ is an important time, but it’s not the be all and end all. You will have friendships that you drop, and some you keep forever. It’ll be a learning curve of Circuit Laundry, navigating campus and cooking for yourself. Just chill, take it easy and know that the chaos settles at some point.

8. Seasonal holidays are taken very seriously at university

If you have never really celebrated seasonal holidays you need to learn to, be prepared with multiple costumes and a budget. Freshers’ Halloween tickets are like gold dust, so be ready for bidding wars on uni-sellers and counting down the hours until the tickets drop. Halloween at university is a week-long event, if it is giving people an excuse to drink then it means it’s a big deal. Us Notts students love to dress up.

Christmas is huge too, whether it’s a flat Christmas dinner or a secret Santa. The Christmas dinner will be left to the only capable cook in the flat while the rest of you will be told to peel potatoes. It may seem bad having to sous chef your flatmate but it may possibly be the best meal and most nutritious meal that you eat in first year. There’ll always be one flatmate who suggests you buy xmas decorations and a tree, say yes.

There’s nothing better than a bit of positivity when undergoing Christmas exam period, so don’t be a scrooge.

9. Budget

The beloved student loan drops and the PLT, ASOS and Vinted basket gets bought, the food shop is no longer tinned, we indulge in fresh veg not frozen veg this time. This quickly stops when you realise you’ve blown it all in the matter of three weeks. A huge lesson that you will learn in first term is that you really need to make a budget, and actually stick to it. Future you will thank you when you’re not working all summer to pay off your overdraft (oops).

So budget, save some of it for emergencies, think before you spend and please I beg don’t blow it in Rock City. God knows I have.

10. Imposter syndrome

No one has a clue what is going on. Referencing, finding buildings and learning how to manage your workload is something no one ever gets used to. The first term of university is about figuring it all out and settling in. People are keen to try and establish they’re the smartest in the room but it’s just not the case.

They’re in the same position as you, and sometimes having to prove you’re clever says more about the person than you think. You’ll have gotten similar if not the same grades as them, been through the same process and you deserve to be there as much as the next guy. Don’t stress, intelligence and success isn’t marked by how much you can speak in a lecture hall, instead it is marked by your own progress and interests.

Good luck, you can do it.

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