It's coming to the end of the summer and with that starts the new academic year and a bunch of freshers heading off to university. With the first year of university comes the infamous freshers week (or fortnight if you're lucky enough) and seeing as I went through this last year I picked up some valuable tips and tricks to make freshers go as smoothly as possible and thought I should share these with those who might find them helpful!
001 Make sure you have the numbers of everyone you are going out with that way if you get separated you can contact them easily.
002 Don't take your bank card out with you, have some cash to hand. You don't want to come back from your first night of freshers and have no more money to spend for the rest of the week.
003 Make sure you have the number of a good taxi company, it will come in handy and get everyone else in your group to have the number too, you never know when you're phone will die.
004 Depending on how you're feeling and how much you plan to drink don't take your phone out with you on the first couple of nights, being in a new city you literally don't know is scary enough but trying to get around drunk can be dangerous and you don't want your freshers ruined by losing/breaking/getting your phone stolen. You can buy a cheap phone from anywhere and top it up just so you have a phone with you.
005 Never go anywhere alone. In freshers there were four of us that went out together and we usually stuck together but we always stayed in at least twos. But wherever you go make sure you have someone with you, you never know what could happen.
006 Never leave your drink unattended. I know of a few people who had their drinks spiked in freshers and it can ruin your night. I for one never have a drink long enough for someone to spike it (I hate carrying drinks around as I usually spill it so I might as well down it, it means I get drunk quicker and don't have to spend as much money, double bonus!) but its always worth being alert about it.
007 Keep your key in a safe place, you don't want to lose it on one of the first nights you go to. If you're a girl you inevitably have a bag of some sort so keep it in a zipped up pocket where its unlikely to fall out when you are going in and out of your bag.
008 Leave a glass (maybe not a glass, maybe a bottle with a lid, lets be realistic here you are more than likely going to be drunk) of water by the side of your bed. The next day you will definitely appreciate it and if you want to go the extra mile leave a couple of paracetamol for the morning!
009 Try and snack throughout the night (my flatmate used to take a slice of bread with her) or even get a takeaway on your way home, anything to absorb the alcohol and help sober you up. Sober you will thank drunk you the morning after. Random tip but definitely helps!
010 One of the most important (well in my opinion) is to know your limit. Yes you are in a new place but there is no point trying to 'show off' by showing how many shots you can down in a minute at the end of the day you won't make a good impression and you will be the one feeling it in the morning!
I hope you enjoyed this post and found it helpful if you are going to university. Yes university is an amazing time and freshers is just great but you still have to be safe! Most of you will be living on your own for the first time and your parents won't just be on the other side of town if you need them! oh, and Welcome to the real world!
