Keep Fresh: Freshers’ Week as a Home Student

Keep Fresh is qmunicate’s survival guide series to freshers’ week – from halls to hangovers, moving to mental health, your big auntie qmunicate is here to get you through.

There’s no place like home, right? This sentiment might be hard to agree with during freshers’ week, where it seems that everyone and their gran is living in student accommodation. You grudge answering the question of ‘which halls are you in?’ as part of you feels that saying that you live at home instantly will make you appear less cool. It’s normal to feel isolated as a home student at the beginning, but fear not – you can still have the desired university experience but with the comfort of retreating to your own cosy bed at night.

Making new friends can seem daunting when you aren’t forced into it. It might be comfortable to stick to the safety of same group of friends you’ve known since school, but try to step out of your comfort zone and meet new people. Talk to the person beside you in your lecture; you never know, they might become one of your best friends!

Similarly, don’t rush straight home after lectures. Make the most of being on campus by grabbing a coffee after class with your fellow freshers. This is a good way to connect and realise that if you don’t immediately understand what your lecturer is babbling on about, it’s okay – you are not alone, 100 other students think the same. You can find solidarity in your confusion!

If this isn’t your vibe, then join a society! The university has a wide variety of clubs and societies, ranging from bee keeping to Eurovision, where you can meet like-minded people and learn new skills. You can chat to these societies and see what they have to offer at the Freshers’ Fayre, one of the main events of this week, located in the Main Building on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Leaving the pub early to catch that last train home can be annoying but it won’t be long until you find someone who will let you crash on their floor! In the meantime, try to make the most of daytime activities on campus and start your night out that little bit earlier. Your 16-25 railcard will become your best friend this year, transporting you back to the comfort of home with the heating on, a stocked fridge, and cuddles from your dog.

[Katie McPeake]