Freshfest '14

No one really explains to you what happens in fresher’s week in great detail and if anyone’s ever attempted to, it either sounded incredibly unrealistic or completely terrifying, which weirdly enough is actually pretty accurate.

My first few weeks at DMU have been primarily about socialising, and it just so happens that it’s easiest to do when you’re drunk. The idea of a flat party seems like a bit of a cringe at first because it’s 15 or so strangers sitting about in a cramped kitchen desperately trying to make friends so they’re not a loner for the rest of their university life. But the pre drinks before a night out have been my favourite memories so far and I have found that the best way to make a friend is through mutual intoxication. I wasn’t completely prepared for the social aspect of university and finally I’m experiencing the backlash of being too friendly at Freshers, and more than once I’ve sat in my kitchen confused because I’ve got numbers from people that I can’t remember who they belong to while getting mystery texts and just pretending I know who they are to avoid embarrassment.

Halls of residence was what I was most scared about. The thought of living with 5 strangers and trusting them to not eat my food just seemed bizarre to me, but it’s been my favourite part of DMU so far. I’ve loved the pressure of having to go from strangers to adopted family so quickly, and even though everyone in my flat is really different from each other it’s worked well. Surprisingly the channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat isn’t too far away from the real thing – minus the plush student house. My first few weeks haven’t always been as busy as I was told they would be. I’ve had days where I’ve woken up at one thirty in the afternoon then spent the next 6 hours sifting through the deepest unvisited parts of Netflix followed by getting out of bed and drinking vodka, orange squash and water because I’ve been told by a previous fresher that it decreases the severity of the hangover I’ll have the next day – lies.

But, despite the fun I’ve had over the past couple of weeks, I have come to university to in fact go to university, which sounds obvious but you’d be surprised at the number of people I’ve spoken to that so far have not done that. Lately I’ve realised that I must have lost my ability to read over the summer because I have to read a page at least 10 times to have just one sentence stick. I realise I have plenty of things I’m going to have to learn through experience, for example I’ve already had the awkward moment when I called my teacher Sir instead of his first name and I’m still not completely sure if putting my hand up in seminars is socially acceptable. Fingers crossed I’ll get to grips with everything in my first year so I’m a little bit less clueless in my second year.