Freshers’ Week: Expectations v Reality

Freshers’ Week is the most anticipated week of the whole year for students, regardless of whether it’s your first time around or not. But with that much hype, it’s only natural for some things to not work out as you first expected.

Don’t get me wrong, Freshers’ Week can be a brilliant time. It’s when you first begin to settle in, make friends and figure out the place you’ll now be calling home for the next few years.

But in this post I’m going to talk about the most hyped up events and my personal experience of them to let you know that things aren’t always as they seem:

Expectation #1: You’ll be out every night

Reality: Come Tuesday and you’re already shattered. As much as you’re loving your new freedom and independence, you’re not quite sure if you can face another night of Jägerbombs, cheap vodka and sticky club floors. Your days are a blur as you spend most of your introductory sessions trying to stay awake and preparing yourself for the next night’s events.

If you’re like me you’ll push on through, with claims of “I’m going to do Freshers’ properly”, before crashing at the end of the week and spending your last weekend before classes in bed recovering.

However, it is totally okay to have a night off. A night in your new accommodation, chilling with your flatmates with a movie or even going out for a meal together can be a lovely break. You can still socialise and have a good time without clubs or alcohol!

Expectation #2: You’ll make loads of friends

Reality: You might, you might not. The trick here is not to be too disappointed if you come out of the week with only a handful of new acquaintances.

In a week full of events aimed at making people socialise with one another, it’s obvious that you’ll come away from it having make at least one friend. However, because Freshers’ is so jammed packed and there’s so many things you want to fit in, it can be hard to seriously bond with loads of people.

You will get to know a lot of new people and recognise many different faces throughout the events. And this may well eventually lead to friendships. It can take a while to develop proper, true friendships meaning the people you bond with initially in Freshers’ week may not be there by the end of the year.

This is a personal thing at the end of the day as it depends on how social you are. But don’t worry you will make friends, I promise. Just don’t expect it to happen all at once!

Expectation #3: Freshers’ Week is just non-stop fun

Reality: It’s actually pretty hard. Bearing in mind you’ve moved away from your home; you’re now living with strangers and you’re trying to figure everything out, things can get a little bit too much sometimes.

You’re completely thrown into the deep end in Freshers’ Week with everything being so new and different and it can be a bit scary. But it’s okay. You need to remember that literally everyone else is in the same boat and you need to help each other to keep things moving.

Homesickness, fear and tiredness are all normal symptoms of Freshers’ Week (and often any other week at university!) so try not to worry yourself too much and stick together with your flatmates and new friends and you can all help one another cope with the changes.

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Although this post may have been a bit bleak and a little more negative my others, I want to remain totally honest on this blog. These are just some of the ways things can feel a little less than brilliant during Freshers’ Week but that doesn’t mean you won’t have a good time!

I hope you do have a brilliant Freshers’- whether that just be the week or your whole first year. If you’ve already had you’re Freshers’ Week, feel free to share your own stories with us.

Speak soon,

Rachael.