Four of the Most Important Lessons I Learnt in First Year
Hi everyone, I hope things are going well for you all so far!
As we’ve somehow already reached mid-term of term two, I begin this month’s blogs by addressing four of my most important takeaway lessons from my first year at Warwick.
Tip 1: Put yourself out there!
Starting university can be very daunting, but I would mainly view it as a fresh start for everyone. Regardless of whatever has happened in your past, or whether you’ve come to uni with your friends, it’s so important to appreciate the opportunity of beginning a new journey with new people from across the globe. Many people start university not having gone out to parties nor drank alcohol before etc, this is why your time at university is so impactful to your life, because you have the freedom to experience new things… but the first step is to overcome the barrier and fear of rejection or being judged by others. Dive straight into all the exciting opportunities that Warwick has to offer and embrace who you are!
Tip 2: Student budget…
If you’re like me and you have a toxic relationship with shopping, then I URGE you to remember that you are a student, and that budgeting is necessary! The worst feeling in the world is when you look at your bank account at the end of the month and realise you’ve gone into overdraft… so my advice would be to budget wisely. Know what essentials you need (i.e., food shop, event/club tickets etc). Learn the balance of what you need and what you want.
Tip 3: Surround yourself with good people
One thing that I’d emphasise, is that the people you meet in your first few weeks of university may not end up being your friends in the long run. This is such a common uni mistake to make. Everyone goes into university hoping to make plenty of new friends (which I hope ends up being the case for most people), however, I can’t stress enough the immense difference between social friends and genuine friends. I feel that the first term is the term of ‘temporary friends’ that you make out of convenience. This sucks and is not necessarily the case for all people, but I feel like it’s something that people don’t always realise until later in the year. The important thing to take away from this is to make as many friends as you can, but not to have too many expectations behind it. Find YOUR group that have a genuine care for you, and NOT for your social status or number of contacts.
Tip 4: Find the balance between going out and staying in
As an incoming fresher, it’s so easy to want to go out most nights of the week and push work and lectures aside, but this can be detrimental in the long run. In my first term, I had all the excitement that a typical fresher would naturally have, and I was so keen to go out all the time with my new friends (also because I would have massive FOMO otherwise…) However, I found that this affected my mental health without initially realising. Being a workaholic but also a super keen socialite, for the first two months, I found myself going out around 4-5 days a week and rolling into my accommodation in the early hours of the morning on most days, yet still forcing myself to wake up for my 9am’s and keep up to date with lectures. Once it got to mid-term, I realised the importance of finding time for myself and that missing out on a few events wasn’t the end of the world. Ultimately, you have 3+ years at university, there will be plenty of opportunities to go out, so prioritise yourself and your mental health first.
I hope these tips resonate with you during your time at Warwick, and that you find the balance between human and being 🙂
Jess x
