University is not all about drinking, I promise.

Hi there!

I remember my first few days of university very well – I was super excited to be moving in, and even more thrilled to get involved in all of the activities taking place. Similarly, though, as somebody who doesn’t enjoy being drunk, I found myself questioning my place in freshers week. Stereotypically, it is a week for getting completely drunk every night and sleeping during the daytime, ready to get drunk again in the evening. And this stereotype really held some truth for me in the first night or so – the majority of my flatmates were interested in playing drinking games and really just having so much alcohol in order to forget the night.

Whilst I was still focused on making friends and just having fun (perfectly possible to do sober, especially when you are awesome, which I promise you are), part of me also hoped that this pressure to drink heavily would decrease. And I promise you it does. If you find yourself not enjoying your surroundings, don’t worry! This is just the first few days and it really doesn’t stay like this. Encourage your flatmates to hang out during the daytime, attend freshers stalls, society fairs and go to random events taking place. Warwick is really good at holding nondrinking events too! This is something we did as a flat from the first day and it was really nice to be able to engage in conversations with them in a casual setting! I also quickly learnt that we had A LOT in common, which really helped bring us closer.

If you are still feeling alone during freshers week, my best advice would be to attend lots of events during the day and talk to random people. You don’t have to be best friends with your flatmates, and that’s okay. Even if you feel like you haven’t found a solid group of friends, and everybody around you has – remember the other side is always green! It is likely that there are many people feeling the same way as you, this is where the saying “fake confidence until you can make it” is real. Eventually, you will make a lifetime worth of friends!

I really really enjoyed my freshers week. It is definitely one of the most memorable events from my first year. Simply for the fact that it was the beginning of an adventure. I experienced some of my biggest challenges during the week, made some of my closest friends, and created some genuinely exciting memories that I am sure I will treasure forever.

Even if your freshers isn’t the same, I promise that university has a lot in store for you – and in three years time, you will find yourself reflecting on your years as the best ones yet.

Have an awesome freshers, freshers!

Shanita 🙂 xo