I never really went to university.
I mean I went – I have a degree and everything – it’s just that I didn’t go in the sense of moving into halls, staying up all night playing drinking games, sleeping all day and generally dossing about eating pizza. (That’s what students do right?). I lived in a little house with my toddler, Bee, drove in for lectures and went to bed at a sensible time. Drinking games with a two year old are generally frowned upon.
Said toddler is now in her second year at university and has gone in the proper sense. She lives in halls near Waterloo, with a lovely view of the London skyline, and I’m sure eats less fresh fruit than she should. She is doing an amazing job of living on her own in a big city and is working really hard on her course too – I am full of pride and admiration for her. Well done Bee.
Not having had the full student experience myself then, I turned to Bee’s instagram feed for some inspiration to help me come up with some top tips for students. Here’s what I picked up:
Make the most of wherever you are
The temptation I’m sure is to spend as much time as possible asleep or in a Wetherspoon’s but don’t! Any decent university city is going to have a lot to offer culturally and you may very well look back in ten or twenty years time and wish you’d made more of the opportunities on your doorstep.
Get your shopping sorted
Having the basics in place is important, so make sure you know where your nearest supermarket is, along with other essentials like 24 hour off licences, chemists, muffin shops and handy places like Wilko. If you do nothing else at least collect a stack of pizza delivery fliers.
Don’t forget your teddy
Yeah yeah, I know you’re all grown up and super cool now, but when you find yourself away from home, away from your family and everyone you love, you’re going to sometimes want something to cuddle and remind you of home.
So those are my tips, inspired by Bee.
What would your advice be for first year university students?
(If you can think of three tips, why not enter this competition from Currys and see if you can win yourself a laptop?)
Sorting out the things to buy in the supermarket is important to determine which one is really what you need. I always have my checklist whenever I go to grocery stores so that I will not buy things I didn’t really need.