So university is tough and we all know it can be. But they never tell you the tough stuff on open days, and while uni is great and everything often is sunshine and daisies, there are definitely things I wish I'd known about uni before I went. So here are a few things I've learned over my first year (which yes, is nearly over?? My last deadline is on the 24th April and then hello summer, seems a bit ridiculous to me!).
01 // The academia isn't really that difficult.
The academia is the easy part. No one told me that at my open days! I have eight contact hours a week, and while I do spend most of my other time reading, this year my exams consist of quizzes I can do over and over until I've got 100% in them, and in-class essay exams where the papers are pre-release so we know how to prepare! It may just be my course, but the academia is not difficult. I've struggled much more with having interest in my courses - no one told me on my open days that I couldn't choose my own modules until second year so therefore I'd be stuck doing units in my first year that I am bored out of my mind by. But of course, you'll do things all the way through life that you're not interested in, but when you're so looking forward to studying what you've chosen, to find out that's not the case is a bummer.
02 // You actually do have to clean stuff.
Yeah, did you know kitchens need cleaning? We haven't cleaned our toaster corner for a couple weeks now and the crumbs are about an inch thick. And bins need taking out, toilets need bleaching, floors need hoovering and cookers need scrubbing. Which means not only do you have to be disciplined with cleaning routines, but you have to buy cleaning materials. And more often than not, Sainsbury's Basics cleaning stuff doesn't work. (Honestly I so wish someone had told me what cleaning products are best so genuinely if anyone wants a handy list of what we've found to work best hit me up)
03 // Most of the friends you make during Freshers' will disappear in a month or two. And popularity is a thing of the past.
Seriously. I made friends in Fresher's Week that I don't think I've seen since Freshers'. I now have a really nice little group in my accommodation, a nice little group on my course and a girl I go to the gym with and a few people I know from athletics. Uni is not sixth form and "friendship groups" are sort of a thing of the past. And you don't need a massive friendship group to be popular because popularity simply doesn't exist at university. Most people go to their lectures and go home again and that's it. No one cares how many people you've slept with, who got with who at who's party and no one really cares about having an established friendship group anymore.
04 // University is Hard. With a capital H. And Lonely. And Boring. With capital Ls and Bs.
Hard from an emotional point of view. Lonely and boring because even though you're surrounded by people, you actually spend 90% of your time holed up in your room Netflix binging. And to some this may sound super appealing, but try doing that for three days at a time when you haven't changed out of your pyjamas or eaten a proper meal in that time either. And while you're definitely surrounded all the time, when it's not by your family, people you've known your entire life and people you're 100% okay with, and nothing is familiar anymore, it can be a lonely, lonely time.
05 // It's not all it's cracked up to be.
It doesn't necessarily mean endless partying or staying out until 7am. In fact I've done that once in my entire first year and I hated it. It's not constantly running around being sociable and having the absolute time of your life. It's presented as the best thing in the world and the best thing you'll ever do, but sometimes it's really not. The days I've spent in bed with Netflix crying on the phone to my mum because I just want to go home are the reality of moving three hours away from home. The freedom you expect doesn't really come and in a way, you still feel like a little kid. There are times when it really does hit me that this is life now, I'm never going to fully live at home again, but there are also times when I'm expecting it to end and everything will go back to normal again. The problem is, normal doesn't really exist.
If you have anything you'd particularly like to add onto this list please feel free to drop a comment below! University can suck and this list did take a slightly negative turn so maybe I'll do another in the future called five good things about university?! 😂
What did you learn in your first year of uni?
Em xx
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