Your first year of university will fly by. Apologies for being all “we’ve been there and done that”, but it will! And there are certain things that every fresher must, and most probably will, go through as a right of passage, before it’s too late!
No one wants to look back at their university years and think, “I wish I’d done that!” and you certainly don’t want to catch a bad case of FOMO.
So we’ve compiled our ultimate Freshers’ Bucket List to help you along your way. So enjoy your Fresher freedom, and enjoy ticking off these activities which are sure to help you form some fond memories from year one of your university experience.
1. Prank your housemates.
You might want to wait a couple of weeks into your first semester until you know them well enough to cover every object in their room with postits…but pranking you fellow student halls dwellers is a 100% must-do. Foil is also an option as a wrapping/covering tool if your housemate leaves their room unlocked and vulnerable. There is also the classic “move your housemate’s furniture out to the car park in an exact replica of their room layout”…although kind of a mouthfull for the big reveal. Or just go straight for the jugular and clingfilm over the toilet seat to give your roomie an unpleasant although warming surprise when they make their morning bathroom visit.
2.Fancy dress.
While it’s still acceptable, you need to go all out in fancy dress as often as you possibly can. Freshers week is a ripe time to bust out your box of feather boas and face paint every night of the week. Then there’s Halloween, Thanksgiving, Beyonce’s birthday, and Christmas to celebrate in all your fancy dress glory. Do not let these opportunities pass you by, or you will regret it.
3.Start a new hobby.
Freshers week will often involve a Freshers fair, and at said Freshers fair there will be a lot of societies trying to lure you in with glitter, (80s society) pompoms, (cheerleading society) and napkins and batons (morris dancing society). Choose your new hobby carefully Fresher, because you may be stuck with it for at least a semester. Morris dancing aside, uni is a perfect time to take up something new and meet new friends. Who knows, you could even become head of a society and go mad on power!
4.Binge on rubbish TV.
This one completely depends on how much time you have in lectures, and/or how well you manage your workload. Students who’ve opted for Literature and also happen to have completed their reading lists before the start of the semester, you will be able to watch every episode of Gossip Girl, The Sopranos and Game of Thrones within the first few weeks. Medics who’re behind on their reading will not find as much time to binge on boxsets. It’s absolutely not an option to ditch the books in favour of House of Cards….absolutely not.
5.Budget your money.
If you’re going to survive the next three years, you need to learn to handle your money. Student loans may not amount to very much, but it needs to last you, so make yourself a weekly budget and try your very best to stick to it! Be realistic about how much you need to spend, and if you need to you can always get a part time job to tide you over!
6. Pull an all nighter.
It’s wholly inevitable that for one night at least, you won’t go to bed. Maybe it will even last a whole weekend, because the party just won’t stop! Another very likely reason for your sleep deprivation could be that an essay deadline comes in a lot quicker than you thought it would, and you have to get well acquainted with the library staff to take advantage of their knowledge of the dewy decimal system. Whether it’s the party or the 24-hour study date, pulling an all nighter is an absolute must-do for your first year of uni.
7.Keep on dancin’
As much as the first year of uni can be one big giant party, there will be those nights when you don’t want it to end. We’re sure you can imagine the scene now: Man in the Mirror is playing, the lights have come up, and the floor is covered in watermelon flavoured alcopops. You look around and suddenly realise that you’re the only person left on the dancefloor…but that’s fine! Just keep dancin’ fresher, we all have to do it once.
8.Go to the shops in your PJs
We all have to be that person at some point unfortunately. There will be those days when the night before the morning after means we just can’t summon the energy to put actual clothes on. However supplies are always needed to get us through these dark times, so to the shops we must go. And what option do we have but to go in our trusty PJs? We may receive some questioning or judgemental looks, but who gives?
9.Go on tour.
Sports club tours are notoriously lairy, and if you decide to tick of this particular task from the bucket list, you might not remember you’ve been away at all. However, you are sure to have an amazing time, and between fun in the sun (hopefully you don’t play ice hockey) you’ll get some good matches in, and have a great laugh with your mates.
10.Wake up in another country.
This final task may be quite a challenge, but it has been done! A quiet trip to the pub can very quickly escalate. A taxi ride, a quicky online booking and a plane ride later and oops! You’re in Helsinki, who knew?! Honestly its easier than it sounds…
So there you have it! Our Freshers’ bucket list, which is bound get you through your first year of university. If you follow our list, you’re sure to have a great time and avoid letting ‘the best years of your life’ go to waste. Mystudenthalls.com
