Mythbusting Uni Fears

I’ve just been reading through the University Discussion forums on the student room and a few common worries have arisen, and they’re ones I experienced last year and ones that people have been experiencing for years and years, so I guess it’s time to maybe bust a few myths and quell a few fears about starting university!

 

Myth: Everyone drinks alcohol all the time – I don’t drink at all/very much, I’m going to be left out!

Wrong! I was worried about this at first – I like a drink now and then, and there have been a couple of times where I’ve gone a little crazy, done shots and Jaegerbombs and had a really good night (although a not-so-great morning after!), but I don’t drink very much – especially not in comparison to my flatmates, who go out to Chester drinking. There haven’t been any huge issues, I haven’t felt particularly pressured into getting wasted and I’ve made friends who don’t enjoy drinking as much. If you do drink lots/hardly drink/don’t drink at all/drink on occasion/ whatever, you won’t be alone! 

 

Myth: I’m being left in control of money for the first time, I’m going to spend everything and then starve AAAARGH!

Wrong – if you budget right! Stick to your budget, and don’t count on your parents/hardship grants to bail you out unless you absolutely need to. This is probably your first taste of independence; you may as well use it wisely rather than wasting it by just proving you can’t handle money. Shop at budget shops – if the thought of buying stuff from B&M Bargains or Discount UK (they’re brilliant but some people just can’t bring themselves to shop there for some reason), go for ALDI – or at least ASDA Smartprice/Tesco Value ranges. There’s no point trying to buy branded stuff when you’re on a student budget; it’ll just waste money. If there is a particular brand or two that you can’t live without and can’t abide the smartprice substitutes, then by all means go for it – mine are Super Noodles, I’m yet to find a worthy substitute – but make sure you buy everything else wisely. Tins in bulk, fresh food sparingly. 

Another money tip – if you can get a part-time job, go for it. The hours on my course make it quite difficult to get a part-time job, because I really want to do well on this course, but I’m planning on working in the summer instead. When you’re going out drinking, be wise – don’t flash the cash and offer to buy everyone’s drinks. Pre-drinking is a godsend, it’ll save you so much money! Limit how often you go out – once or twice a week is probably best, because you’ve still got a chance to let your hair down, but you’re not wasting all your money on alcohol. If you smoke, now might be a good time to start cutting down – one thing I’ve noticed from my friends who smoke is that it seriously eats into their budget. 

 

Myth: I’m not going to make friends, everyone will hate me!

Wrong – as long as you don’t cut yourself off. I was so worried I wasn’t going to make friends, but I got really involved in my course, I’ve attempted to join societies (the one main society I wanted to join hasn’t properly started yet though!), I’ve been out a fair few times, and I’ve made friends quite quickly. My closest friends are my coursemates, and that seems to be the case for most of the people I know here at uni. You won’t be without friends unless you never say hello to people!

 

Myth: I can’t cook, I’m going to starve/poison myself/set fire to the building!

Wrong (again, if you do things right!). I don’t know how to cook – or at least, I didn’t when I started uni. I couldn’t even turn the cooker on at home (it’s a gas cooker and I’m scared of ‘splodey things, ok? Give me a break!). I now cook for myself every night, and I’m not just surviving off instant noodles and microwave meals. Since starting uni, I think I’ve had no more than two ready meals in the microwave – the rest of the time, I have been cooking for myself. 

Obviously pasta is a staple, but you’ll get bored of it if you just eat pasta every night. Mixing it up – bolognese, cheese, different sauces etc – helps, but you’re still going to get bored of pasta very quick. Avoid most student cookbooks – they’re ridiculous, you’re not going to be cooking cordon bleu on a student budget, and I have never gotten home from a full day of lectures to think “Hmm, I really fancy spending an hour whipping up some Moroccan spiced lamb mince with couscous, or maybe some sausage ragu & spinach pasta bake” (however, if you DO get home from your lectures and fancy that, the recipes are here – http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/favourites/student/ ). You’re going to get home and want something quick and easy. 

I’m going to do a full-on post about student cooking soon, but for now, here’s my basic tips – cook portions in advance and freeze. Oven chips and fish fingers/chicken nuggets is not a crime. Home-made mash potato is easy and a tasty alternative to chips. Tinned food will be your friend. 

 

Myth: I won’t be able to see or speak to my parents/siblings/old friends/dog/cat/hamster/ cornsnake/teddy bear/pet rock until the holidays, I’ll miss them so much! 

This one is neither right nor wrong. The amount people miss their families really does vary – some feel really homesick, others love being away and never even think of their families when they’re away. I’m in the middle but I lean more towards homesick, I miss my family and my dog and my fiance (in no particular order, before people start making comments!) so much, but I don’t let it take over my life – I visit home fairly often. 

Skype/Facebook video calling/whatever video calling service you use is a godsend. I talk to my fiance over Facebook video chat a lot, and I had a lovely Skype call with my family (and my dog, who didn’t seem to realize that I was on the laptop and not in the house when I was calling her, so she was staring at the door waiting for me to walk in, bless her little woolly socks) the other day. Chances are, you will miss your family, especially at first, but it gets easier. Uni is a great experience because it is those first baby steps towards independence. Some people hate it, others thrive on it, most seem to fall into a middle ground, but don’t worry about it wherever you fit on that spectrum – there’s nothing to be ashamed of! 

 

I think that’s it for now – those were the main ones that came up, and obviously I can only speak from my own experience – don’t go all keyboard warrior on me in the comments with “Actually for me it was different”; I’m just going on what I’ve experienced. If you have any other questions – any worries you’d like me to iron out etc – just pop your question in the comments box and I’ll either reply straight away or make another post if there are enough questions to warrant it 🙂 

**** Just Got Real.

So… three weeks today, I go to university. I move away from home three weeks today, to a new place with new people and new experiences. I’m excited, don’t get me wrong – I can’t wait to meet new people, and the thought of independence is exciting – but it’s also really scary. I’m in the same town for uni where I was in hospital back in April, and I think a lot of my fears stem from the fact that I was so aware of how far away everyone was from me when I was up there. I think I need to remind myself that in April, I was in hospital – I was poorly, I didn’t want to be there and I didn’t have a choice about it. In this case, I’ve made the choice to go to university, I can visit home whenever I want, I can easily chat to my family on Skype or Facebook and I’ll be having fun – I won’t be ill (save for the Freshers Flu, which I’m bound to end up with), and I’ll be with new friends.

I think this will only get more nervewracking in the next three weeks. Looking at my bedroom, with the pile of bags and boxes ready for uni, only serves to remind me of just how soon it is. I’ve got loads of stuff ready – pillows and sheets, boxes and decorations and towels and bathroom stuff – so I know that physically, I’m pretty prepared. The question is, am I prepared mentally? I’m looking forwards to the course – my best friend from college is doing the exact same course as me, so I know that friends won’t be too much of an issue. I also know that I got great results at A Level, so I’m ready for it. I’m looking forwards to meeting the people who’ll be in my flat – I’ve already spoken to some of them on Facebook, so I’m looking forward to actually meeting them. I’m looking forward to parties, to nights in with pizza and films, to living independently and shopping for myself and cleaning up after myself.

I’m dreading leaving my family behind.

I’m so scared that my fiance will get sick of me being away, and I’ll get home to find out he’s with someone else. I’m terrified that my dog won’t recognise me when I go home. I’m scared of being away from my family, purely because I’ve never been away from them for so long. It’ll be nice to challenge myself, to live on my own without my parents there to correct me before I go wrong, but that doesn’t make it any less scary. I’m worried I’ll be really homesick and end up shutting myself away and not make any new friends. I’m worried that people will think I’ve changed since I’ve been at uni. I’m worried because I’ll miss my fiance so much – he’s everything to me, and I hate the thought of being so far away from him. It’s not a huge distance – people continue relationships across continents – but for me, it’ll seem massive, because I’m so used to being so conveniently close to him.

So, in short, the feelings are a bit mixed at the moment. Excitement and fear are having a bit of a battle, and I’m not sure who’s going to win. All I can do is hope that by the time I’m settled in at uni, all my fears will be gone, replaced with excitement for what’s bound to be a great year – and as many chances to go back and visit my family (and yes, I do include my fiance in that) as often as possible.

I’M GOING TO HOGWARTS! or, the dinosaur-related benefits of en-suite accommodation.

I’m so excited for going to university! It’s getting quite close now – I know I’ve got to get through my exams, and the anxious wait for results day, but it’s still about five months until I fly the nest, so to speak, and head off on my next great adventure, university! I went for an open day on Saturday and it was wonderful – everything about it is brilliant. I had an informal interview with one of the lecturers, who was really nice and put me at ease, it looks like I’m going to get some extra money for doing a couple of modules in Welsh, and I know what accommodation I want and everything! Best of all, I’M GOING TO FREAKING HOGWARTS. 

*ahem*. Sorry. That was my Harry-Potter-Fangirl side coming through there. I’m over it now. I’m so not over it Anyway, back to the subject. University. Eek!

I’m glad I’ve picked one that isn’t too far from home. I know how important it is to get a bit of independence when you go to university, but I can’t deny the fact that I am a homebird, and I have a lot of things at home that nothing will ever make me give up – a wonderful boyfriend and an amazing family. No matter how much I enjoy university or what’s going on, nothing’s going to keep me away from them, and I’ll be spending as much time as I possibly can with them. It’s not too far from where I live now, and I’ll still get my lovely views over the sea – a slightly different sea, admittedly, as I have a view of the Irish sea and up there I’ll be seeing the Menai Straits – but it’s still the sea and I’d miss my views too much if I didn’t have them. I hope my accommodation will be able to see the straits or I’ll be very tempted to commute every day from home so I can keep my lovely views 😛

There’s so many exciting things about getting ready to go to uni. I’ve finally decided that I am going for en-suite bathrooms, because I can afford it and it’ll be worth it for that little extra comfort and privacy, as well as the fact that the security is quite good, the building is a lot nicer than the old, shared accommodation (apparently it used to be an asylum, so I’d imagine it might not be too pleasant at night, particularly if you’re prone to bouts of paranoia like I am!) and everything about it sounds pretty good. The downside of going into en-suite does mean that there’s more stuff to buy for the bathroom, and I have to clean it myself, but everyone has to learn at some point, and it’s better to have to do it now than later! Plus, it gives me a chance to have a dinosaur themed bathroom as well as a bedroom (I wanted llama, but so far the only llama products I’ve been able to find were ones made out of llama, which (being a llama lover), is not what I wanted at all and actually made me die a little inside), which is always good!

So, here I am, ready to take on the world (or rather, university) and all it has to throw at me (as long as I can go back and see my boyfriend and family as often as possible). All I have to do now is get the grades….