The Fresh Prince (of Academia)
It’s the first day of my summer holidays and somewhat predictably I’m at work, filling the void that has been created by the end of my first year. However being stood in a forest in rural North Yorkshire allowed me to reflect on the roller coaster experience for me that has been ‘Freshers 08/09’
Going back to September and the night before I left for university, I remember lying in bed thinking, ‘Shit. What if university is a massive letdown?’ Years of listening to fondly told stories of student days from family and friends and my own experiences as a teen visiting my older brother and friends meant I’d had several positive uni experiences. However I took a gap year and experienced a huge level of financial (pre credit crunch) and personal freedom. I remember a nagging thought at the back of my mind: what if uni isn’t all its cracked up to be? Years of being skint, having to get back into a structured regime of work and the social unknown; the enormity of it all hit me.
However my fears, as I’m sure the vast majority of freshers’ were, melted from sight as soon as I donned my first shoddy fancy dress outfit and watched someone else get too drunk for the entertainment of the masses.
Fresher’s week was certainly an experience, one that I will never forget and will remain a pleasant memory. This view I’m fully aware is in contrast to many peoples of fresher’s week, however for every single dog shit conversation about gap years/A levels/where people live and all those tentative yet ultimately doomed friendships with idiots etc there was a fantastic night out to a club you would never ever frequent again, with people you possibly would never ever meet again, all surfing a massive wave of optimism, good will and ultimately innocence. Like a rehabilitated crack addict remembering that first hit, fresher’s week was fantastic, but probably something I wouldn’t do again in retrospect.
The first term rumbled on as the party spirit barely stopping to catch breath, university life in a new city began to settle into place. After moaning about the Harvard referencing system and slowly realising that the guy next door who you thought was great in fresher’s week is a massive dick, uni life really began to take off.
At the risk of sounding like a huge tool, I found friends for life emerged from the many acquaintances id made and the buzz of being surrounded by like and able minded people as well as completely new people, perspectives and experiences made me realise why people rightly rave about university as the best time of their lives.
As if then conforming to every student cliché available, I caught Glandular Fever (from some manky Sheila no doubt) and spent December in bed playing Football Manager feeling sorry for myself and all Christmas holidays catching up on missed work and preparing for my January exams. I find students attitudes to exams fairly amusing despite the fact that I’m guilty of it. We speak of them as if they weren’t originally part of the student deal, a dastardly surprise sprung on us by the university. What we seemingly expected otherwise is a mystery? A game of ‘stuck in the mud’ to gauge academic progress with? Top Trumps against lecturers to sort out the 2:1’s from the 2:2’s? Still at my university first year doesn’t count for anything so I duly aimed for the sky and smashed in the 40% required. Ambition personified.
January saw another mini fresher’s week as students waited for exams to be marked and term to start again, only this time with friends. i.e. people they felt comfortable enough with to go out with, without the inherent danger of floundering and asking what course they do and promptly pretending to sound impressed/interested when they said ‘English’.
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