The student coming of age in 10 steps.

As we students at Swansea University near the second week of 'Freshers', I cannot help but look back on my Freshers' week with fond memories that are, although blurred in some places, generally good. Last year, I drank my liver into a state of shock, fell over on some cobbles in shockingly high heels and drank so many shots of sambuca that I succeeded in getting completely hammered in a mere fifteen minutes. Personally, I think that's a world record. 

 I have tried my best this past week to go out whenever possible - I even went out on Thursday after being struck down by Fresher's Flu the very same day - (if you aren't sure what that is, you'll know soon enough.) Recreating the feeling of being a Fresher is pretty much impossible, and while I love going out and getting drunk as much as the next student, it doesn't really have the same glamour to it as when you are a Fresher.

In America, it's called 'Orientation Week', or 'Freshman Week.' Australians call them 'First years', which is straight and simply to the point. New Zealanders call them 'Freshies', which I think I'm going to adopt as my reference to them too. It's much better than my romantically starved friends and I calling them 'Fresh meat'. We are Shakespeare's in the making.

Everywhere you look, 'Freshies' are going to be referred to as something different. Whether they are Freshmen, First years, Freshies or Freshers', there are certain rites of passage, if you will, that remain the same for all first year university students the world over. Things that every student will go through at least once if not in their first year, then the two years following and, if you're anything like the infamous few at Swansea University who have been around since it opened, for the rest of their lives.

1. Freshers Fayre madness

From cheerleading to reading poetry, Skyrim appreciation to football, there are clubs and societies for excited students to join for pretty much anything you could possibly imagine, and a whole load more. This year, a Hogwarts society joined the ranks of Swansea, (much to my delight) and apparently, they've been raking in the freshers'. I mean it when I say that there is a society for everyone. At the fayre, they'll all be after some 'fresh meat'... or refresher meat - putting pens in your pockets, giving you mugs for advertisement, taking your phone numbers and email addresses, begging for you to come to socials and generally bragging that their society is the best thing since sliced bread. This is all done in the vain hope that you'll spend your student loan signing up.

If it's money that they're after, hold out a little bit. I always find that the athletic societies tend to be more at ease with bleeding you dry but, it is worth it to shed all those pounds and get involved in some initiations that will make you cringe in years to come. There's no rush to sign up, but take all the free things that you can! Freshers' fayre is one massive orgy of free things - completely worth going to.

2. All the pub crawls and dressing up like tools.

Pub crawls and dressing up are possibly the most unoriginal ideas that student parents have about the questionable activities that their children are up too whilst living away from home. The reason for all the cliched ideas is that students generally do go on lots and lots of pub crawls and wear lots and lots of fancy dress. For the lolz - naturally. 

Last night, I swear to God that I saw some Freshers' dressed up as Dalmatians. I really want to say that they were celebrating how awesome dogs are or something but, alas, no. It was purely for the lolz - absolute legends already.

Oh and mother, father, Nan and other family relations - look away. NOW.

NOTE: Make sure you have sorted your Facebook security settings so that the photos of your goings on will never ever ever make it back to your parents. For some reason, seeing your child down a shot or five of tequila upsets some parents. Goodness knows why.

Steph and I - I'm the one looking like a complete tool

3. Your details

During Freshers' week and beyond, you will discover that there is a list of sacred facts that students list off to each other. This ensures that you can befriend anyone. Your name, course and hometown usually do the trick, though if you are destined to be more than 'freshers' friends', the conversation may expand to where you are currently living and if you'd like a free drink. They might even ask for your number. Only give your phone number to people you expect to see again after that night. I have learnt this the hard way.

4. Learning that what happens in Freshers' week, stays in Freshers' week

Parents - look away NOW.

Flings and other acts of drunken futility are the stuff of the Freshers' experience. Above getting a degree, moving into a new house and the nights out, there is one thing that most students are looking forward to when they get to university. Everyone hopes that they can meet a nice young lady/man to schmooze in the students' union or local pubs and clubs, of course, with a little alcohol to fuel a testosterone filled system.

All that testosterone in the air fuels the excitement, the dancing, the alcohol and, well, the kissing that usual happens before the name knowing bit. Obviously, people try to do it as discreetly as possible, but all the alcohol often means that everything gets a bit muddled up. Anyways , just try to adopt the tactic of smiling in the face of your embarrassment to your new flatmates and, of course, to the person you kissed. Not that I would know, but apparently, it works.

5. Getting 'carparked' and calling all your friends from home.

You moved into your new 'home' approximately 48 hours ago, and yet, you have the urge to call up all your friends from your previous life and tell them how much you love them, miss them and how much fun you are having being constantly drunk and living off cheese and toast. After you have a drink or ten in you, the urge is impossible to resist.

It'll be the usual spiel - making promises to visit each other, telling them about your new friends, discussing how long ago school seems like and blah blah blah. It doesn't sound particularly interesting, but if you're anything like my friends and I, these conversations can last hours.

Plus, the likelihood is that they've also had a fair few drinks and will be drunkenly screaming the same things back at you, which means double excitement. YAY!

Any Swansea students wanna guess where this is?

6. Drink more alcohol than you have consumed food... in your lifetime.

Once upon a time, when I was in my first year, I decided to mix some alcohol to make a special kind of 'cocktail' which all students will happen upon at one point. This, my friends, is called the 'dirty pint' and is only drunk on your birthday or on a dare.  The rule is to always finish it off with a dash of blackcurrant or cranberry to make it look less menacing.

It tastes vile to be perfectly honest. It destroys your insides completely. It stains your lips and tongue for a good few days. But, it's cheap, it'll get you nice and drunk and well, you only live once right?  

7. Freshers' Flu

Ah Freshers' flu - a name that fills students with fear. Around 90% of students are struck down with the illness in their first week of university, including symptoms of headache, coughing, sore throat, fever and some general discomfort. Unfortunately, there's only so much alcohol abuse that the human body can stand. One week of solid drinking, sleeping and eating kebabs will leave you yearning to be back at home in bed with some soup courtesy of your mum.

It's all about timing really. Time is well and you'll be in full health, all excited and shiny faced for your lectures the next week. And if not... are lectures really that important?

Well... yeah but... you get my drift.

8. Challenge someone more experienced than you to a drinking game

This year, I have noticed that many second years, (like myself), seem horrified at the thought of being seen as a Fresher, which is down to one simple factor - we don't want to participate in drinking games with our already severely damaged livers. Being in your first year means that you discover a whole host of interesting, new and exciting things about yourself. For most, that means finding out that you're an 'expert' in a whole host of drinking games - from blackjack to ring of fire, you are a pro. Well, you are according to yourself anyway.

Courtesy of Student Beans 

Truth is, you aren't. Challenge any masters or third year student to a drinking challenge and well, you'll pretty much get your arse kicked. Losing games is never fun and often, the result is downing a pint of Strongbow or Guinness. So yeah, good luck with that.

9. Stand outside your new halls at 4am after a fire alarm

I lived on campus last year and I am not lying when I say that there were around 3 to 4 fire alarms a month. We only had one legitimate fire in the duration of the year. And even that was just a bit of smoke after someone burned their oven chips. Seriously, who makes oven chips at 5am?

The likelihood of that happening to you is up in the top ten. With drunken students cooking at all hours and student smokers who think that they can get away with having a cigarette hanging out their bedroom window is more often than not the case of the fire alarm going off.

It's a good way to bond with your flatmates though - complaining about how cold it is in your pyjamas, watching drunken students try to get into their room while campus security try to stop them and expressing how pissed off you are at whoever set it off makes for interesting conversation beyond 2am. Honest!

The Guardian have actually made my day with putting this picture online. YAY!

10. Traffic cones and shopping trolleys

It's what most people expect from students these days and with good reason. No word of a lie, I have honestly pushed my boyfriend around the students' union in a shopping trolley before. Which is a feat in itself, given how athletically challenged I am... Personally, I've never accessorised my outfit with a cone, but I have known several people to bring one home with them when finding partner for the evening fails. I suppose it makes a nice change to cwtch up to a plastic cone for comfort. All in all, it's what we're expected to do. Let's not let the masses down...

If that's all, I'm off to find a traffic cone to put on my head. God knows that you need to do something at least once in your lifetime, (especially if it's free),  and hey, lectures don't start until next Monday. I have another 48 hours of freedom before I am plunged back into this thing called 'work'. Urgh. Until then, enjoy the remaining days of Freshers' before I get all serious again with my 'degree'. Who knows - I might just not fail it if I accept that I am no longer a fresher.

10 reasons to go to university

Just the other day, I ran into someone I used to go to school with. You know the kind of person I'm talking about - the one you haven't seen since your last toy day in Junior School, not because they moved, but because you've spent the rest of your days avoiding them. The one who you always disliked for no damn good reason, and the one who you hoped would just go to college or Zimbabwe already. Anyways, I hadn't seen this person since starting at university, so we had a nice chat, witty repartee and an awkward silence when I was inevitably asked: "So what are you doing with yourself these days?"

Make no mistake that the awed silence I was hoping for did not follow my response that I am studying a BA in History at Swansea University. She looked at me with a look of disbelief, and began ranting about her own life in college. Not one question about university. Absolutely zilch. I should've at least thought she'd ask me about my life as a student or why I decided to study at university but nothing. And so, I've decided to give her an answer, (despite the fact that she didn't want one), on why I'm at university and why most people probably should be too.

So, why should students go to university? Let's start with the off putting facts.

In the beginning, it will probably be awful, I'm not going to lie. It will seem like you have gone back in time to the very first day of school as you cry for your mother, stop caring what you look like when you go outdoors and begin to wear your backpack on both shoulders all over again. You will start believing that dancing in the rain is a legitimate activity and you will find yourself being greeted all over campus, while you wonder who the hell just said hello to you. Exactly like nursery, you will soon realise how necessary snack time is, start crossing the street without looking for cars, realise how important daily naps are and you will never eat any of the healthy food that you are supposed to eat. I suppose that I'm making it sound slightly of chronic, but there is a plus side to all this 'growing up'. (Oh ignore the irony.)

 This may all sound repulsive to the average incoming fresher but, believe me, you will soon forget your classmates names and pine for letters from your parents. The amount of times I have woken at half eight, pulled on a pair of jeans and a hoodie over my pyjama top, is far too many to count. I find that this applies to the fortunate few who live on campus rather than a house several miles away.

Knowing you have finally settled into university life is marked by certain milestones which are usually achieved throughout the first year; You'll find yourself walking at least two miles for a party, wearing dirty socks three times in a row, (and thinking nothing of it),  going to sleep when it's light and waking up when it's dark and looking out the window as a form of entertainment. You will know the pizza boy by name. You'll rather clean than study (isn't that weird??) and suddenly, rearranging your room becomes a new hobby. Having a phone in your bedroom means prank phone calls, you start scheduling your classes around sleep habits and shows and you realise that the weekend lasts from Thursday to Sunday.

After all that, if you're still determined to go, here are the reasons why being a student is just plain awesome.

1. You can make your A-levels a horrible memory

It seems bizarre, but I found that the best way to move on from A-level results days was realising that I was soon venturing into the big bad world of university. When you're at university, nobody actually cares how you did in your exams. You were smart in Secondary School, so what? There are more interesting things to talk about, like who threw up all over that girl they fancy last night after having 10 shots or the winning strategies of the lottery.

2.You'll actually be interested in what you're learning

At school, you have no say in what you get to learn but at university, you do. Studying History, I choose what eras I want to study. You don't even have to stick to the parameters of your course - I'm taking a module in media studies this year. Just for the lols.

3. Cash

When we consider the long term effects of going to university, you can't deny that there are a few benefits. You're much more likely to be living it large one day. The average graduate this year earns a salary that starts at £26,000. That's 4% more than graduates were earning in 2009. Realistically, there's not really been a better time to study a degree.

4. The wonderful benefits you can bring to your country

The UK is, let's be honest, slightly deprived of skills, and is in desperate need of highly educated people. And university, well, it educates people... highly. So, by studying at university, you can tell all your distant relatives who have taken a sudden interest in their soon-to-be graduate relation, that you're working for Britain.  Of course, don't let it slip that working means sleeping all day, dossing around and bringing severe damage to your liver. Which leads nicely to my next point.

Time to doss around! 

5. It's the one chance you get to doss around.

If you're one of THOSE people who thinks that the benefits of leaving education and launching yourself into full time work is better than the student lifestyle, think again. Admittedly, the average wage that young people and students earn isn't all that, (and that's if you can even find a job), but weigh that against our way of life.  It  is a rare moment in my life when anyone in my flat is awake before 9am. The average boss wouldn't allow you to put your feet up at half past nine every morning to watch Jeremy Kyle, never mind the benefits of 1:25pm and 2:15pm viewings, which is a necessity if you, like me, are not awake until past midday.

6. Tell me what else you're going to do?

No, seriously. Without a degree, finding a good and well-paid job is tough. All your student friends will be calling you at 1am from a far, honouring you with drunken texts declaring their love for you and telling you how much fun they're having. You'll still be living at home. You'll still be living with your parents. You'll still have a curfew. And you'll be constantly nagged by family members to apply to university already. You might as well bite the bullet, and get going.

7. Remember, it's never too late.

You don't necessarily have to be fresh out of school to be able to cash in on a student loan and go to university.  I know people on my course at university who are nearing their thirties, (and doing a much better job than me at passing their degrees.) One of my friends took a gap year last year to doss around and travel. It's never ever too late to get educated.

8. Getting to meet people

The first day of moving into your brand new accommodation is one of the most exciting and scary days that you'll ever experience. Sharing accommodation with dozens of teenagers is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The kitchens will become rat-ridden, the sink will be piled high with moldy plates and cups and there will be arguments about borrowed milk or bread, but, you will make amazing lifelong friends.  You'll learn how to do magical things called cooking, budgeting and being independent. And it's actually fun, especially when you're surrounded by like-minded people to either sympathise with you or to laugh at when things go wrong. 

Plus, you have the most incredible times with these people. I particularly remember having a high speed chase with my friends in our flatmates car during a fire alarm at around four in the morning, where we bought skittles from a petrol station, drove along deserted roads and got followed by a mysterious person in a blue car. It was scary at the time, but we can now look back on it and laugh.

9. You'll have crazy experiences that you can't find anywhere else.

Since being at university, I've joined the student newspaper, History society, photography society, media society, French society... So maybe I haven't been involved with all of them, but that's just because I've been making friends, working and watching Jeremy Kyle. I've made last minute decisions to sign up to societies that I know I wouldn't be able to be a part of in a million years, like Cheerleading or vegetable appreciation groups. I've stayed up chatting until dawn and won an award for writing an article about prostitutes. (Don't ask.) I've stayed in clubs until closing time and even had conversations with hobos at 4am. Student life will offer you opportunities that go way beyond education.

10. There's a very small chance that you'll 'go down in history.'

(Check out this link to prove that! ---> Celebrities that went to college )

By the time that you graduate, it may turn out that your course has inspired you into new found greatness. It's the ultimate reason to go to university: spending three years meeting new people, enjoying yourself and figuring out who you are might push you to work out what it is you want to do with your life.

So, if I were you, I'd go for it. There are another good few reasons not to give it a go but, that's for another discussion. If you're going to university this year, good luck! And if not, well, good luck for when you do decide to go.