Is Freshers really all it’s cracked up to be? Jack Parker┬álooks at what you should be getting up to in your first few weeks at Uni.
The maintenance loan is in, everybody is rich and free from parental restraint and thereÔÇÖs a big city with cheap bars and sticky dance floors waiting to be explored. ItÔÇÖs supposed to be the best week of your life, dancing and flirting into the early hours of the morning before sleeping off the hangover and starting the next cycle of pre-drinks alongside breakfast in front of repeats of Jeremy Kyle. Welcome to Cardiff.
Unfortunately, the reality isnÔÇÖt that simple. Freshers also has awkward moments as you gain your bearings and endure repetitive introductions. You may as well invest in a T-shirt emblazoned with your name, degree subject and hometown. ItÔÇÖs what everybody asks for first. Drinking opportunities are plentiful for those interested, primarily in the miniature kitchens of your flat or in the Students’ Union, the obvious place to start exploring.
The Freshers experience will be different for everyone. You may have friends from school who have decided to study here too, whilst others will find themselves surrounded by strangers and people with whom you simply have nothing in common with. Regardless of your situation, donÔÇÖt worry about it. Be polite, go with the flow and, if in doubt, just carry on asking everybody what degree theyÔÇÖre doing and where they came from.
Regardless of your night time experiences, the real opportunities take place during those mysterious hours between sunrise and sunset. During your first couple of weeks here, there will be stalls and events put on to advertise sports clubs, societies, student media, volunteering, student politics and more. If you want the full university experience over the next few years then you should attend every event, chat at every stall and try everything. Although there will be some introductory lectures and degree-related meetings to attend consider these an inconvenience and donÔÇÖt worry about homework or revision for the first few weeks of university. If you need an academic justification, remember that youÔÇÖll need more than just a degree to get a good job once you leave here.
With the extra-curricular stuff on offer, you can write for newspapers, play a variety of sports, organise and attend events and competitions, have dinner with world-famous politicians and academics, have your own radio show, travel the world at a subsidised rate, teach children and work for charity, create films and learn how to destroy your friends through the power of debate. You can grow vegetables on the grass at the front of the Union or you can hop on a bus and protest in London against the changing face of our education system. Those are just some examples; with hundreds of student groups out there, nobody really knows the full scale of whatÔÇÖs on offer. As an added bonus, you will share these experiences whilst making friends and forging relationships that will last a lifetime.
Although these opportunities will technically always be there, Freshers is the best time to get stuck in, before lectures start and when societies and clubs are geared up and ready for new members with their sparkling introductions, initiations and stalls full of cakes and free things. The trick with everything is to say “yes” to whatever looks vaguely interesting. ItÔÇÖs better to join 10 things and drop out when you get too busy than to get halfway through the year realising that most nights still consist of sitting around in your flat.
If youÔÇÖre new to Cardiff and you have time to explore, the city has a variety of daytime attractions. ItÔÇÖs little known that students of Cardiff University can visit Cardiff Castle for free, for example; the museum just down the road from the Union is also free admission and thereÔÇÖs an array of theatres, cinemas and restaurants with generous student discounts. If the weatherÔÇÖs nice, Bute Park is the perfect place to relax or you can jump on the long blue buses from the city centre to get to Cardiff Bay.
Remember that there are thousands of new students joining you in September this year and over the next three years or longer you will most likely meet hundreds of them. Freshers fortnight is exciting and you should relax and enjoy it. However, it is in no way a proper introduction to the actual university experience, nor is this week a test of how well you fit in here. Your time in Cardiff will be defined by the clubs, groups and societies you join, the friendships you choose to pursue and the opportunities that you grasp with your new found independence. ItÔÇÖs up to you to create your own university experience and to enjoy it while it lasts. Good luck!
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