Good, Bad, and The Ugly of Student Life

G is for Good.
There are many different moments in student life, and not all of them are pretty. When you're becoming a new university student, you should always make sure you are prepared for some nasty moments during your life at university. 

Here is a list of some good, bad and ugly moments you might face at university:

Falling out.
Fallouts with friends will happen from time to time, it's best to keep your head up and stay strong. Most of us have experienced this before in life, but it can get a little more stressful during university because there's often pressures of money and work.

A chance to start fresh.
Personally, I think the start of University is a fresh start. New people, new campus, a time to start over. It's refreshing to know that the option for that exists, and it's something a majority of people might not even consider.

All-nighters.
At university, you might have to pull a few all-nighters to meet that deadline you left till last minute. Don't confuse these all-nighters with drunken all-nighters! Almost all uni students will do things like this, and no matter how much the lecturers tell you to do your work earlier.

The best memories of your life.
The best memories of your life will probably happen at the university. You'll make lifelong friends and experience lots of new things.

Hangovers.
As you get a bit older, your body doesn't handle hangovers quite as well as you would when you are 18. The difference between hangovers at 18 and 22 is surprising, at 22 your body reacts very differently and you'll need that hangover cures ready.

Messy kitchens, unclean bedrooms.
It's highly likely that if you move into University accommodation you will move in with students that are a mess. Students with lots of deadlines and going out doesn't make for clean accommodations. Most student accommodation will get inspected from time to time so the owners can make sure it's clean. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this list of things that are good, bad and ugly at uni.

Love,

Will 

Campus: What To Do If You Find Yourself Lost

C is for Campus:

Finding your way around your university campus isn't always easy at first, and when you've moved away to university you might find yourself getting lost a few times! It's okay though, getting lost happens to almost every new student at University. Students often walk into the wrong lectures or lessons, or even struggle to find where their lectures are being held. 

During my first couple of weeks at university, I managed to walk into the wrong lecture. Luckily, it was pitch black and there was a video playing on the projector, so nobody really noticed. But the lecturer stared at me and gave me a "Are you ok?" kind of look. I recall being sat next to a girl and then realising I didn't know anyone in this lecture, so I quickly got up and made a quick escape. In retrospect, I can laugh about this experience, but at the time it was pretty scary!

It isn't even just freshers that can get lost at university, during the third year I accidentally walked past the room my lesson was in and continued to go up 2 floors. I'd already been at the campus for two years, so you'd expect a third year to know the campus inside out? Well, that's not exactly true.  At this point, I was already really late for my lesson, probably about 10 or 15 minutes late. I went back down to the first floor and found my classroom... Every chair was full apart from one seat at the front. I was late and had to take the seat at the front, it made me feel really embarrassed! It's like I could feel everyone behind me staring and thinking "What the hell is he doing?", when I look back on this I realise no one probably cared that I was late, and I worried for no reason.

Students going out into town and getting drunk always causes a few issues because drunken students get lost like no tomorrow. It can be really dangerous, especially if you're new to a town or city, or even with people you don't really know. My university actually printed footsteps onto the pavement that pointed in the direction of the university from town to help students coming back home from a night out find their way home. I thought this was a really clever idea because it explained the direction of the uni from town really clearly. 

To avoid getting yourself into situations like this, it's good to prepare a little. Don't feel afraid to ask someone at your university for directions, many people are always willing to help out. Another thing I found useful was recognising other students in your year group because guaranteed if you're lost you will probably also see another student in your lecture wandering around looking for the room. You can use this as an opportunity to ask if they're looking for the lecture theatre, and you can even make new friends this way! It's quite an odd way to make new friends, but in some situations, it definitely helped me.

If you're coming back home from town on a night out, it sometimes is best to book a well trusted and licenced taxi or Uber. It will cost a few quid that could've been spent on a drink, but it's always better to know you have a safe way of getting yourself home. Universities will often advertise trusted taxi firms and Uber is slowly becoming available in more and more locations across the UK.

Universities always have maps that you can get for free, often you'll find these on open days. It's just good to have a map on you, that way you can refer to your map if you ever find yourself lost. You could even use this map as a reference when you're asking someone for directions. Despite me going on about being safe and prepared for getting lost while at university, remember to have fun and laugh about the silly things like this. It'll probably happen to everyone at Uni at least once, so remember it's okay to not know where your lecture is!

Thanks for reading,

Will

Budgeting as a student (who loves to spend!)

B is for Budget:
Your first student loan is like the best feeling, ever. For the first time in your life, you have a decent amount of actual money in your bank as opposed to the £5 your dad gave you last week or the £150 you've earned from your part-time job and you feel like a proper loaded and you can blow your money on a new games console, a few meals out and the drinks are on you all evening until it's been 5 days and you realise that £300 left in your bank has to last you for the next 3 months and shit well and truly hits the fan. 

Luckily for most of us, the bank of mum and dad will help out, especially during your first year as if our parents or grandparents don't take pity on us, who will, right? But as the terms go on and you end up in the same situation, not something your family are cool with. Then you're left with two options, to curb your spending (boo) or get a part-time job. For most of my time at university, I did have a job that did help to supplement my student loan, but that did missing out on loads of cool stuff as most of it took place on a Saturday night and I was at work the next morning, and I cannot cope with hangovers, like at all. For some of us who have too much work to get a job alongside university or who just like living that 'student life, while they can (don't blame you) here are my top tips for budgeting whilst at university. 

Bulk buy:

It often works out cheaper to buy most things in bulk e.g. pasta which you can share with your housemates and just split these items between you or just keep them for yourself. I mean a 1kg bag of pasta is always handy, especially for someone who basically eats nothing else. When offers are on it's worth purchasing multiple of the items and storing in your room somewhere for later. Tins are always good to stock up on, as so many meals can come out of them, I love to have tined bins and spaghetti at my disposal as they're such an easy meal to make when paired with toast. 

Shop in the reduced section:

At random times of the day, supermarkets reduce items due to go off, this is usually in the evening, and you can get some pretty amazing deals especially with bread and vegetables, I've gone in before and purchased a large number of baked goods for 25p and they're usually good for a few days after it says too. It's also a great time to get food you wouldn't usually be able to afford for a fraction of the price. 

Lidl or Aldi?

When I was at university there was not a Lidl or an Aldi nearby, since being at university a huge Aldi has opened up around 10 minutes away, and I had no idea how cheap the fruit and vegetables are and the fact they sell dupes of loads of brands too, which taste the same! Again for the fraction of the price. With Aldi and Lidl I'd recommend buying a mass amount of cheaper items, making a HUGE meal out of them and then freezing as many pots of it as you can fit in your freezer drawer.

Take advantage of your student discount:

And for those times you really need to treat yourself your student card usually has your back, using sites such as Unidays and Student Beans. With additional bonuses popping up around the year to get even more money off it would be rude not to, right? Plus who doesn't love a discount on takeaway and new shoes?

I would love to hear of any tips you may have for budgeting in the comments!  

Accommodation: Staying at home, moving into halls or living with friends?

A is for Accommodation:
When moving to university most people move into hauls, especially when moving to a new place. As it is difficult to move to a new town or city knowing nobody and also finding somewhere to live. I actually stayed at home whilst going to university in my hometown but being someone who suffers from anxiety I found it easier that way, I do feel like I missed out somewhat moving into halls purely for that 'full' university experience and by that I do mean going out and doing things as a flat, getting exceptionally drink with your friends in one of the kitchens and learning to live alone with a group of people who are also going through the same thing.

I did, however, get to experience the life of living with students when I moved into a student house for the third year, I moved in with some of my boyfriend at the time friends, which for the first few months was amazing, it was like one big party and there was almost always someone around to talk to. It was when the cracks started to appear it became less than appealing, the good turned into the annoying and then turned into a big pile of crap. Treading on eggshells at home is not the one as you constantly feel on edge with the kitchen and the bathroom and any other communal and when anyone had friends over or there were extra people in the house it was so cramped we may as well have been sitting on each others lap. The things we had in common slowly became things we pretended not to like anymore so we didn't have to discuss them and the things we did discuss was that of small awkward talk on the stairs or whilst making a drink, it was never what I thought would happen. If it wasn't for my ex I don't know how I would have made it through the last few months. 

Since living together I only still have one of the people I lived with on social media and that isn't my ex, I would like to say we are still friends but often it doesn't feel that way. As for the rest, we left each other at home when we moved away. Putting things into perspective, spending my first two years of university living at home did save me a LOT of money and as much as you fight with your family, it doesn't feel as awkward and upsetting as it is with your friends. But moving out did give me a sense of freedom I didn't have at home, e.g. partying with friends, random conversations and learning how to survive on your own. With University living arrangements I'd say it's always worth spreading your wings and giving it ago!

Love, 

Olivia