First of all I’d like to thank Clare who blogs about Geology for this idea, which I am going to unashamedly rip off. I’m hoping she’s not copyrighted it… Because of her coming up with the idea and therefore having the privilege of getting some more general ones in, I’ll try not to repeat them but instead point you to her blog (I’m not going to put a link, just go on ‘Blogs by subject’ then ‘Geology’ and you’re there)
1) Thou shalt at some point realise you have a moot, a tutorial and a debate to prepare for all at the same time. In spite of this you will probably have gone out the night before as well. Thou shalt learn soon enough that thou can only burn the candle at a maximum of both ends, for it hath not 4 to burn. Thankfully after a stressful couple of days you will learn your lesson and get better at time management. Maketh this mistake (for most do) in first term, when its damaging effects are limited and not close to exams.
2) If thou drinks thy (I’m inventing the grammar for these by the way, if you do know your Shakespearean/Jacobean Bible(an) language I apologise) shalt have a night where thy realises vodka is an evil drink which has left you feeling like death’s own hangover. If thou doest not drink due to either religious reasons or being sensible, thou shalt have a most hilarious time watching this realisation dawn upon thy friends.
3) Thou shalt learn that trainee solicitors at law firms the length and breadth of the country, in spite of having a REAL job in the ADULT world, were just like you very recently and after cocktail evenings, at which you will have showered them in platitudes about their incredible wit, beauty and intelligence in the hope of impressing, will be desperate to see the new SU and talk in loving tones about the nights they spent in its ‘more characterful’ predecessor whilst at Leicester.
New SU. Less ‘character’, rose tinted glasses come to mind…
4) Thou shalt be slightly amazed at all the ‘old’ people who suddenly materialise at Shabang on a Friday night having been unsighted at any of the weekday club nights. These are the second and third years who spent the week paying homage to David Wilson (he who most benevolently spent a quite staggering amount of money giving us a lovely, shiny new library). Third years are to be differentiated from second years by their look of surprise and delirious excitement to be outside of a working environment.
P.S Exaggeration is being used here, you will not go out every night as a Fresher (unless you actively want to fail your degree) nor will you be locked away in second and third years, in fact most second and third years are just as capable of social interaction as Freshers!
The Library, genuinely really nice place to work, though blue skies are not always included.
5) Thou shalt do Learning Legal Skills as a first module and think ‘this degree lark’s a doddle’. This shalt not persist, when you get stuck into the intricacies of Juducial Review you will realise there is actually quite a lot of thinking involved.
6) Thou shalt hear Second years making jokes which end with ‘…Land Law’ and then laughing hollowly in the Law computer cluster. I have not experienced Land yet but it does seem to invoke some pain, having said that most people do fine in the end and probably just want something to moan about.
7) Thou shalt look on askance when your friends on certain other essay based courses (naming no names) complain about their workload. Thou shalt also learn that a medic/physicist is not a good person to complain about your couple of 9 AMs a week around.
8) Thou shalt marvel that you used to regularly get up at what seems like a most unholy hour (anything before 8) for school. Thou shalt also learn that it is about as quick to walk from Oadby to campus for a 9 AM as it is to queue for and catch the bus. However, you will otherwise use said bus constantly, sometimes as many as 5 or 6 journeys a day.
9) Thou shalt gradually learn which societies thou prefers having eagerly signed up to many at Freshers’ Fair.
Hint: If you really enjoyed something at home for nigh on a decade, notably sports where you can feel smug by slotting straight into the Firsts due to your years of previous practice, you will probably still like it more than most alternatives whilst at uni. Conversely if you have no really serious previous hobbies trial loads of societies and find a new one (odds are there’s one for you out of this lot http://leicesterunion.com/clubs), rather than making it ‘aimless Internet surfing’ or ‘Republic every single week’, neither of which will be particularly fulfilling nor impress potential employers….
10) Thou Freshers’ year shall pass in what seemeth like the blink of an eye. However, I am not ending on a downer, I add that it will also probably be one of the best of thy life. And you’ve still got two left at Uni!
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