My University Family

   Looking at how settled I am to university life now, it's crazy to think that I was so scared at the original prospect of moving away from home and making new friends. The friends I made on the first night are still my friends now, and we've gotten so close over the past few weeks. They genuinely make me so so happy and I'm so grateful to have met them.
   We've become like a family, and I honestly would class them as my lil university family! We spend so much time together, and starting lectures has been a shock to us all as we can't be together 24/7 anymore! We're always up for chilling together on an evening, and some days we'll cook a massive meal for us all to share, or just cook our own food and sit round the table together. We've all become a bit obsessed with Come Dine With Me too, it's all we ever seem to watch! Predrinks are definitely the best thing we do together though. We all egg each other on and just have a laugh together as we're all so comfortable around each other. We're also all willing to look after one another and we always have each other's backs and are looking out for one another. I honestly can't imagine what university would be like if I was friends with different people, I've definitely got the best friends and the best flat block anyone could ask for! They've made university so much more enjoyable and for that I will always be eternally grateful.
   Whilst at university it is inevitable that you will lose a few of your friends from back home as they get swept away in university life and a city atmosphere. However, you may be lucky enough, like me, to have managed to avoid that so far. My main advice is to try not to force any friendships. You may really want to stay friends with them, but you're just going to get more and more upset the more you text and ring them, and the more they don't reply. Once the first few weeks or months have settled down it is more than likely they'll see the errors of their ways and come crawling back begging you to be friends with them again, at which point it's really up to you as to whether or not you're willing to give them another chance. The main thing to remember is that you are going to be making new friends at university, and you will probably become a lot closer to them than many of your home friends as you'll be seeing them nearly everyday for the next three years! University will prove to you who your true friends are, as those who want to stay in touch with you will, and you'll make some amazing new friendships along the way.

New Experiences

One of my favourite things about university is the new experiences I get to enjoy, some due to my friends likes and interests, whilst others are purely because I have to.

Public Transport
Public transport is definitely not a new experience I'm enjoying. I hate buses. Like seriously hate them. Although most of the buses tend to be on time, and we get them for free as students, it's always the day it's raining that they turn up late and leave me looking like a drowned rat. Plus, they're always packed as there are so many students trying to get around Manchester! Therefore, you never get a seat and always end up falling into one another whenever the bus stops and starts, no matter how hard you try to stay grounded. When seats eventually become available it's like a pack of dogs as everyone jumps over each other to get to it first.

Blue Mist
Having grown up in Manchester, Inzy knows his way around best out of all of us, and decided one evening to take us to to Blue Mist, his favourite shisha bar. Having never had shisha before I was a bit wary, but I ended up really enjoying myself! The atmosphere there was just so relaxed, we spent about 4 hours there the first time we went just having a laugh all together, and it proved that you don't need alcohol to have a good time, you just need the right people. We've gone quite a few times over freshers, and I know we'll continue to once we've all started our courses.

Food Shopping

   Today I finally decided that instead of running to the Spar every couple of days to get ready meals to put in the freezer, I should be sensible and go on a proper food shop so I can actually cook for myself. Therefore, I went on a trip to Aldi to do a large scale food shop, and I'm rather pleased with how it went!
   I rarely go to Aldi at home, as our family's nearest shop is Tesco, yet I know as a student Tesco will be too expensive to shop in all the time. It's safe to say I was surprised at how cheap the food in Aldi is! Now I just need to hope that the food is of decent quality... However, seeing as Aldi is a large chain I'm sure it won't disappoint me. My total shop came to £19.72, and I bought two whole bags full! I decided it's time to be healthy and cook decent meals for myself, so I bought plenty of meat and fish that can obviously be frozen and will enable me to expand my cooking skills and cook an array of different dishes. I also stocked up on non-perishable food such as Ryvita and pasta, so that when I decide I want some comfort food I have something to turn to.
   I'm proud of myself for realising that with the amount of things I have to do for university and everything that's going on around me, I can't run on rubbish food, and that I actually need vegetables and protein. My family and friends stocked me up on cookbooks before I left for uni, so I have plenty of recipes that I'm excited to try out and hopefully I'll be able to avoid giving anyone food poisoning!

Induction Week

   Despite the fact that we treated this as a second week of freshers and went out every night, this week we had a few lectures to go to to give us all an insight into our courses and a chance to meet the other students on our course and our tutors. Abi, Inzy and I are all doing Broadcast Journalism, and so we were able to get the bus to MediaCity together.
   Induction week wasn't actually as useful as I had been expecting. The lectures were only an hour long and I didn't actually learn much about what I should expect from my course. However, it was beneficial to see who else I would be in lectures with, making Monday a bit less daunting.
   The most useful induction lecture for me was meeting the tutors. Each tutor took 5-10 minutes telling us about their background in the media industry and why they had decided to become a tutor at the University of Salford, and it was interesting learning how diverse the backgrounds they all come from are. It also reminded me that they're normal people too, and they seem a lot more friendly than many of my teachers did at secondary school, which'll make it easier for me to be willing to ask questions. It's also great to know that they've been in the industry that I want to go into, as they'll be able to help me produce industry standard work and give me tips on what to say and do in interviews so that I'm not just another university graduate with a dream to get into an incredibly competitive industry, I'll actually stand a bit of a chance.
 If your university offers an induction week I definitely do think you should go along, just don't expect to find out loads of information about your course etc, as some universities will prefer to leave that to your tutors during your lectures, whereas others will prefer to tell you it all in advance so that you know what to expect over the next year. Especially go to any lectures that will enable you to meet your tutors, as first impressions are incredibly important, and it's really beneficial to know who will be teaching you for the next year and what experience they have that will enable you to do better throughout your time at university.

Freshers Fair

   Freshers fair is definitely something that I recommend you all go to as it's an opportunity to find out about all the university societies and what your university has to offer.

   Despite the fact I went with the intention of signing up for nothing and getting loads of free stuff, I actually left having signed up to three clubs - rowing, volleyball and archery - and no free stuff. I'm not actually too sure I'll go to volleyball or archery, but rowing does sound quite interesting, and I'm willing to go outside of my comfort zone and give something new a try! I'm also surprised I'm willing to give it a go seeing as I was bullied into signing up by the coach just because I'm "tall", and also that I'm petrified I'm going to fall out of the boat and make an absolute tit of myself in front of a lot of strangers. 

   I was really intrigued seeing just how diverse the societies are at university, everything was covered from musical theatre to veganism! It also reminded me just how many different cultures there are going to be at university, and how things that may not have appealed to me will appeal to different people. Even if, like me, you aren't necessarily planning on joining any societies during your first year at university, do go along, because it's amazing seeing exactly what your university has to offer and how many different cultures and interests there are.

Student Lock In

   This evening I went to Student Lock In at the Trafford Centre, and I definitely spent far too much, despite the fact everything was 20% off! But, my logic was that I won't get the opportunity very often, so I might as well make the most of it!
   I do like to think that I've become a lot more sensible when it comes to shopping, and I did carefully think through what I could pair everything I bought with and when I'd be able to wear it. Seeing as uni officially starts next week, I thought I should treat myself to a few new purchases to make sure my university wardrobe is as fabulous as it possibly can be! I'm also very relieved that after putting all my purchases away I definitely do not regret anything that I've bought, and none of them were impulse buys.
   Having never been to the Trafford Centre before I had no clue what to expect, and I was completely blown away by the vast size of the place and the array of shops inside! It seemed that all of my favourite shops were there, and close together, which made running between them a hell of a lot easier! The four hours absolutely flew by, it honestly didn't seem like we were there that long! Halfway through we were all so exhausted we had to stop and refuel ourselves on pizza before we could continue trying on clothes, now very bloated, and choosing our favourites to buy.
   I think that Student Lock In is a brilliant idea, as not all shops offer student discount 24/7, and so it was great being able to take of advantage of the four hours that they did. Although I'm aware that the next one is unlikely to be for a fair while, I know that I'll definitely be signing up for it as it was so enjoyable going shopping with friends and getting each other's opinions on outfits, we all picked out items for each other that looked amazing on but we never would have chosen ourselves! It was also another fab opportunity for us to bond as a group, and I honestly wouldn't change the friends I've made for the world, we're all so similar and get on so well, I'm incredibly lucky to have found them as early on as I have!

Freshers Week

   Freshers week has been the best, yet messiest, week of my life to date. It has been absolutely insane yet incredible and has all passed by in a bit of a blur! It's been the perfect opportunity to meet new people and bond with the friends I made on the first night, as well as kill my liver.
   My main piece of advice to any first year, is to pay attention to what your flatmates, or in my case friends upstairs, want to do each evening, because not everyone will want to go out every night, in which case there'll definitely be a flat party! So don't worry, you'll still get to drink! My fresher's week was a mixture of both going out and flat parties, which I was really grateful for, as flat parties are a lot more intimate and allow you to create stronger bonds with friends you've already made. However, it is important to remember that all of the events you've been invited to for freshers have been specially created and tailored for freshers, and therefore you don't want to go missing too many of them.
   It's safe to say you will spend a hell of a lot of money during freshers week, so make sure you get yourself a job over summer to save up and allow you to splash out without having to worry too much about the consequences! Drinks do tend to be quite cheap at freshers events, but alongside paying the initial cost to get into the venue, as the night goes on the bill creeps up as you find yourself buying more drinks and grabbing a takeaway before you contribute towards the taxi back to your accommodation. I definitely recommend predrinking, as I found that the nights we had bigger prinks the less I spent when I was actually out. I tended to take out around £30-40, there was never one night where I spent all of it, but I was grateful to have the extra money just in case I needed it for whatever reason.
   Freshers is a great opportunity to pinpoint your favourite bars and nightclubs for the weekends when your course has started. Despite the fact drink prices will more than likely be higher once freshers is over, it's still great to know which bars and clubs you all prefer, as you'll be able to enjoy yourself more on a night out knowing that it's somewhere you're going to be comfortable. It's also a chance for you to find out the dress codes for the various clubs, as some will be a lot dressier than others, and the last thing you want is to go out in jeans and flats to see everyone else in dresses and heels! Definitely get the dress codes sussed out during freshers, and trust me, within about 5 minutes of being in there you'll know exactly what it is,
   Freshers is all about making new friends, so, similarly to what I said in my previous post, make the most of as many opportunities as you can, as although you can go to freshers in your second and third year, this freshers is your freshers! So you really need to make the most of it. Save your money, make yourself look hot, take a million photos and make memories you'll remember for the rest of your life.

Manchester Royal Infirmary
   One word of warning I do have for you is to monitor your drinking. I know it's boring because we all want to get drunk and have an amazing time, but after having ended up in Manchester Royal Infirmary two nights in a row because I drank far too much, I really do recommend that you keep an eye on how much you've had. Despite the fact that as a diabetic I already spend a lot of time in hospitals, I absolutely hate them, and having to go to one when you're unaware of what's actually happening to you is a petrifying feeling that I wish none of you ever have to go through.
   I am incredibly lucky that both nights I was in Abi was willing to stay with me and keep an eye on me, despite the fact that one night I had to stay in for 12 hours. Most people would have just left me on my own, so I am eternally grateful to her for being so supportive and caring.
   Trust me when I say it is absolutely humiliating, and I beg you, please do not end up in my position. Being vulnerable in a new city is not a sensible idea at all. I'm incredibly lucky that it didn't ruin mine or Abi's freshers, and despite the fact I still woke up every day with hangovers, I was a lot more sensible with my drinking after both incidents.