Dear Freshers,

As I am now officially a second year student at university (yes, that's right, the professional procrastinator passed her first year exams!) I thought it would only be right that I pass on some advice that I wish I would have been given before I embarked on the incredible adventure that is your first year at university. So, here we go...

Keep calm and enjoy freshers' week

• Don't let the 'you only need 40%' fact dictate your studies; just because you only need 40%, shouldn't mean that you only aim for 40%.
• Get every wristband on offer; freshers week, Halloween week, refreshers week... These will honestly be the best nights out of the year.
• Take some sort of speakers with you; this is such an easy way to make sure pre drinks are always live and I also found that it made a lot of people want to hang out in my room. Although, always be aware of the people who like to complain about loud speakers, they're a blessing and a curse.
• Pack fancy dress!!; this is especially important if you are thinking of joining a sports society.
• Join a sports society; you will make such a good group of friends away from your course and flat, it's also a great way to keep off that 'freshers fifteen' (which definitely exists, especially in boys).
• Also join your course society; they don't all have the greatest social events, but in terms of finding career help and connecting with older students, they're great. 
• Don't stress about your flatmates; some flatmates are great, some are awful, and some you only see once a month. It's really not a big deal if you get along with your flatmates or not, there are so many other ways/places to make friends at uni.
• Be realistic about the gym; before you fork out £100 or so to join the gym, honestly think about how often you'll go. It's easier and cheaper just do go for a run around the local park and do some sit ups in your room. 
• Condoms; just bring some, you'll thank me if and when the time comes.
• Budget; work out some sort of budgeting system so that you are never unable to buy necessities and cover your rent. Going out is fun, but it can be very expensive.
• Stick to your beliefs, but also experiment; this may seem like contradictory advice, but as much as it is important not to stray from what you truly believe in, university is a place to experiment, away from the prying eyes of your family and friends. You should try out new things and meet as many new people as possible, but at the end of the day, never do anything that you think you may someday regret. Don't worry, people are not as judgemental at uni. Just do you and let everyone else do them.
• Sex, drugs and drinking; it is inevitable that you will come into contact with all of these at university, but make sure to always go at your own pace and don't do anything you're not comfortable with. Some people at university have done every drug under the sun and have one night stands after every night out, whereas some others have only ever had a glass of wine with their parents and haven't even had their first kiss yet. It's really not a big deal and no one will make it a big deal, other than maybe yourself, but you really shouldn't. There will be a lot of 'firsts' at uni, enjoy them.
• Bring cards and board games; these are a great way to pass the time after exams and can be used for drinking games at pres. Don't expect to come back home with all the pieces though!
• Go to your tutorials; it's pretty much guaranteed that you're not going to go to all of your lectures (9am's are always a no), but tutorials are really important, so make sure you always attend them, no matter how bad the hangover. 
• Explore your city; a bit regret of mine is relying on the events that the student union organised for all of my socialising in first term, because as soon as we started exploring the city we found much better and cheaper things to do.

There's probably so much more advice that I have for you, but for now this is what I have to say about your first year of university. There is obviously so much information about university on the Internet, but this is just some that I hadn't really seen anywhere else. Everyone's university experience is different and everyone has different advice on how to take advantage of the three years, but one thing everyone I've spoken to has agreed on is that first year is one of the best times of your life, so put everything you have into it, you only get to do it once. 

Thanks for reading

The Teenage Procrastinator

(Disclaimer: Picture found from google images, credit to whoever owns)