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SPS student voices and experiences
 
My final First Week at the University of Edinburgh!

My final First Week at the University of Edinburgh!

This week 4th year student Shreya steps back into the shoes of a first year student and shares her hints, tips and tricks as she reflects back on her very first Freshers Week  at the University of Edinburgh. 

My final First Week at the University of Edinburgh!

Hi, I’m Shreya and I have just completed my final ‘Freshers’ Week at University. This is my 4th year studying History and Politics, however due to Covid and then my Year Abroad, I haven’t experienced a ‘normal’ Freshers Week since my first year in 2019. This week, therefore, has felt incredibly nostalgic! As I see all the new incoming students, I reflect back on my Freshers Week and think about all the things I know now, which I wish I’d known then. In an attempt to not feel the stress of my impending fourth year, I will attempt to step into my first-year shoes and write about all my tips, tricks and thoughts when reflecting on Freshers Week as a first (or any other) year student.

Shreya - Freshers Week

  1. My first piece of advice is don’t stress about how much money you spent! If I’ve learnt anything in the last couple years, it is that the first week is always an anomaly in terms of money spent. There are expenses which are abnormal and irregular; all the plants you buy in an attempt to make your university student accommodation a little more comfortable, the initial down payment on your gym membership, or buying every spice under the sun just in case you become the world’s best chef at university (unlikely but possible), and not to mention the heavy social calendar if that is what you like! These are all necessary exceptions that nobody is judging you for, so don’t be so hard on yourself. You will eventually understand your own ways of budgeting and expenditure – so basically, don’t base the rest of your monetary university journey on Freshers Week.
  2. The second thing I will say is that the first week of university is intense. Probably for the first time ever you have this freedom which you have never known before. There are so many people to meet, things to do, places to see that ultimately it can be overwhelming. Ensure you take some time to reflect on what you have done; getting through Freshers is tough and you should be proud of yourself no matter how you spent the week. If you had the best week of your life, that is great, and I sincerely wish you continue to feel that way. If not, absolutely no worries, this week does not set the precedence for the rest of the year or for your university career. You should be proud that you got through it, and for the things you have learnt, people you have met, and all the experiences yet to come!
  3. Finally, enjoy what is yet to come. At one point it is your First First Week of University, and then all of a sudden it is your last. I remember that week so well, and have so many fond memories of it. Many of my best friends at university, I met during that week (a lot of them I didn’t though, so don’t stress if you don’t think you’ve met your people yet). All of these new adventures are exciting, and you will eventually feel a warm sense of nostalgia to Welcome Week and First Year when you reflect back on university. With that said, when you have completed Freshers that is just the start of so many wonderful, weird things to come. You can’t hold on to this week forever, everything in life moves on in a beautiful way, and I would thoroughly recommend embracing the change as it comes.

Thank you for reading my blog! I hope you found it useful, and wish you all the best in whatever you have to come.

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