Moving away from home is both scary and exciting... but rest assured, within a few weeks you'll never want to leave Sheffield! Here are just a few tips to make the move away from home that little bit smoother and simpler...
1) Remember everybody is in the same boat. You don’t know anybody there, but neither does anybody else. Everybody is probably just as nervous as you.
2) When you are moving i
nto halls, be approachable. As you are unpacking, keep your bedroom door wedged open so people can see that you are there. Put some music on as an easy talking point, and put out a tub of sweets to encourage people to say hello.
3) When people arrive, knock on their bedroom door and introduce yourself. The more people you meet, the more friends you will have for the Freshers’ events.
4) Talk to strangers. Yes, I know your mum taught you otherwise, but it is the way to make friends. The queue for library card photographs or campus maps is a good enough opportunity.
5) Join a club or two. In Freshers’ Week there will be a Societies Fair, where different university societies will have stands encouraging people to join. Societies are the best way of meeting people at university who have similar interests as you, and there is always something for everybody.
6) Go to the Job Fair, Volunteer Fair and Freebies Fair. As well as an opportunity to explore the student university and campus, these fairs are arranged to help you settle into your new surroundings and university life. Go with your new flatmates for a chance to bond.
7) Go to all of the Freshers’ events. Yes, it will be exhausting, and yes, you won’t be able to remember everybody, but Freshers’ events are there for you to meet people and make friends. When you are on a night out, meeting people will be so much easier. (I suppose the beers will help!)
8) Don’t get too drunk. You will be with people you have only just met, in a city you probably don’t know. Puking on your new housemates shoes will not make a good first impression. And it is not fair (or safe) to expect them to carry you home because you are too drunk to stand. You have the next three years to be embarrassing, so wait until you at least know each other’s names!
9) Don’t do anything you will regret. Freshers’ Week antics are still discussed three years later, trust me.
10) Accept that you probably will be homesick. Phone home, but don’t go home until after the first few weeks, else it will get harder and harder to stay. It will get easier. And at least you will have the photos from Freshers’ Week to cheer you up!
