Freshers week is essentially seven days (or more) of drinking, socialising, lie-in’s and settling in. It is a chaotic time of the year and many students view it as daunting, scary, exciting and extremely tiring.

I remember this time last year how I was feeling and to be honest, it was a combination of being intrigued and terrified, but mainly the latter. I was looking forward to meeting new people, going out every night without my Mum nagging on at me and fending for myself for the first time as a ‘proper’ adult. I quickly realised that I was far from an adult and that university wasn’t all what it was cracked up to be. Going out every night exhausted me, I cried every single day and I ended up going home after just six days away (slightly pathetic one might argue, I would claim it was much needed).

Freshers week is busy and crammed full of events. But in order to make the most of the experience, I recommend that you push yourself out of your comfort zone: join a society, go to a club night, play the ‘freebie’ game at the freshers fair but most importantly, speak to people! Speak to everyone, get numbers (but remember to save them under a full name as 21 Sam’s in your contacts list isn’t helpful), Facebook adds, twitter usernames, everything!