10 thoughts: Uni as a "freshman"

Here's my experience of my first year of university.

10 thoughts: Uni as a "freshman"

Sunday, 28 September 2014

7:45 pm

O- WEEK:

• I remember being late to this compulsory class thing and meeting Grace (connector) who was doing nursing but in her 2nd year. I arrived late, interrupted the whole class and sat next to an empty chair, and realised that I totally missed all of the important bits, "fuck" I thought. They did the tour of the place and thus, the opportunity to mingle with my future colleagues, I talked to 2 other girls, the first wasn't really talkative and the second we managed to have a conversation. Anyway, friend making= fail. So I was invited to stay back and they quickly ran through the important points.

• I walked around all alone and confused but something happened and I ended up becoming friends with Grace in the end.

• Got dragged in this making-friends-with-freshies circle by Grace hence, making my first ever uni friend, at orientation day, who happened to do the same course as me. It was actually a Speed-date style thing but for friends. It all came as a big shock, oh shit what am I…. Oh….Hi… after realising what the fuck I'm supposed to do any several meaningless/awkward interactions

• I talked to three other people before reaching my first uni friend and we got along well and it wasn't awkward! What a milestone I have reached. And I did it all by myself

• Jack- not the gay one, the polish one. He's doing the same course as me although we don't have any classes together, we exchanged numbers and it was all very exciting. Haven't talked in ages since we met on bus, and he went to get a haircut.

• After we stayed and got into groups where I met two nice connectors AHHA just hangin w the connectors. and we did the "Where's wally?" activity. I left and went to look for the amazing race, but ITS TOO LATE> It started. Went to GP and saw them where's wally group walking. Ate lunch together, where I felt like I was finally settling in.

• Stayed for the festivities of the official opening. Through Jack met Wade. Through them met D.jebb (aka crazy dancing guy) + his gang HAHA oh those were surely the days. I just hang out with them. Like just a bunch of white guys and then some asian girl (me).
• Walked through the city to the train station at night with Wade and Jack and it was fun, just being random and singing songs very loudly. Oh yes, new friends, we rule the city.

• O week was one to remember. Saw Gotye. So weird to see him there. Weren't he like dead famous just last year? and the rest whom I made friends with that week; have never heard from them again but have them on Facebook. On top of that, I went to a toga party.  
• To be fair, I think I have successfully checked off as many first year activities as possible, went to all my lectures (even 8am ones) in the first semester, except join a club. although i was so close to joining a Christian club. But I wasn't too keen tbh.

ON FRIENDS:

• Literally just sit next to someone random in your lecture. (50% chance they will be friendly, 50% they don't give a fuck.)And you'll get the chance to make friends in class too trust me it's way easier. Sometimes I just prefer to sit by myself. 
• The typical questions are: "What are you studying?", "So is this your first year too?" "Did you come straight out of highschool?" " What school did you go to...what classes... what OP did you get..... BLAH BLAH THE POSSIBLILTIES ARE ENDLESS 
• I was EXTREMELY late to my first lab, got lost etc. and had to sit with a bunch of 20-something year old males, which was like wtf?!- at first, because there were so many girls my age that I could've been BFFS with. But I ended up getting answers from them HAHA and they turned out to be pretty cool. And Aaron, bearded fellow with tattoos- typical hipster guy-who's my lab partner, the only person I really communicated to and tolerated in that horrible class, we looked up nose hairs once and a really horrible picture popped up on Wiki. And we died laughing omfg it was hilarious. I think that was the best memory of that. I felt really lonely when he was away because I didn't talk to anyone else. 
• The friends I made are all from my prac classes. And tutorials. 
• Jess and I had this special bond. in prac. HAHA i was doing an LSP voice/impression to jess lol she was laughing. YA I LOVE JESS SHES MY BFF we were both extremely bad at things and got told off for being so loud and laughing too much.

SCARY MOMENT

I was in the library trying to find an exit, so I followed the green signs and next minute, I go into a scary-looking set of stairs and go up a level and open the door to exit. It's locked. There's no one around. Complete silence. I go back down stairs. Open the door so I could go back, it's locked. I run up stairs again, my heart pounding and my body panicking. I violently shake and jam the door knob so it could open but it doesn't. It is locked. Back down, it is locked. I am trapped. My arms shaking, my breathing got heavy. I know what it felt to be Claustrophobic.

It felt like a horror movie, a scary escape game.

I remember I saved a non-emergency phone contact for QUT Security on O-week. I rang them up and told them my situation. I sat down the stairs, waiting.

It turns out I went through an emergency fire escape.

The burly man with the Irish accent told me to wait and he'll be there in a few minutes. I waited. I could have died that day. I could have been trapped for years. There were dead cockroaches.

He burst in, short of breath, all dyspnoea-like. He saved me. I thanked him. I felt more appreciative of life.

HAHHAHA SHIT. LESSON LEARNT: NEVER. EVER. GO THROUGH AN EMERMENGY EXIT.

Freshie Checklist

• Get trampled on at the Toga party
• Get grinded on at the toga party (or see people grinding, a lot.)
• Join a club
• Be bothered to dress nicely to uni everyday
• Put in the effort to wake up early to go to the 8am lecture
• Try to reinvent yourself, but you’re still pretty damn, well,  the same
• Add other freshies on facebook  if you talk more than 1 minute
• Attend every lecture, tutorial in the first semester
• Study in the library alone during your breaks or hang out with your high school friends
• Try too hard in attempts to make friends
• Did your references wrong - APA 6th ed.
• Think you did well on assignment and get a mediocre mark
• Attend a lecture that was cancelled
• get confused using blackboard
• Sit with a random in one of your lectures

Advice to offer:

• Don't be late to your classes. Esp prac/lab.
• Do be smart and study. Bioscience will come hunt you down if you don't.
• Don't even dress up too much/wear uncomfy shoes/shoulder bags with huge textbooks or wear makeup everyday, you literally have every right to be a slob
• Don't go to every class if you're not feeling it, seriously.
• Don't procrastinate.
• Don't stress everything will eventually fall into place
• DO tell that bitch in your presentation group that she's wrong.
• Do use all the resources/wi-fi/lecture notes/info etc. because after all you're paying thousands for it :)
• Thank you. Good luck. 

Anyway, bye!