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If
you want a quiet life, you should make yourself a t-shirt.
Why?
Well, I guarantee that Freshers get asked the same three questions
relentlessly for the first week of their University life, and then
sporadically for the remainder of the term.
The first
question "What's your name?". Seems harmless enough, I know.
After 14 pints in Derwent Bar on your first night, however, no one
is likely to remember. They will probably call you names of everybody
else in your block /corridor before they finally arrive triumphantly
at yours. It isn't worth the hassle, it really isn't.
The
second question "Where are you from?". Perhaps the most
revealing question of all. Announcing that I was from Newcastle-upon-Tyne
seemed to confuse most of my first year housemates. They were all
from 'down south', you see, and their geography north of Norfolk
was a trifle hazy to say the least. Newcastle, one of them thought,
was south of York. Some had never even heard of Newcastle.
The
third question "What are you studying?". People will be
running round, frantically trying to find people on their own course.
One of my housemates was studying mathematics, and all of us on
the first day had broken his heart by announcing that we were studying
arts subjects. Yet, he was pinning his hopes on the one room in
the house that was not yet occupied. When the mystery student arrived
the next day, all of my housemates fears evaporated as he discovered
that the latest addition was indeed embarking on a mathematics degree.
It
can be very awkward to answer these questions, in the fear that
you may not be doing a subject that anyone else is doing, or that
you live in a part of the country that they thought was only part
of some distant mythical legend, like Newcastle.
My
solution? Make a t-shirt. On this t-shirt, write your name, your
home town and your course. Make a t-shirt, avoid the embarrassment
and the constant questions. I wish I had.
Back
to the Freshers' Week Survival Pack
If
you've been inspired by Sam's
words of wisdom and think you could hack it as a student diarist,
find out more
here.
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