First Day Tips

The first day when you arrive is probably the most daunting. Most people know no one, and that means you’re all in the same boat. Here are our top tips to getting through the first day.

1. Bring biscuits and tea. This is the perfect way to say hello and get to know your
   staircase neighbours (and you can never really have too many biscuits).
2. Make sure to decorate your walls earlier rather than later. It’s a great way to feel more comfortable and it’s another conversation starter.
3. If you feel up to it, knock on neighbours’ doors. It only needs ½ of you to knock and the other ½ to answer the door to get conversations going!
4. Be aware of other people’s boundaries. It’s important to be wary that people may have different boundaries and preferences.
5. Talk to as many people as possible. Treat the first few weeks as friend speed dating.
   You may strike gold and find your best friends really quickly or be able to rule out
   people as incompatible to you. Either way, it’s a win-win. Don’t stress about making
   life-long friendships, these normally form when the buzz of freshers has died down.
6. Be open minded to new people. You will meet like-minded people, but there will be lots of different people around to talk to. You never know what someone is like beneath the fresher’s nerves.
7. Be prepared to share if you feel nervous. If you bring up something you’re worried about there definitely will be other people who pipe up and say they feel the same. Going through it together is definitely better than alone!
8. If you have any questions, ask them. You can ask any of the helpers or members of staff. Everyone will be happy to help; all students have been a fresher once.
9. Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable doing. If you are feeling at all uncomfortable either just speak up, or go talk to someone else.
10. Act like your authentic self. It’s not helpful to act like someone else as the people you meet will be seeing you through thick and thin. Start as you mean to go on!