Books, booze and a bloody good time.
Hello again my fellow freshers! As I write this I am finishing up my “post-night-out-obligatory-cup-o-tea” to ward off the early morning dehydration. Last night was superhero party. I decided I would be very clever and use some of my free promo merchandise from my retail sales days and go as NAVMAN TM . So smart I am…hehehe. I was excited as it was my first night out at the Ferguson, and what a night it was! Highlights included me introducing my girlfriend to the editor no less than 7 times [Ed's note: this is true...] , spending 50 dollars (at the Ferg that goes a LOOOOONG way) dancing like a freak thereby desecrating the dance floor of the Ferguson and disappearing home, not telling anyone. A night out indeed. But hey, that’s uni life, no?
Tuesday was the pub quiz and poker night. My team managed a respectable 6th position (well 5th I’d say, the ASA don’t count, they were in cahoots I swear it!!) we did do pretty well though, managing to be at 3rd at one point… and that was my O-week! I was happy with it as there is still a whole year left for antics!! How did your first week go? Surprisingly, I went to lectures!! It felt refreshing. I really liked being back in a classroom, having dormant ideas awakened in me. However I did feel a bit overwhelmed. They say the best way to do well at any sort of learning is stay on top of it and stay organised. And that’s what got to me. All the readings, all the dates, all the assignments, due at some point. Having these dates, floating around, getting closer every day made me a little nervous. So I grabbed myself a calendar, and started organising. If you stay on top of it then you control it. If you know that your media assignment is due in 3 weeks, you can be proactive about finishing it.
So, you’re probably asking me “Stephan, tell us a drunken story from O-week, everyone has one!!” Instead, I’m gonna get deep and meaningful with you guys (and gals). What does uni mean to you? For me, it is another class in the school of life. I’ve been around the world and learnt many things, most of the time over a pint and fag with some random in a pub. I’ve learnt about heartbreak, love, about not having fear and about people. But at uni, what am I learning? Things like the difference between pragmatics and semantics and what role the media plays in society. The important things right? Yeah, very important. I mean no employer wants to see my pub trick of finishing a bottle in 5 seconds or less or see me bounce a dollar into a pint glass. What they want is to see how well I understand the basics of my field, how well I can analyse and think outside the square. That is why I am at uni, to make myself employable. So my fellow freshers, why are you at uni? Ask yourself that.
Now, it would be unfair to leave you on such a sombre note, so here’s a little war story for you (because I am such an old man!!) it begins in a little town of Longford in the republic of Ireland. Yours truly was out in the town, very much on the piss. I had met some people and as it turns out they knew of a house party, so off we went. Now this was at the house of a rather well off resident of the town, so there was an abundance of alcohol, which was good as there wasn’t an off license at this point of the night. Anyways, all that was available were Smirnoff Ices, those lolly water bottles which I can finish in just under 5 seconds. So I decided to impress some people. 5 seconds later, mission accomplished. But one was not enough to prove my skill, I had to do it on 7 consecutive times, to prove how good I was. 2 am comes along and my friends decide to go home. I liked my new friends, so I said I would walk home as it was only down the road. The night continues, and Stephan in all his genius decides to drink more and more. Still standing at 4am I hear the call of nature. I head up to the bathroom. The next bit is a slightly hazy. My next memory is being shaken awake by my dear friend Sophie. Her and the rest of the party. I had fallen asleep in the bath tub….with no pants on….yeah…don’t ask. The rest of the party thought this was hilarious and I was shouted pints the next time we were out. I still talk to many of those people on a regular basis, and Sophie and I talk almost every day. The lesson? No matter what the circumstance, there is always chance to make some lifelong friends. That’s uni for you, there are almost 6500 people on campus, there are some friends for life in that crowd so go out and meet people.
That’s all from me freshers, welcome to the jungle, see you at the Ferg!!