Tips For Surviving Freshers

Hey Guys!

Over the next two weeks a lot of you will be starting university and for you first years that means Freshers Week! Now that I'm going into my second year of university I have realised that there is a lot I learnt in freshers week that those of you who are going into your first year at university might like to know! If only I could do Freshers week all over again!

When it comes to Freshers Week it's completely new to you, your meeting new people, navigating yourself around a city you may never have lived in before, getting used to looking after yourself, cooking for yourself and learning to use the washing machine, so there can be a lot of uncertainty! So hopefully this will help you survive your first week!

#1 Make Sure All Your Paperwork Is Organised

In your first week you'll be having to register for your uni smart card, signing up for societies, getting your keys for your accommodation, using your new student account with a chosen bank and will be organising what modules you will be taking for your first and second semester, so you need to make sure that all of your paperwork is organised and in order. What I did was got a folder and put all my administration documents in the front, banking paperwork in the back and then somewhere in between put all the information and documents I would need to get access to my accommodation key. By having it all in a folder it makes life so much easier when it comes to looking for all the paperwork needed to hand in. Also, when you go to register for your smart card so you can access uni you'll need specific documentation, for example I needed my confirmation letter for acceptance to the university and the document they emailed me to print off. Being organised is essential as you won't need just one lot of documentation you will have collected a few over the past couple of months. 

Another tip is getting all the administration tasks done straight away, so all the boring queues are all out the way before your start partying! Nothing worse than leaving it till last minute and then having to worry about it on your first week of lectures and induction seminars. So, by knowing what paperwork you need prior to going it will be a much easier process!

#2 Don't Be Afraid To Meet New People

That first day when you move into your accommodation and see all these new faces and people can be scary, kind of like starting primary and secondary school all over again! But don't worry everyone is in the same position and everyone will be nervous, believe me everyone worries about not making friends! So, don't by shy and say hi to everyone when you pass them on the landing, introduce yourself, try and remember everyone's names and just be yourself! The people in your flat will all be nervous too so just be friendly and offer to help them move things into the flat. Before you know it you'll be chatting and talking about your courses and where you are from etc! Luckily for me when I moved to Newcastle I already knew who I was living with because I met them all on Facebook through our accommodation group chat so it wasn't so scary going into my flat as I'd already spoken to everybody I lived with and saw familiar faces! You will actually be surprised how many people you will meet at freshers. It is nothing like secondary school, at uni everyone is so friendly! You'll be surprised how many friends you'll make in that first day! :)

#3 Save Your Money

This is an obvious point because now that you are moving to university and becoming more independent you'll be having to pay for your own shopping, machine uses, nights out and treats like the cinema, so you'll need some spending money other than your student loan! But what I mean by this point is for freshers week you'll be spending a lot of money on tickets to events, club entry fees, drinks, pre drinks and the university will hold some events that you will have to pay for as well, so save as much as you possibly can in this short time so you can make the most of the week and not have to worry financially. There is nothing worst than wanting to go and spend time with your new friends experiencing this new city and constantly checking you have enough money and working out what you can and can't go to. Just be sensible! Don't go spending £300 on a night out, when I've heard people have spent that much I don't understand how, you can easily go on a night out with just £10 in your pocket! So, have some spending money to treat yourself but don't go overboard and regret it later!  

#4 Sign Up To Societies

Everyone always says to sign up to as many clubs and societies as you can and they are right! But don't sign up to absolutely everything as that would be too overwhelming and in the end you won't end up going to all of their meetings and socials anyway. For my first year I stuck to just signing up to one society so that I didn't fill my time up too much and I didn't have to constantly go to every society event. I heard of people signing up to five or six societies and then when it came to socials they wouldn't go to half of them because it clashed with their work, uni schedule, time with their friends and they couldn't afford to keep going to all these different events every month. So, I would suggest signing up to two or three as that isn't too overwhelming and you still get a great chance to meet loads of new people! For my second year I'm going to attempt to sign up to a few more societies and make the most of what is on offer. Like I said you can ensure you are using all the great opportunities given to you but you don't have to do it all in one go!

#5 Don't Worry About Being Homesick

Everyone feels homesick at some point and that is normal. For some of you it will be your first time away from home, away from your friends and family and it can be quite scary and stressful. You don't know anybody, you don't know what to expect and you have to suddenly start doing everything on your own and have to be independent, so of course you are going to be missing home and the comforts. But one thing I suggest is to not go home as soon as you feel homesick, you have to stop yourself from rushing home, stay positive and of course you can call your family and friends as much as you want and need! And after two or three weeks they might come and visit you or you go and visit them but I suggest for the first few weeks of settling in keep going and stay at uni. The reason I say this is because the moment you go home it will make things worse as you'll be reminded of what you are missing back home and then you won't want to go back. I know a few people from my accommodation that went back home after one week and they never came back because they realised how easy it was back home. I didn't go home till November and even that was unplanned, so coming from me in the short term it will be hard but in the long term you will see why. Also, your flat mates and course mates will be a great distraction! Whenever I feel homesick I go and spend time with my flat mates and I'm fine again. I do also call my mum for 5 minutes every day, so that helps haha! ♡ 

#6 Start Getting Student Discounts 

There are so many places to get students discounts and they will help you out loads! For the first 6 months I didn't bother getting getting money off any of my shops but when I started to take advantage of student discounts it saved me so much! I got a dress for my media ball for £13 when it was suppose to be £21, I saved money on meals out with my friends and even when you are in a club on the weekend you can get money off drinks because of being a local student. The best apps I recommend are Uni Days, Voucher-Codes, NUS and just plainly using your student card. You will be so surprised the places you can get money off, such as Co-Op, New Look, Waitrose, Starbucks and even really fancy restaurants! Honestly, you won't regret it! 

#7 Don't Try and Go To Everything 

In freshers week there are so many different events on and you'll be getting Facebook invites left right and centre but don't feel like you have to go to all of them to make the most out of your freshers week. At some point you will need a break, and trying to go to every different event will drain you. They may all sound so fun and it will be hard to choose which to prioritise and choose, but what I found worked for me was speaking to my flat mates and those who lived in the flats on our floor and we discussed where we thought would be the best place to go and what tickets to get. By doing that we all could go to the same events together and then could space out the week. When I was a fresher I was desperate to go to absolutely everything but in the end I'd brought all these tickets to these events and I didn't go to all of them so I ended up wasting my money. Don't feel like its a must and you'll miss out on something huge because a few months later that event organisation and club will be throwing more events for Halloween, Christmas and celebrity appearances so don't panic!

What university are you guys attending? Let me know in the comments below!

See you on Sunday my lovelies!♡ 

Amy xx 

My Favourite YouTubers

Hey Guys! 

I've watched YouTube for a very long time as it has always been a source of entertainment, escapism, and a great place to search things like tutorials! Thanks to YouTube I was able to become more creative with my blog and it is actually a very motivating platform for someone like me, as when I see someone else getting results I believe in myself a lot more! So I thought I'd share with you guys who my favourite YouTubers are, those who motivate me with my own creative content and who also give the best escapism from my own reality ❤ 

Lindy - BubzBeauty

I have watched Lindy's videos for as long as I can remember! Before she got married and had both Issac and Ayla! I can't remember how I discovered her channel now but I remember when I was at secondary school I would always watch her make up and hair tutorials and try them out for school. I can't believe that she has actually been on YouTube for this long, she has achieved so much in such a short time! Building a school in Laos is incredible and being able to see such a great individual accomplish that is so influential. I love watching both Lindy's videos and vlogs; they are just so positive ❤ I'm big on being positive and optimistic and she is exactly that, all her videos are casual, fun and they are perfect for cheering you up when in your reality you aren't having the best time! I love that she gives such great advice at overcoming certain obstacles we all experience and she gives me motivation to be better at everything I do, especially being more productive and making the most of what I have! ♡ 

Weylie - ilikeweylie and WahlieTV

Weylie is so hilarious! She is one of my all time favourite YouTube creators and she is the one person I always get excited about when she is uploading new videos and vlogs! I've watched Weylie since she first started her YouTube channel when she uploaded her iconic Tampon video and I loved her then and I still love her videos now ♡ I feel like I've actually grown up with her as she has moved on from high school, gone to college, moved in with Wah, moved to San Francisco, then Los Angeles and all the bits in between. Her friendship with Sophia as well is so funny, they literally bounce off each other haha! She has done so well with her YouTube channel and over the years her creative content has given me a lot of inspiration especially her Girl Talk videos and personal advice Q&As. The things she has learnt I have been able to adapt into my own life as well.

 I absolutely adore her relationship with Wah, even though they will only show the best parts of their relationships through her social media platforms I just love how supportive they are of each other and to be together for that many years is so cute! I like both Weylie's individual YouTube channel but also her channel she shares with Wah. Their vlog channel is so funny, their daily adventures and the dogs are so entertaining it could cheer anybody up after a bad day. Seeing them both grow as people and achieve so many great things is so satisfying, they have done so many exceptional things and shared so many achievements through both their channels that it gives people like me a boost in the right direction, a nudge to achieve something you have to work hard for it! ♡ 

Sophia Chang

This girl is so funny! I love her humour and character :) I only discovered Sophia through Weylie when they became close friends after meeting in Los Angeles and then through them becoming friends and vlogging together I became interested in the content that Sophia created. She did videos very similar to Weylie and so I knew that I would enjoy watching her videos! She has such a great humour and over time her content has got better and better and the creative ideas she gets helps me create ideas for my own content and what I want to be able to achieve on this platform. Sophia has a very unique style and her lookbook videos have actually inspired me to try wearing different things and experiment wearing clothes I wouldn't normally wear but want to, basically be more creative. Other than her creative content like make up tutorials and fashion related content I really love her vlogs as well. Obviously Weylie and Wah are in them as well so that does make everything a lot more entertaining but even when it is just her and Silas they are so positive and comical. Her spirit and happy energy is just something else, even in her videos when she has been struggling with something she still shows the bright side to everything! Silas is great too, if you haven't checked out his photography it is amazing :) It's people like Weylie and Sophia that encourage me to try new looks with make up and fashion and to experiment a lot more without worrying about the outcome. I highly recommend you check Sophia's videos, if you don't like the videos at least stay for the graphics and edits, they are so good! ♡ 

Stephanie - soothingsista 

I used to watch Stephanie back in the day and then for a while I didn't watch any of her videos because at the time the content created wasn't something I was interested in. But this past year the content she has been producing has been so good! Especially the different make up looks she has been rocking and her vlogs! I love that most of my favourite YouTubers are friends so whenever I watch one of their vlogs 90% of the time the rest of them will be in it haha! They kind of rotate in the same circles so they all get to experience the same sort of experiences, therefore if one doesn't upload a video about it one of the others will! Stephanie is a great person, who is someone I aspire to me like. She is so selfless and genuine, like Weylie and Sophia and none of them have changed even though they have gained more popularity on their social platforms over the years. My favourite videos that Stephanie has created for me are her tattoo related ones, I love her different tattoos and when she got her first few a couple of years ago I got so interested in their individual meanings and where the inspiration came from. Stephanie has a very unique style, like Sophia and that makes me want to try different types of looks and try shopping in different places! She actually encouraged me to wear my glasses more as I started to feel less self conscience about having to wear them 90% of the time. 

Jenn Im - Clothes Encounters

When I first started watching Jenn's videos a few years ago I would watch a video here and there and I wouldn't really be bothered if it was a favourites video or a make up look because at the time I wasn't really bothered about creative make up looks or what other people were into throughout the months. But over the past year I've been loving all her videos! Whether its a 'What Would Jenn Wear', 'Monthly Favourites', 'Lookbooks' and her vlogs. I find her videos give me a lot of motivation for my own content on this blog, as seeing how well she edits her videos together and the graphics encourages me to do better and achieve what she has been able to achieve! She is also a great optimistic person, and obviously like Jenn says you can't be positive and optimist all the time but at least you can try and that is what I like about her. She is constantly trying to improve herself and work harder to achieve her goals which is very inspiring to watch. She has suggested so many great books and apps that are great for self help, motivation, positive thinking and general happiness which has been encouraging! ♡ 

Annabelle - Cat Creature

I only started watching Annabelle's video a few months ago and she is someone I've never come across before, and by that I mean someone who has a unique type of content creating and editing her videos. But also just her personality, to me she is someone so genuine and down to earth that it feels like she is a close friend and she is so thoughtful about her sister and family. Seeing her interact with her family and the way she cares for them encourages me to be a better person and be a lot more grateful for what I have ♡ I love how creative she is with her editing and how she puts her videos together! She definetley puts a different perspective on things, making any situation good and making the most of everything! Her videos this summer have been so inspiring and have actually changed my outlook on particular things; be a lot more grateful for what I have in my life and those around me. It's incredible how the way she has filmed and edited these videos can change one person's perspective on so many different aspects of life!

Cassey Ho - Blogilates

Cassey has been on YouTube for what seems like forever and since I've started uni she is the best YouTuber to watch when you can't afford to go to the gym because your a poor student! She has different work outs for those who are at different levels of fitness and she just makes a really hard work out so much easier! I'm really bad at working out and lack a lot of motivation to reach the actual fitness level I want, but thanks to Cassey's video I'm beginning to develop the type of motivation I need to get the result I want :)

She also has great videos for relaxation and stretching which are great if you can't sleep. I'm the worst for settling down to sleep after a busy day so stretching and just relaxing in a quiet environment for a few minutes helps me settle for a quiet half an hour before I try to sleep ♡ 

Who is your favourite YouTuber? Let me know in the comments below!

See you on Sunday my lovelies! ❤ 

Amy xx