Samantha Kenny, 20, is an undergraduate history student at Edinburgh University. Currently on a exchange year in Delhi, former King William’s College and Castle Rushen High School pupil Samantha looks back on freshers’ week and how student life soon got her hooked.
‘Yesterday, a friend asked my advice on how to enjoy uni. I thought about it at great length, and I believe I’ve come up with a foolproof formula. It’s not hard, it’s not clever; it’s not even original. Ready?
‘Say yes to everything. I mean almost everything. Someone who knows someone who knows someone who’s snogged your flatmate invites you to a tea party? Fab. Someone wants to explore the city on a pogo stick? Enjoy. Three-legged pub crawl? Get on it.
‘At university it doesn’t matter if you’re cool or not – no one is going to laugh at you for your World of War Craft obsession (well; I would - but there’s a society full of people who won’t!).
‘Obviously, this has limits. Steer clear of men with abnormally long fingernails who want to teach you black magic.
‘Because everyone is more or less being themselves, there is a lot less worry about “image”. And if you embarrass yourself on a night out – no one drives, so no one will remember!
‘Go on that spontaneous train ride, see where you end up. Sign up for that training session, see what you learn.
‘The moment I knew I was going to enjoy university life was when I stopped to fix my shoe outside the student theatre building, and was compelled by a friendly American girl with a crew cut to go inside.
‘Inside this converted Gothic church, people were talking about Brecht and beer; playmates and poodles – building, acting. There was a man in a cravat and waistcoat reciting AE Housman - and no one was laughing at him! I breathed a sigh of relief and haven’t looked back since.
‘This policy of saying yes to everything has left me writing this in the library, listening to Queen from a stranger’s i-Pod. I’ve just come from a lecture about sex in the Roman world, and am headed outdoors shortly to do a flash mob with my theatre group.
‘This evening, I am proposing a show as stage manager, attending a meeting of my very secret society, cooking for my flatmates, and probably rolling into bed around 2.30am having written my essay.
‘I’m exhausted, surviving on a diet of pasta, coffee, Mars bars and adrenaline, I’ve forgotten what a good night’s sleep is, and haven’t done my laundry in weeks. But I’ve never been happier in my life, and uni has truly got me hooked.’