Struggle Every Fresher At University Of Aberdeen Goes Through
University Of Aberdeen Fresher’s Week has officially ended, which means party season is over (in theory) and all students can go back to their everyday chores. However, this is probably the most stressful period for all the newbies, who need to start accommodating to the new environment.
Starting university is not easy for anyone and no tips or tricks can fully prepare you on what’s to come. Nevertheless, they can be very helpful. That’s why I wrote a list of struggles every fresher at the University of Aberdeen Goes Through taken from my experience from last year.
1. Freshers’ flu
Freshers’ flu is definitely one of the most popular struggles each student in Aberdeen experiences. It gets to you out of the blue and keeps you in bed for at least few days. Freshers’ flu is just a fancy name for a bad cold, that occurs due to staying up late and lack of sleep, partying every night in clothes that are certainly not suitable for this type of weather, stress, junk food and too much alcohol.
All of these things can really weaken your immune system leading to symptoms like headaches, fever, runny nose and coughing. When you’re lucky enough to catch freshers’ flu just make sure to give yourself some rest, there will be enough parties for you to attend to after you get healthy.
  2. Laundry
Moving away from home and caring parents means that you need to start doing things on your own, things that before never really crossed your mind. Cause clothes magically wash themselves and appear in your cupboards, Â right? Unfortunately wrong, and as a fresher, it will most certainly become one of your biggest struggles. Living in dorms at first glance makes it seem so easy because there are washing and drying machines on site.
That’s just an illusion and the process of doing your first laundry is way more complicated and time-consuming than one would assume. It’s one of the most annoying struggles not only for freshers but even returning students, because other than it being expensive, more often than not your drying machine won’t completely dry your clothes and you’ll end up with damp togs hanging around your whole room.
3. Finding the right class
Here, at the University of Aberdeen, it is pretty simple to find a building your next lecture is in. Next to each class in the timetable, there is a link to Google Maps showing you where you need to go, and since the Internet is all around the campus you can easily locate your target. Unfortunately, this is when the easy part ends. Most buildings have several entrances and if you don’t go through the right one, you probably won’t find your room on time.
Personally, during my first year of studies, I found Taylor Building the most confusing of all. There are several blocks, which is disorientating enough, but what caught me off guard is the fact that the entrance to Block B is through Block A, and the entrance to Block C goes through B and the A is somewhere completely else. Confusing, right?
4. Going from Hillhead to campus
Most freshers (including myself last year) live in Hillhead, which is a student village around 20 minutes away from campus. It is a perfect place to live for anyone, but especially people who are just getting to know Aberdeen. A store and a canteen are located on site, there are also study rooms, game rooms – everything you need to survive and have fun.
The fastest route to campus is through Seaton Park, which is beautiful and relaxing during the day… However, the struggle gets real when it becomes dark. There are no lights painting the scenery at least terrifying. With time and especially with some company you can quickly adapt to it however, walking alone after dawn needs a lot more getting used to.
5. The weather
The last but certainly not least struggle of every fresher, especially one that comes from abroad is the weather. The rain is unpredictable and combined with strong winds is just deadly for anyone who doesn’t really know how to deal with it.
Pro tip: your umbrella will sooner or later snap, and if not it will certainly be dreadful to walk with. That’s why it’s even easier to just hide in the library, get some hot chocolate and wait it out. The biggest struggle of all is definitely winter. The British are never ready for snow, so even if a little bit of it sprinkles from the sky, prepare yourself for a big chaos.
