Socializing with flatmates and friends off your course is one of the biggest parts of student life, helping many to unwind and relax away from their studies. While the educational side of things is without a doubt the main reason you pack up and head off to University, it’s important that you still get your share of relaxation in order to rest your brain and have fun along the way.
It’s a great time in your life and many come home from their studies to say that the years spent at their chosen Universities has changed their life, turning them into more rounded individuals ready to head out into the real world on their own.
The majority would then go so far as saying they wouldn’t have got through their course without the people they were living with, studying with and socializing with; with us Brits particularly fond of a bit of down time here or there.
Of course, the Student Union is the obvious place to go and forget about that important essay you’ve just handed in for a drink, bite to eat, few games of pool; or to get together in a relaxed environment to discuss how you’re going to approach the next group assignment.
It’s not all about going out, however, despite the common misconceptions! It’s just as important to have some time in the flat, saving your student loan for the essentials, and getting to know the people you’re living with.
Whether this means sitting down to have a meal or a takeaway together or just sitting in front of the television for a few hours once the work is done and dusted, it can really help to make the semester more bearable.
Sharing your television-related guilty pleasures is a great way of breaking the ice in the early days of living with other people, and you can soon start to relate to the characters as a group.
For example, a recent survey by Great British Bingo revealed that Danny Dyer was the most popular soap star, with 12.5% of the votes cast by nearly 200 participants – and what student doesn’t love Danny in their own way, whether it’s for his cheeky-chappy persona, his looks or his “hard man” stance in football-based documentaries!
Other popular names in the survey were Phil Mitchell (7.3%), Tina McIntyre – played by Michelle Keegan – and Ken Barlow, who both got 4.7% of the votes, and Michelle McDonald who is played by ex-Hear’Say singer Kym Marsh (3.1%).
Then of course you have all of your reality TV shows, most of which are on channels like E4, including Made in Chelsea and The Only Way is Essex. Plus, with the great way in which student days are organised, you have the daytime television shows like This Morning and Jeremy Kyle to get the discussions going.
Games consoles are another alcohol-free way of socializing with friends, but you would definitely need to make sure that you either play in somebody’s bedroom or that you ask the permission of your other flatmates before you take over the communal television!
However, at the end of the day, the best way to socialise is in true British style down at your favourite bars. Just make sure that you get your assignments done first, you only drink as much as you’re comfortable with, and you don’t lose your phone and keys!