At the start of the week there is a buzzing atmosphere for going out and living up to all the expectations that you’ve created in your head. You’ve bought all of your freshers wristbands in advance for the “biggest student nights” in town, stocked up on a variety of alcohol to help you make friends and already planned where your first night of freshers will start.

Then it begins. The whirlwind of going out night after night, going to a variety of clubs which are all so similar that they blur into one with only distinctive features from the night standing out. For many this is not due to being heavily intoxicated but rather the constant exhaustion and similarity of each night. Each club manages to lure you in with a special element of the night that is unique to their club. This element often goes unnoticed due to it either not happening or because the club is too unbearably hot and over-capacity for you to stand being there a minute longer.

Then there is the struggle of what to do with yourself during the day whilst still striving to achieve the ideal perfect freshers. For many, the majority of the days are spent sat in bed either sleeping or binge watching TV shows, counting down the hours until it is time to get ready to prepare for another night of adventures.

On the other hand, not everyone’s freshers revolves around going out and staying up until 3am every night. For some, a mad night would be sitting in the hallway watching the Great British Bake Off. They would spend their days exploring the Lanes of Brighton and marvelling at the fact they now live by the beautiful seaside. Many would also venture out to the various freshers fares and stock up on the freebies from the hoards of stalls each promoting a different cause or social.

Many freshers are content with having a quiet night in, in the seclusion of their new home; allowing for quality time with their new flat mates. This is much more achievable than looking for someone you’ve only met a day ago in a nightclub filled with people trying to do the same thing.

The reality of freshers is that there is no ideal freshers week. No matter how much fun you have you will most likely have regrets of missing out on a particular event or feeling as though you should have spent more time getting to know your flat mates or campus. All you need to remember is that you have the rest of the year to do this and freshers does not define your university experience.