Starting Uni Next Week....

[Philly Q]

The best advice is "Be yourself". In my case though, it was more like "Be someone else who's normal". It seems to have worked so far anyway!

But now you have to keep it up... FOREVER!  

When I was young (    ) I used to imagine that I could go away to University or start a new job and pretend to be a completely different person, and nobody would be any the wiser.  Never brave enough to try it though.

[FELINEGUITARS]

The best advice is "Be yourself". In my case though, it was more like "Be someone else who's normal". It seems to have worked so far anyway!

But now you have to keep it up... FOREVER!  

When I was young (    ) I used to imagine that I could go away to University or start a new job and pretend to be a completely different person, and nobody would be any the wiser.  Never brave enough to try it though.

Starting somewhere fresh gives you a good opportunity to change habits if you are mindful of it before you start there

I was glad to move away from secondary school to 6th form college as I had suffered a lot of bullying from brainless idiots who had to prove something.
Each subsequent move allowed me to change and refine who I was and what I wanted to be.

Remember that you have to stay real to your genuine self  but can allow a change of habits which may be enough to redefine who you grow into.

I would definately say have fun and not feel left out but be sure that you are doing what you really want to do.
I had a fun time at college but I shunned the hanging out at the bar and drinking myself into debt - instaed I went out and went to lots of gigs

I ended up with the same level of debt that my mates did but I had a big record collection, nice cameras, guitars and amps, guitar lessons and went to loads of gigs rather than having spent it all in the student bar.

I would advise to avoid getting a smoking habit (if you dont already have one) - it is a hard one to kick and costs a lot of money. A 20 a day habit costs like £2000 each year and that gets you a lot of guitars, amps and BKPs.

[_tom_]

I was (am) very lacking in self-confidence; I ducked out of the freshers week thing and after that it took a really long time to make friends (or maybe I just smelled funny  :? ).  This was 25 years ago and I still bitterly regret it.  Yeah, I worked hard and got a good degree, but I honestly believe the main point of University is to get away from home, meet people, maybe make some mistakes, learn from them and "grow up" a little.

Thtas whats worrying me about going to uni, I'm too shy and dont make new friends easily  :( I want to go for the experience of living by myself (well with room mates obviously, but away from home), and hopefully to join/form a new band (long shot but it could happen..) but it'd be shite when you have no mates there  :lol:

[ToneMonkey]

You've got to remember that everyone is in the same boat.  I remember when I got to halls for the first time (there were 18 of us in one BIG house off campus, much beter than halls), it was really strange at first but everyone wanted to get along and with a few days, things were chilled and everyone was having a larf, within a month mayhem ruled and everyone got along really well.  I've made friends from there that I keep to this day and will be on the wedding list next year.

Even when I got kicked out of halls (note to all students: if you're skinning up a big double skin splif and there's a knock at the door, don't shout "Come in" just in case it's the sub warden  :roll:  that's what happened to me but because I admitted it, rather than just kick me out, I got moved to a different hall.  Oh, also don't say that you can get rid of the rest of the dope by burning it, they generally don't find that too funny  :twisted: ) and got moved to a different hall, the rest of the corridor were really friendly and helped me settle (as did the bar about 10 meters away).

[Philly Q]

Thtas whats worrying me about going to uni, I'm too shy and dont make new friends easily  :( I want to go for the experience of living by myself (well with room mates obviously, but away from home), and hopefully to join/form a new band (long shot but it could happen..) but it'd be shitee when you have no mates there  :lol:

I totally understand what you're saying, Tom.  Which is why it's so important to really make the effort right at the start, when even the people who seem so confident are in the same boat as you - they don't know anyone either, and behind the "front" they may even feel a little shy and nervous too.  

Everyone is confident about different things - I may not have got over my own social awkwardness, but I have learned that deep down, some of the most confident-seeming people can be really insecure, especially when they're in an unfamiliar place, away from their friends.  Never think you're on your own!

And don't think forming a band is a long shot - there'll be loads of people at Uni who play music.  Some of them will be posers, some of them will be dicks, some of them will be useless, and most of them will be guitarists   , but none of that matters, it's supposed to be fun (you can draw straws for who has to play bass).  Go for it!

[CaffeineJunkie]

Some of them will be posers, some of them will be dicks, some of them will be useless, and most of them will be guitarists

you jus listed my best features :P

[tommyfobia]

The best advice is "Be yourself". In my case though, it was more like "Be someone else who's normal". It seems to have worked so far anyway!

But now you have to keep it up... FOREVER!  

When I was young (    ) I used to imagine that I could go away to University or start a new job and pretend to be a completely different person, and nobody would be any the wiser.  Never brave enough to try it though.

Haha, nah I just made myself appear slightly more 'freindly' and confident.

I had stop myself saying certain things, which may or may not have been funny to whoever I was talking to, but that will be out of the bag before next week. Now I am getting to know people, I can judge whether they are likely to be receptive to my surreal ramblings or not, without upsetting anyone...

[tommyfobia]

The best advice is "Be yourself". In my case though, it was more like "Be someone else who's normal". It seems to have worked so far anyway!

But now you have to keep it up... FOREVER!  

When I was young (    ) I used to imagine that I could go away to University or start a new job and pretend to be a completely different person, and nobody would be any the wiser.  Never brave enough to try it though.

Starting somewhere fresh gives you a good opportunity to change habits if you are mindful of it before you start there

I was glad to move away from secondary school to 6th form college as I had suffered a lot of bullying from brainless idiots who had to prove something.
Each subsequent move allowed me to change and refine who I was and what I wanted to be.

Remember that you have to stay real to your genuine self  but can allow a change of habits which may be enough to redefine who you grow into.

I would definately say have fun and not feel left out but be sure that you are doing what you really want to do.
I had a fun time at college but I shunned the hanging out at the bar and drinking myself into debt - instaed I went out and went to lots of gigs

I ended up with the same level of debt that my mates did but I had a big record collection, nice cameras, guitars and amps, guitar lessons and went to loads of gigs rather than having spent it all in the student bar.

I would advise to avoid getting a smoking habit (if you dont already have one) - it is a hard one to kick and costs a lot of money. A 20 a day habit costs like £2000 each year and that gets you a lot of guitars, amps and BKPs.

Great advice... I think this will be a good opportunity to quit smoking as I will have a more limited budget... After an expensive freshers week (which was to be expected) drinking is restricted to £1 a pint nights at various student bars.

[CaffeineJunkie]

and whatever people think about quitting, it's about 100 times harder

[cnotold]

graduate from nottingham, 5 years living experience in nottingham tells me that whatever happens, do not miss out freshers week since there are so many opportunities to meet different ppl. and the most chance you will ever get to get laid =p

[Bainzy]

I had stop myself saying certain things, which may or may not have been funny to whoever I was talking to, but that will be out of the bag before next week. Now I am getting to know people, I can judge whether they are likely to be receptive to my surreal ramblings or not, without upsetting anyone...

So you're saying it might be a bad thing to go up to a bird and say "I don't exactly know what I am required to say in order for you to have intercourse with me. But could we assume that I said all that. I mean essentially we are talking about fluid exchange right? So could we go just straight to the sex. "

 :lol:

I'm thinking maybe I should just bring a 20 pack of Fosters and when I get there shout across the corridor in halls "anyone like free beer?" - surely that's a good way to make friends quickly.  

[Brow]

I live 12 miles outside of Nottingham and gig there quite regularly, so there's something for you to look forward to :D

On a more serious note, Nottingham ain't so bad, you just have to go out and see how you like it :)