If you’re starting university this year, you’re likely feeling lots of different things. You might be excited, nervous, anxious… or perhaps a little of all of the above! Whatever you’re feeling, it is entirely normal.
Freshers’ Week is the first week of university. For many, the words “Freshers’ Week” conjure up images of wild parties, dancing and drinking until dawn with all of their new friends. If that’s what you enjoy, go and have fun (and be safe!) But what if you’re an introvert, don’t enjoy partying, or just prefer a quieter life and a slower pace?
If this sounds like you, don’t stress. Freshers’ Week and university life have plenty to offer you, too! Here’s how to survive and thrive during Freshers’ Week and beyond as an introvert.
Know Your Likes and Dislikes
If loud music gives you a headache and your idea of a perfect night is watching films in your pyjamas with two or three of your best friends, you are not immediately going to morph into a nightclub-loving party animal upon starting university. What’s more, you don’t have to.
Self-knowledge and self-acceptance are the best tools you can bring with you to university. There is no point in trying to shape yourself into someone you’re not. You do not need to suffer through nights out resembling something from your worst nightmares in order to make friends.
Instead, embrace your introversion and think about the activities, events, and types of socialising that you would find fun. This will give you a more positive outlook and things to look forward to.
Try Things Out But Give Yourself Permission to Leave
University is a great time to push the edges of your comfort zone and try new things. We encourage you to do this if you want to. You might be surprised at the things you enjoy that you thought you’d hate (or never expected to try in the first place.)
However, trying something and finding you don’t like it isn’t a failure or a waste of time. It’s actually valuable information about yourself. So try things–join that society, go to that club night, play that game–and start with an open mind, but give yourself full permission to leave and do something else if you find it’s not for you.
Find Your People
Being introverted, shy, or quiet can feel lonely sometimes. You might look around at Freshers’ Week events and wonder if you’re the only person who feels that way. We promise you’re not! In fact, there are probably more people like you than you think. Your mission for Freshers’ Week and beyond is to find them.
Whatever you enjoy doing, there will be other people who enjoy it too. Try joining some clubs or societies related to your interests or going along to a quieter social event. Many universities now organise daytime, alcohol-free social events during Freshers’ Week, which can be an ideal way for introverts to mingle and make friends.
In your first year of university, you may be living in managed accommodation such as halls of residence. This will mean sharing with people you’ve never met before. Since flat assignments are essentially random, you may find that you have lots in common with your flatmates… or you may not. It’s important that you can get along well enough to live together harmoniously, but the people you are living with do not have to be your best friends.
Take Time Out
One of the hallmarks of introversion is needing time alone to recharge. Being around people can sap your energy and make you feel depleted. Freshers’ Week can be such a blur of new faces, new names, new experiences, and new friends that even the most extroverted person can start to find it overwhelming.
If you start to feel overwhelmed or exhausted, it’s perfectly okay to take some solo time to replenish your energy. There’s no shame in skipping an excursion to take a nap or foregoing a club night in favour of an evening in bed with a good book and a cup of tea.
This is a great exercise in learning to set and maintain your boundaries in a polite and friendly way. To pass on an activity or outing, all you need to do is say something like, “I’m feeling really tired so I’m going to sit this one out and rest, but I’ll see you guys tonight for dinner. Have fun!”
Prioritise and Pace Yourself
There are so many different things happening during Freshers’ Week that it would be impossible to do them all. Even very extroverted people can find this settling in period exhausting. The key to getting the most out of it is to prioritise and pace yourself.
Don’t try to do five things every day. Instead, pick three to five activities or events that are most important to you (for example, attending a board games party, trying out for the hockey team, or having a group dinner with your housemates.) Prioritise these activities and budget your physical, mental, and social energy accordingly.
If you have the energy for more, that’s great. If not, you know you’ll still be able to do the things that matter to you the most.
Take the Pressure Off
You might have heard that university will be the best years of your life and that Freshers’ Week will be the most fun you’ve ever had. This is true for some people, but completely inaccurate for many others.
Freshers’ Week can be tremendously fun but it can also be exhausting, overwhelming, and stressful. Whatever your experience is, don’t panic. It can take a little more time to find your feet at university, but we have absolute faith that you will.
Meet yourself where you are and take the pressure off.
