Welcome, dear Freshers, to the most exhilarating, bewildering, and slightly terrifying event of\u00a0<\/span>your university life: the Freshers Fair! This is my third year of the Freshers Fair \u2013 and no I\u00a0<\/span>have not found a grey hair yet, thank you very much. Instead of looking lonely and lost going\u00a0<\/span>around Freshers for the past two years, I should have prepared myself for the mad rush of the\u00a0<\/span>Freshers Fair.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>Living in Aberdeen all your life, you realise how to spot certain people, especially students,\u00a0<\/span>during Freshers Fair season. Students walking around the city centre carrying Domino\u2019s bags is\u00a0<\/span>nothing new, though I find it generous how Domino\u2019s is always there every year giving out\u00a0<\/span>pizza slices. They are always looking for delivery drivers, which makes me wonder if anyone\u00a0<\/span>applies or just goes for the pizza.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>Since my first year, I was always told to attend Freshers to \u201cl<\/span>ive down the University experience<\/span>\u201d. However, Freshers is the same every year: the same stalls of societies and <\/span>Domino\u2019s handing out pizzas. And speaking of pizza, ahh, the freebies. The true currency of the\u00a0<\/span>Freshers Fair. As you enter the venue, prepare to channel for your inner scavenger. Your\u00a0<\/span>mission? Collect as many free pens, keychains, and questionable energy drinks as possible.\u00a0<\/span>Remember, the more useless items you gather, the more you can impress your friends and\u00a0<\/span>feel prepared and successful for university.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>Before you even set foot in the fair, preparing yourself mentally is crucial. To get ready,\u00a0<\/span>practice your best \u201c<\/span>I\u2019m absolutely interested<\/span>\u201d face in the mirror. You\u2019ll need it when you\u2019re\u00a0<\/span>concerned by an overly enthusiastic member of the Quidditch team who insists that you\u00a0<\/span>absolutely must join, even if you\u2019ve never seen a broomstick in your life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Choosing the right outfit is crucial. You want to strike a balance between looking effortlessly\u00a0<\/span>cool and being approachable enough for the random stranger who will inevitably try to\u00a0<\/span>convince you to join the most unthinkable society you would never expect. The other best\u00a0<\/span>thing about Freshers is the discounts. Isn\u2019t it just a wonderful experience going into your\u00a0<\/span>favourite shop and learning about the 20% discount you get with your magic student ID card?\u00a0<\/span>For me it is, especially Hollister, so go out and go shopping as a week into your semester you\u00a0<\/span>will be staring at the same joggers and jumper you\u2019ve worn for the past three days. Quick tip:\u00a0<\/span>Download UniDays for your discounts, as if you lose your student card you will have to pay\u00a0<\/span>more than a pot noodle and coffee for a new one.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now comes the most daunting challenge: socialising. You\u2019ll be thrust into a sea of strangers;\u00a0<\/span>all of whom seem to know exactly what they\u2019re doing. Don\u2019t panic! Just remember the\u00a0<\/span>golden rule: everyone is just as lost as you are. Strike up a conversation with fellow freshers\u00a0<\/span>by asking them about their favourite flavour of instant noodles. If all else fails, don\u2019t worry,\u00a0<\/span>rewatching Gilmore Girls for the 10<\/span>th<\/span> time is totally normal instead of going out clubbing\u00a0<\/span>with strangers you just met in your course or flat.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>Overall, congratulations! You\u2019ve survived the Freshers Fair. Now, as you sit in your room\u00a0<\/span>surrounded by an avalanche of free merchandise, take a moment to reflect on your\u00a0<\/span>experience. You may have signed up for ten societies you’ll never attend, but at least you\u2019ve\u00a0<\/span>made some unforgettable memories \u2013 like the time you accidentally joined a club you have\u00a0<\/span>no idea the meaning of but the good-looking free pen was just irresistible to leave behind. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Kirstie Kinnaird Welcome, dear Freshers, to the most exhilarating, bewildering, and slightly terrifying event of\u00a0your university life: the Freshers Fair! This is my third year of the Freshers Fair \u2013 and no I\u00a0have not found a grey hair yet, thank you very much. Instead of looking lonely and lost going\u00a0around Freshers for the past […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":4901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","iawp_total_views":14,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[903,886,183],"wf_post_folders":[228],"class_list":["post-4900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-satire","tag-freshers-fair","tag-satire","tag-university-of-aberdeen"],"acf":[],"author_meta":{"display_name":"Gaudie Staff","author_link":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/author\/gaudie-staff\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/pexels-streetwindy-2456780-200x300.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["Satire<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Satire<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["fresher's fair<\/a>","satire<\/a>","University of Aberdeen<\/a>"],"unlinked":["fresher's fair<\/span>","satire<\/span>","University of Aberdeen<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":"0","relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 2 years ago","modified":"Updated 2 years ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on 11 October 2024","modified":"Updated on 5 December 2024"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on 11 October 2024 13:02","modified":"Updated on 5 December 2024 13:08"},"featured_img_caption":"A student at a fair \nImage Credit: Nam Phong Bui via Pexels","series_order":"","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/49"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4906,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4900\/revisions\/4906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4900"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gaudie.co.uk\/wpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=4900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}