Humanity Hallows Issue 4 Out Now!
Pick up your copy on campus or read online.
By Hannah Lewis
Nowadays, when you tell people that you’re off to university, you get the reaction, “these are going to be the best years of your life”. No pressure, eh?
Now in my third year, I love being at university. I’ve made good friends, I love my course and I love the city. But I think if I didn’t have the huge expectation that I absolutely have to have the most fun I can possibly have for the entire three years, then first year would have been so much easier.
After recovering from freshers week and getting over the excitement of being in a new place with new people, it started to sink in that this was real and I was here. I constantly felt that I had to be going out and socialising and I felt guilty if I wanted to stay in. Some people may genuinely like going out every single night, but I didn’t and there was no logical reason for me to feel bad about it, but I did. There is nothing worse than feeling like you have to do something, and enjoy it, even if you really don’t want to. And if you pluck up the courage to say no, and you do stay in, you spent the your time worrying about what you’re missing out on and just feeling miserable for the evening instead.
This romantic idea that people have of university where you live an amazing hedonistic lifestyle and don’t care about anything but partying for three years gives students a massive ideal to live up to, and when it doesn’t, then it can leave you feeling really low.
I think the best advice for everybody that’s just starting university is that it’s okay to not force yourself to go out at every single opportunity. It is perfectly acceptable to want to sit in and watch the bake off with some biscuits and a cup of tea. And if you feel homesick and want to go see your mum for a cuddle, just go! Nobody that is worthwhile knowing is going to judge you for it, and if you don’t go on one night out because you’re tired and want an early night, are you really going to miss out on that much?
Look after yourself and don’t compare what you’re doing to what your friends are posting on Instagram, they may not be having the amazing time that they’re trying to show. Enjoy uni, it is a truly unforgettable experience, but do it in your own way and you’ll enjoy it so much more.
Hannah is a third year History undergraduate who likes baking, pole dancing and writing on her blog.
Featured image and gallery: Hoang Phan Notebooks were carried from one workshop to another. Writers from different generations sat around tables, sharing manuscripts and listening to each other. Outdoors, small groups strolled along Oxford Road, pausing before buildings steeped in literary history. This was the scene during the Manchester Writing School Summer Festival 2026, held…
Featured image: Katja Ogrin With many sore heads and limbs this morning after the most hardcore day of the festival taking place yesterday, many are recovering from the moshing and pit brutality of the previous day’s antics. As the tradition of a morning movie in the Serpents Lair prevails, the crowd sprawls out onto the plush,…
Featured image: Abbi Draper After an electrifying start to the weekend, with temperatures slowly climbing, many lather themselves in suncream, shed their band shirts and rise from their tents to trek towards the arena. Saturday has big things incoming for the humans of Bloodstock 2026. Some pace themselves for the day and hide from the early…
Featured image: Abbi Draper After a memorable Thursday opener, Bloodstock 2026 opens its gates once again onto the Hallowed Grounds of Catton Park, kicking off day two of its 25th-anniversary celebration of metal. As the sun rises on Catton Park, festivalgoers emerge from their tents to prepare for another day of mayhem. The morning brings…
Leave a reply