By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
This article is also available on TheRankTank
So you have
moved into student halls in your first year at University, miles away from home
and those creature comforts. It can be a great chance to flourish and gain
much-needed independence but there is bound to be times where you miss the
comfortable environment you have grown up in.
There are
some useful equipment tools to have as a student. One of the most valuable
items required is a decent laptop. Whilst most Universities will have public
PCs and Macs in libraries and computer rooms, students should have a laptop for
personal use to keep in touch with friends and loved ones on Facebook and
Twitter.
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| Hard Drives are a valuable equipment purchase for students |
In that
instance, there will be many projects students will work on at Uni. Your
lecturers will remind you early on that it is absolutely essential to back up
all your Word documents, InDesign creations and other raw programmes. So
purchase a hard drive with plenty of space to keep those assignments together
and stored in case technology lets you down. Don’t back up data and there won’t
be any symphony from those who do the marking and hand out the final grades.
Amazon is the best place to find hard drives (a Toshiba hard drive pictured) and they all do the same job so no
need to find the best manufacturer either.
Most rooms in
halls of residence will be small in space. The majority will have to share a
kitchen in first year and students will need a caffeine boost to get through
the day, so buy a decent kettle as it will come in very handy as assignment
deadlines get ever closer. Shared kitchens will probably have a standard kettle
to start with but these can often get overused, or dirty pretty quickly. Think
of 4/5 people sharing and that’s a lot of boiling water per day. A nice way to
catch up with a friend that doesn’t involve the expecting partying in pubs and
clubs is to chat over tea or coffee. Those who prefer specialised coffees like
cappuccinos and espressos could invest in a coffee maker but these aren’t
cheap. Then again, nor are the specialised drinks at Starbucks or Costa
branches.
With laptop
sorted, a decent data storage device and a warm drink beside you, what else
should fresher students invest in? Make your room look like home with a bit of
decorating. Forget painting or slapping up wallpaper on the walls. Instead,
blu-tack photos of good times and invest in getting posters to make the walls
look bright and colourful. The fresher’s fair is ideal to stack up on posters
but also try places like HMV, who have a good range of A3 prints. Yes girls,
Harry Styles and One Direction posters will be stocked but don’t forget, there
are other boybands available!
Lastly, a
handy small piece of kit to invest in is a door wedge for your room. When busy
or wanting some ‘me’ time, keep your door closed but by sticking a wedge on
your door, it makes it easier to make friends and socialise better in first
year. This is excellent in student residence but might not be allowed in other
accommodation, so check landlord contracts carefully when it comes to using
this equipment.
So there you
go, these five items should help all fresher’s socialise, enjoy and find the
right balance between relaxation, calmness and having a good time. University
is a great experience; make the most of it before entering the full-time work
world.
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