Freshers’ Week is hyped up as the best week of your life. That’s what every older student says anyway or those TikTok how to survive fresher’s week posts you find doomscrolling about your new life. You’re told it’s where you’ll make friends for life, discover your true self, and have the best time.
But here’s the truth: Freshers’ Week is less of a new beginning and more of a full-blown identity crisis.
It starts with the questions. What’s your name? Where are you from? What are you studying? You’ll answer them on repeat like a broken record. By the twentieth round, you’ll start to wonder if you’re making it up. What is my name? Am I actually from that place? Should I really be studying this, or was Geography my true calling after all?
Then comes the social shuffle. Monday, you’re at a cheesy club night pretending you’ve always been the biggest ABBA fan. Tuesday, you’re at a sports taster session despite the fact that you haven’t exercised since P.E at school. By Thursday, you’re dressed as a cow, a pirate, or something equally ridiculous, and by Saturday, you’re collapsed on your bed, asking yourself if you’ve ever had a real personality or if you’re just someone who lives on toast and beans.
It can feel a bit much. But that’s kind of the point. Everyone is winging it. Nobody has a fixed identity yet. People are trying things on, like outfits and personalities, like some fit, most don’t, some are fun for one night and then never again. Freshers’ Week just speeds it up by throwing you into every possible version of yourself in seven days flat.
And here’s the secret: the “identity crisis” isn’t really about being lost. It’s about experimenting. Maybe you really are the karaoke-loving social butterfly. Maybe you’re more of a film society type who enjoys quiet nights. Maybe you’re both. It doesn’t actually matter. What matters is that you’ll eventually land somewhere that feels like you.
So, if you’re sitting in your room feeling fake or out of place, don’t panic. Everyone else is faking it, too. The confident ones you see are just better at pretending. Most of us are just people in novelty costumes trying to make small talk over cheap alcohol. The version of you that stumbles out of Freshers’ Week doesn’t have to be set in stone. University is about going with the flow and enjoying life, not overcomplicating things.
This article featured in the first-ever printed edition of BRAW Magazine, Close Encounters. You can read more of our Close Encounters articles here.
Featured Image by Erin Schoolar