Ahhh! Windy weather, mostly sunny but always nice…I kinda missed the Dundee weather. But no worries, I am here and I can’t wait to start. To start off, welcome back to my fellow year 2s (yes, we made it!) Well, I am sure by now you would have read so many blogs on how amazing the freshers’ week was. I won’t deny it, it was awesome last year, it was even more awesome this year. Shout out DUSA for organising such a fun week!
So I am not gonna give you all any more information on how last week was. But I will talk about what I feel is the more important week, in my opinion – WEEK 2 of SEM 1. Why is this the more important week? Well, mainly because fun is over and this week is when you get down to business and get going to classes and lectures proper. I am sure for many, your calendar will be full of lectures and tutorials from morning till evening; leaving you little time (or so you think) for food and socialising. Well don’t fear, Navin is here! Hahahah
Tip 1: Start Early, Start Right
I know this might seem a bit of a cliché, but trust me when I say this, be on top of your lectures from day 1. Its tough (trust me, I know) but it is important. It will be way easier to learn and revise your lectures as they are being taught then to just cramp them all in one week and try to memorise them for your mid-terms. This advice is especially for my fellow medic and dental students, trust me you wouldn’t want to revise over 100 lectures in a week. Tried and failed!
Tip 2: Food Prep
Personally, more important than anything else. From this point on, lunch is never gonna be more than 1 hour. You won’t be able to make yourself a dish for each meal and eat it since you won’t have the time to do that. Your breakfast is gonna be a fruit and maybe if you are lucky cereal. As students, it is very easy for us to not consider food as a vital component to a healthy lifestyle but it is (surprise!) well, not wanting to sound like your parents, but please eat well. Happy tummy happy brain! Try prepping meals for the week or at least 2 to 3 days at a time, it will be so helpful. Refer to my previous blog on meal prep for some ideas: https://blog.dundee.ac.uk/studentblog/2017/03/23/recipes-for-thought/
Tip 3: Make friends!
Though it is your 2nd week in Dundee, I am sure you wouldn’t know the name of the person who you might be sitting next to in lectures (don’t be embarrassed, I didn’t either) but don’t let that frazzle you. Meeting new people is always tough, I am not gonna claim that I am good at it, but with practise everything will be fine. Approach someone, smile and say hi! As simple as that. Of course, writing about it is way easier then actually doing it but it is critical that you try as that makes all the difference between having an awesome uni life and a dull one. Have a read of one of my posts, about my experience with making friends: https://blog.dundee.ac.uk/studentblog/2016/09/27/how-to-make-friends/
Reflections of Week 1
Well, my week 1 was kinda normal – lectures and tutorial – nothing new. But did get to catch up with friends and meet some new freshers, so happy to know the freshers are as enthusiastic as I were when I was a fresher. Well, I am sure week 2 might prove to be a challenge for some, but don’t be burdened by these experiences, it’s all part of the Dundee experience and feel free to ask help from the thousands of seniors and staff who are always more than happy to help you! Till my next post, #udou