The Second Year Rut

“In the first year, if you want to see people, you go to Ziggy’s. But in the second year, if you want to see people, you go to the library.”

My housemate’s description of our newly started, second year lifestyles, seemed to hold a lot of truth. After a half-hearted attempt at Fresher’s Week and an ultimatum after one housemate chose to stay in to do her reading rather than go out, I was beginning to wonder if we were already entering the “Second Year Rut” that we were told to fear by our STYCs, back in the good old days of being Freshers.

It does seem that, over summer, priorities have changed. Suddenly, those 9.15 seminars are actually important, rather than a myth that we hoped was based on absolutely no truth at all. Maybe it’s the realisation (for those of us who were able to justify our complete lack of effort because “The first year doesn’t count”) that we are now further into our overdrafts than we are into getting an actual degree. Or maybe it’s the horror on our supervisor’s face when he asks us what we want to do with our lives and we tell him that apart from wanting to go to Ziggy’s tonight, we don’t actually have a clue.

But surely, second year isn’t going to be that much less fun than first year? If anything, we should be wiser, having learned the following valuable things from our first year as Freshers:

1. You learn that your degree will have no use in real life

It is too late, you have started it now. But to avoid sarcasm from family members when they ask what you are going to do with your subject, tell them that you want to teach it. It works every time.

2. You learn that whilst trebles in Nags may save you money, they will cost you your dignity

We’ve all been there, one treble turns into two and you’re saving so much money and before you know it... you don’t remember a thing.

3. You learn that you will have to pay that student loan back

Okay, we still have two years left and are still a bit disillusioned about this ‘free money’ we get in our student accounts each term. But it is funny how having to use it to pay bills makes us more careful with cash.

4. You learn not to pull anyone you have the chance of running into again

It will not lead to anything except awkwardness when they appear in your seminar group next term.

5. You learn not to sign up to every society under the sun. You will never go

You will receive incessant emails for a year. You will find it annoying.

6. You learn that a combination of alcohol and takeaways will cause you to put on weight

Yes, you are a student and whilst this is an excuse for many things, it does not make you exempt from the laws of science: too much alcohol and fast food will make you fat.

7. You now understand why Freshers are the enemy

Okay, so this is probably jealousy talking. But who wants to be that carefree all the time anyway? (Actually, don’t answer that...)

And if nothing from that list makes you feel any better, just think, you could be a third year...

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