Fresher Take

Being independent at University

September 01, 2020 Season 1 Episode 12
Fresher Take
Being independent at University
Show Notes Transcript

For most, moving to university is a big step in becoming independent. It may be the first time you are fully responsible for managing your money, cooking for yourself and doing your laundry.

Join Ben and Becki as they discuss ways in which you can build independence and prepare to move to your new student accommodation!

For more Student Life content check out our website and find us on social media at @uolstudentlife where we have lots of content planned to help you transition to university.

Ben :

Hello, welcome to another episode of Fresher Take, my name's Ben

Becki :

And my name is Becky.

Ben :

And today we're going to be talking about independence and independent life at university. Now obviously, independence is a big part of moving to university and being independent can make the transition a lot smoother. In my opinion, it's very easy to become overwhelmed when you first move to university as you may suddenly have to do things that you've never done before in terms of taking care of yourself. So this podcast will discuss some of the key aspects of being independent and our own personal opinions regarding how they can be done or achieved in order to make the the move to university a little bit easier. So first off, Becky, I will ask you when you first came to university was the transition to independence, erm, a big thing for you?

Becki :

Um, personally, I was, I've said this before on the podcast, but I was slightly older, coming to university. And so I had already had the experience of, you know, like having to cook for myself and do my own laundry and like food shopping and things like that. So I don't think the transition was as difficult for me in certain aspects as it was for like my housemates and other people that I knew. Because I had had a bit of experience anyway, because I was older, and I was just generally doing those things for myself. Yeah, so it was a different sort of situation all together. But there were certain things that I did still struggle with or like when you realise that you have to cook every single day. Yes, that was one thing that I forgot, actually, you know, you have to feed yourself.

Ben :

Because obviously, I'm completely sort of not the opposite, but sort of very different to you in the way that I sort of came into university at the stereotypical age that you would do it, you know, following straight from college. So obviously my independence was, whilst I was still of course independent and was doing my own sort of stuff. Coming to university and completely living on your own and realising that you have to cook, clean do food shopping sort out your money, stuff like that was quite a big shock to me, but obviously, because all of my flatmates were in the same sort of situation coming into first year, and we sort of made a joke of it being like, Ah, you know, we're all in this together. So if we all fail to eat and starve then it's, you know, we're all in this together, which I which I personally found, to be reassuring knowing that I'm not the only one that has the cooking ability of like a five year old child, which was fine. But speaking of of cooking and cleaning, and do you have any, that was the first thing we were going to talk about, is there any thing straight off the bat that you want to say, you know, big tip or big bit of advice for the people listening

Becki :

Learn how to cook before you come to uni, even if it's like three recipes, learn how to do something because it will make you so much more confident in trying new things at uni. And like trying new recipes or you like you and your housemates cooking together or something, it will make you so much more confident if you know like how to cut an onion. How to make like a Spag Bol or something simple you know what I mean? Yeah, it's gonna be daunting if you get to uni and then alone have to learn how to cook yourself.

Ben :

Yeah, because that's what I did. I was when I came to uni I had a classic overconfident Ben was like yeah, be fine. It's not that hard to cook is it? The famous last words of Ben when it got to the week after freshers and I wasn't relying on you know, frozen meals, and had to actually learn to cook and then you could-- I'm not-- you can buy like cookery books, can't you? Yes, like, and there's ones, there's ones that are specifically for students that are like, basically how to cook on a budget and how to cook with leftovers and stuff, which is pretty helpful. And obviously, like, learning simple life skills, like cooking is a great way of helping you gain that initial independence. Because when, like you said, when you move to uni, and it sounds awful, but Mummy and Daddy won't be there to wash your clothes and cook your meals and it sounds patronising when I say that, but it literally is the case.

Becki :

True. You know probably for a lot of us the first time in your life are literally alone--

Ben :

Fully independent. Yeah, and like,

Becki :

Yeah, not in a like a bad way alone.

Ben :

No, no, of course,

Becki :

You stand on your own feet. And you know, you have to do things for yourself things that you're you're probably used to your parents doing for you.

Ben :

Yeah, you can take a lot of it for granted though, I always think like, simple things like washing your clothes or cooking your meals and stuff, it's something that I personally didn't realise was as big of a thing as it is until you got to uni. So like being able to have at least like you said, a small arsenal of recipes that you can just go right I know how to cook this, I'm not going to get salmonella, I'm not gonna mess it up--

Becki :

Yeah

Ben :

Just to eat yourself in because obviously, you learn from other people as well. And when you get more confident using your specific kitchen appliances that are at Uni, cause obviously they're all different. When you get that little bit more confident at cooking, you can then learn bigger and better things like I'm in third year well I've just arrived just technically just graduated, but but I only realised how to like cut up, cut up like garlic and properly prepare like fresh herbs like literally a month ago. So I think as someone who has literally com--pretty much completed uni, learn how to cook because there's only so many times you can have like you know frozen chicken charred grills and chips before you go, is this really good for me?

Becki :

--or like Chicago town pizzas those--

Ben :

--as nice as they are. You can't, trust me!

Becki :

You really can't--

Ben :

You can't live on and I know some people that will listen to this go right that's a challenge. It's not a challenge, don't do it to yourself if you want to maintain like a good weight and be healthy--

Becki :

And a healthy lifestyle.

Ben :

And you know still do exercise and still not feel like you're carrying around, you know, literal litres of fat into in your stomach from all the pizza, treat yourself to pizza, granted, but don't rely on it.

Becki :

I always have the treat yourself kind of mood. 100%, but it's not every day pizza, every day freezer food is what I call it. You have to you need to learn to cook like I was making things like lasagnas and like homemade mac and cheese. Oh my god, I love mac and cheese. And like things that was substantial meals that I could have over certain amount of days. Or even freeze

Ben :

Literally what I was gonna say, literally what I was gonna say was that if you bulk, bulk, create, bulk cook is the word I'm looking for, create, bulk cook food like you know, Spag Bol lasagna and hot pot, casserole, whatever. You can put it in the freezer or the fridge and it will last for like a good like two or three days. So you have that backup of meals--

Becki :

Well in the freezer. It lasts longer than that because

Ben :

Obviously, yeah--

Becki :

A lot of people have this. This sort of apprehensiveness I don't know if that's a word, but apprehensiveness of like bulk cooking because or meal prepping, if we will because they don't want to have to eat the same thing again and again. But if you put it in the freezer, you could just have it at a later date, pull it out there. And if it's in the correct light container, and you're fine, and you could have that day so you're not necessarily eating the same thing over and over again.

Ben :

Yeah, obviously it's important to note that whilst we are and absolutely able to give this advice, when you're actually at uni, things change your circumstances change your timetable changes your priorities of what you think is important changes. And so whilst it is important to understand that we are giving advice that what can be done, erm at university, I think it would be unrealistic to say, this is what I stuck to this is what I did, because realistically, I was too busy engaging in all of the activities that university had to offer, whether that be social or academic. Sometimes you just don't have time to cook food. Sometimes you need to just chuck a pizza in the oven or sometimes, you just need to chuck a little bit, you know, do a quick stir fry or whatever, like it's not about being this perfect Domestic God and being like-- You know,

Becki :

I find a lot of my socialising and take this as you will but I find a lot of it happens over like dinner. Food, like we might go out to eat or we'd have like movie nights where we order like Domino's or Pizza Hut or whatever. Or like a Chinese like yeah, it's a lot I think a lot of what I did like was engaging with people or you know, socials where you go out and have food and some drinks and blah, blah, like, Yes, a lot of money and a lot of your stuff will go on that. But I then found that when it was just when I did have downtime, I would like cook or prep so that I could have food in the fridge.

Ben :

Yeah, cuz we're not we're not saying we're not saying like, you know, don't ever go out, don't ever and enjoy yourself don't ever buy Domino's, Pizza Hut, Nando's, deliveroo, Uber Eats whatever. But what we're doing is we're trying to, I think it's important to note that we're trying to just equip you with the knowledge that we wish we learned when we were either first coming to uni, or in that first or second year and you're still not still feeling that you're sort of hitting a bit of a brick wall when it comes to independence because I know people that were, you know, in third year, and they were still struggling a little bit with their independence. And personally, that was something that I obviously was looking to alleviate in first year, but if I had the knowledge I had now when I first started the independence that the process of specifically cooking would have been would have been a lot easier and more efficient. And obviously speaking of cle-- cooking, sorry, of course after that, you have to do the cleaning as well and obviously as a boy, and as a lad that's something that doesn't come naturally to me personally, I'm a very leave it well like especially in like my bedroom and still sort of leave it where I left it there know where it is, for tomorrow, erm which is a good idea until you've done that for about three weeks, and you're literally swimming in underwear, which is not enjoyable for anyone. So of course, again, cleaning up after yourself is something that you're gonna have to do at uni, it's inevitable. And it's along the same lines of sort of laundry and cooking is that your family aren't gonna be there to help you. But they are the masters of it. They've been doing it for years. So if you need help with them, you can ask and also I also found that it was again, similar to what you said Becky earlier that it was a bonding exercise of I haven't got a clue how to do laundry, do you? Arw we'll do it together. And it'll be a laugh, won't it?

Becki :

Yeah. I remember trying to figure out I remember vividly first year, because yes, I knew how to use my washing machine at home. Well, to an extent, I remember literally sitting in the laundry room with two of my housemates trying to figure out the whole system because we had to do ours through an app, and the app would not work and there's seven different temperatures. Nobody knew anything was supposed to go on,

Ben :

Just put it in and turn it on why--

Becki :

I thought that's all we had to do is put it in and turn it on. And so we spent a lot of time in the laundry room kind of figure out what, what was going on, and what we were supposed to do in order to not ruin our clothes. And it was an absolute laugh.

Ben :

Well, the whole thing, the whole, I think the whole sort of independence and especially sort of a first year, it's all about bonding, you know, because there are naturally people who I envy greatly, that will have their life sorted and be able to cook, you know, a meal for seven different people and have it all washed up and cleaned and act like it's never happened before. Whereas I am not one of those people. my housemates and flatmates are not one of those people. And so, for me, it was it was a way of getting to know people and also sort of learning from other people, you know, oh, he burnt that. Or, you know, wrecked his clothes by doing that. I'm not going to do that in the future. And what I didn't realise is the amount of cleaning products there are, you know, it's so important to understand, you don't want to ruin anything, or cause any damage to like, your clothes or your dishes or anything because you're using the wrong product. And there are so many different ones that claim to do 117 different things. And again, that was something that you have to sort of get your head around obviously, because you're, you're a little bit older Becki like I've said and also you're a girl and also you have your mind sort of a little bit more turned switched on then than I personally do. I assume this wasn't an issue for you. But for someone who has never really understood not understood but never really regimently cleaned something, erm, it was quite difficult for me.

Becki :

Honestly, at home, I mean, I keep my room incredibly clean like at home and at uni. That was the one thing but my mum always did the rest of the house the kitchen the you know the stairs the bathroom, everything. So, when I realised that now we had a whole like apartment or house to keep clean?

Ben :

Yeah.

Becki :

That was when I really I was like, oh wait a minute because I was really lucky because in first year in my accommodation we had a cleaner that came every week.

Ben :

Did you? Did you?

Becki :

And she did like the kitchen and the hallways and then obviously we had our own bathrooms and rooms. So we kept those to whatever cleanliness we desire. Yeah, but the kitchen was always clean, and the hallway was always clean. Whereas when we moved into the house, we swiftly realised that we literally had to do everything and so I found like having a good like rota, a cleaning rota really helped a lot so like somebody knew every week as to who was doing what, and so that it wasn't all on one person because there's nothing worse than when there's only one of you that actually likes to clean common areas.

Ben :

Yeah, we did that in our house, of we all knew where we had to clean and we were justlLike it wasn't even a rotor, really, we just sort of went, for example, my friend Tom, who I've lived with for the past three years, he won't mind me saying this. But he his job was to clean the bathroom. He was relegated to the bathroom. And every now and again me and my other housemate George just so go, bathroom needs cleaning, and it get done. And then for example, I had the kitchen so they'd go, arw just give the kitchen a quick clean. So, you know, it doesn't have to be regimented. at nine o'clock you do this at 10 o'clock, you do--

Becki :

Yeah, I mean rota like that. I mean, like, at some point in this week...

Ben :

Yeah, there are things growing in there. Can we just get it?

Becki :

Give that a bit of a wipe down?

Ben :

So once once we've got over the trauma of learning to cook and clean. The next thing that I believe is the most important thing is being able to have things to eat. Now, a lot of students may have never had to do a food shop for themselves before and it can vary over what overwhelm When you're in a supermarket, and there's just food everywhere, so there's a few things that can help is to go out and do the food shopping with family a few times before you move into your accommodation, and see what they're picking, or how often they purchase certain items, which I always find to be very useful because you don't need to, for example, buy washing detergent every week, it can last a while. And obviously, you don't want to buy too much food. And because obviously, that can go to waste, or be a waste of money if you're buying just too much of it. And say for example, you don't like it if you're buying say new foods. And but then of course equally, you want to be able to purchase it enough that you are making some meals and able to grab a snack every now and again. So you're not for example, going to the shop every day and spending 1015 pounds because you've not planned enough. So planning a shopping list, planning your meals in advance is also something that can be done. Not something I did in first year I'm going to be completely honest.

Becki :

Me neither.

Ben :

Something that I didn't really at all my, my sort of shopping routine would be looking at you know when the fridge is running low and when I've got a few bits in the freezer and a few bits in the in the cupboard I'd have a look and sort of make a mental note of what do I fancy. What, what do I roughly need or as long as I've got chicken potatoes,

Becki :

Yes, that's how I shop so I don't necessarily I know a lot people it works for but I find that too, too regimented for me like planning your meals and then buying I mean I suppose it would be cheaper. What I like to do is buy things that you know can go in a lot of meals like you know, like tinned tomatoes like chopped tomato, pasta, sauces, meats, different kinds of meats that that I can use for different meals and stuff like that because then they can get those meats can go in the freezer and you don't have to worry about them going off necessarily. You can portioned things like chicken out which is what I do, so that it's not in one big bulk but in smaller easier to handle portions in my freezer

Ben :

You can for example yeah freeze that and then--

Becki :

Then take out what needed yeah that's what I do so I more than planning meals specifically I buy things that you can make into meals depending on kind of you know mood you're in, I also enjoy (top tip) you know they seasoning-- like those Maggie--

Ben :

Oh

Becki :

Bag things, those are good those are so good walk them in walk them in the bag put them in the oven done like 20 minutes.

Ben :

I like as well as seasoning, you know the little jars of season you can get like the garlic granules. There's one called all purpose seasoning. Very good. Very effective. Throw it on anything. Not anything anything. You know, I mean, but my yeah, my going back to food shopping. My food shot was very similar to what what you said Becky, but it would sort of, I think it's a lot and again, I'm not stereotyping here but I think we have we're very nonchalant when it comes to food shopping almost it yeah that'll do approach brings to mind so I would always do my shopping obviously when I was running low but i'd also just go, what do I fancy this week?

Becki :

Yeah.

Ben :

I'll throw a bit of that, arw bacon it's got a long shelf life oh well

Becki :

Or on offer, Ben. We love an offer as a student. Anything that's on offer.

Ben :

Yeah too right and but that thing that I would never have a regiment like it got to a point where in third year I'd always end up buying roughly the same stuff simply because I knew a) I liked the food b) it was quick and easy, and c) it wouldn't cost me too much money. Obviously that that's does not necessarily work for you and you might you know, I've got a friend that lived pretty much solely off frozen food. It cost him literally like 30 pounds for like, nearly like two and a half three weeks shopping. And it worked really well because for example he just buy frozen chicken and defrosted he'd buy frozen vege and just stick it into a stir fry or whatever or boil it. He get you packet sources he has to make from scratch. And whilst not I mean, it's not unhealthy. But it's not like the Uber healthiest way of doing it. It worked really well for him.

Becki :

Yeah, I suppose it depends on on who you are and your lifestyle and things like that, like, some people will eat very, very healthily. I know some people that eat like one meal a day just because it's how they you know, like live like, it's, it's very different. One of my housemates cooks all the time, and I have never seen the other one cook. So it's like a whole it's just different. Like it's just a sort of different, different strokes for different folks, if you will.

Ben :

One size doesn't fit all.

Becki :

Yeah, exactly. And I think it's about especially in that first like year, I would say It's really about finding what fits you because I remember Firstly, I barely cooked and I honestly not lying lived off of toast and yoghurts, which really wasn't smart because I'm lactose intolerant. So I'm--

Ben :

So many questions.

Becki :

So literally, you ask any of my first year housemates, and it was like, she just ate toast and yoghurt a lot. And bagels. And I was like, I just ate salmon and cream cheese bagels like 24/7.

Ben :

To be fair though, that's very a completely it's not really going off topic. But in terms of food, that's quite a substantial meal simply because obviously you've got your carbs protein.

Becki :

Yeah, exactly.

Ben :

All your macros are in there.

Becki :

Thank you. Gosh, I knew--

Ben :

Yeah but every day for a year Becky maybe not the greatest thing you could have done. And and yeah, like when it comes to food shopping as well. Another top tip for me personally, is go to somewhere like Aldi or Lidl, as opposed to Tesco or Asda. Now I'm not saying that because it's not i'm not only saying that because I've worked for Aldi

Becki :

Yeah.

Ben :

It's a brand sponsorship. No, it's not. And but it is just so much cheaper than the Morrison's as the Tesco obviously or the other supermarkets that are available as well. And, but also, not only is it very cheap, so you're saving a lot of money, the quality isn't really that different. And also a lot of Aldis and Lidls and stuff are reduced to like four aisles maybe with obviously your random special buys in the middle that, you know, you come out with like a kayak, or whatever. Yeah, but it but as someone who can get very easily distracted and very Oh, I'll buy this because I can because you know, money, student finance and doesn't exist, it's not real money. And it's very easy to get distracted on on buying just random things because you think you might use them at some point. Whereas when you go to somewhere like Aldi, you know you've got your four aisles, you're almost your snake Like system going up and down every aisle, you can just make sure that you have exactly what you need. Everything's in one place. You know you haven't got to go for example when you get to. I'm halfway down the other side of the store but now I need seasoning Where the hell is seasoning in this massive store? When when you're refined to four, maybe five aisles somewhere like Aldi, Lidl, Heron, farm foods, things like that. Whilst you are technically reducing choice, you're also ensuring that you just get exactly what you need, which I think for for a student is the most important thing because who wants to be spending like two or three hours doing a food shop, you want to want to get in and get the stuff you need get out and somewhere like Aldi is perfect for that.

Becki :

I really think they're underrated as well like Lidl, Aldi and farmfoods. And like Iceland and places like that because they are cheap, they are very easy to navigate. They will save you so much money in the long run then shopping at like Sainsbury's or Tesco.

Ben :

Of course if you have specific dietary requirements or that kind of thing yeah we're not saying ignore all your dietary requirements and--

Becki :

Because I eat like gluten free like pasta and stuff because I have to I have an intolerance but and I know that an Aldi and Lidl sort of like that kind of thing. So I will have to go to like Morrison's for that. But that's fair enough. That's only like one thing. But everything else I buy at Lidl because it is just you can say that bulk money and you're trying to be financially independent as much as you can at university. And you know, you'll have you have your, of course, yes, you're in finance, but you have to pay your rent, and then you have to set money aside for food. And then obviously, there's things you're going to want to do like activities wise, that you also need money for. So you have to come up with some sort of budget, and you have to find places where you can cut your spending and I think a food shop is one of those places.

Ben :

What a segue, what a segue into dealing with money because that is obviously the next topic we're gonna be looking at. So welcome Becky's very professional. Erm, financial independence is something that I have never experienced before since moving to university. And as you've said, a lot of students may have never had to pay bills or rent or budget before so it can be a real sort of culture shock to them at university you will be responsible for your own rent and bills and ensuring that they are paid on time including like you said, food shopping and also budgeting for social activities. And you know, you also have to remember that you need essential such as toilet roll, personal hygiene products that may not necessarily fit into your food shopping budget

Becki :

You know what, I always forget about those in in like the budget in the-- obviously you know you need them, but I always forget in the budget every single time, like oh my god I've run out of deodorant.

Ben :

Oh no, I don't want to smell. Yeah, exactly. And like, and obviously, when when you come to university, a lot of people say, you know, make sure you budget your money and make sure you do this that and I think, again, whilst a fantastic bit of information and advice, it's not really realistic, in my opinion, it just doesn't seem realistic enough to be able to sit down and you know, go on Excel and go, right, this is what I need or, or, you know, using the apps that you can use to budget because for me, I never did that. I just knew roughly how much money I had roughly how much I was spending, and whilst it's not the most effective way, it worked for me personally.

Becki :

Yeah, I think some people are more organised or some people need that level of organisation. So are they those, sorry, there are those apps like Yolt, and those things like that, that you really see what's coming in and out of your bank account, which is probably a very effective way to do things, it is not the way I did things. I mainly just used to check my bank account like every day or every other day to see what was coming in and out. And so I knew roughly how much money I had to spend and how much was in my account and things like that. And I really sort of try to focus on not like making sure I had enough money but also not focusing all of my efforts into money management into budgeting. So I found that it made me more stressed if I was thinking about money all the time. Yeah. Yeah, and it really was just dampening my experience the whole thing, with me being like oh my god, no money. Oh wait, I can't do that because money. Oh, yeah.

Ben :

See, I know I know. A very good friend of mine by the name of Ollie and again, I spoke to him about this before and he won't mind me sharing this on the podcast that he did was points in his his university life where he literally because he forgot to budget would have like five pound to last him like a week. Whilst initially seems very daunting, and very Oh my God, I've failed myself. I've only got, he actually did really well because he was able to find those bargains and find the things that he actually needed. And whilst yet he wasn't able to say if he went to the swan, which is the university, Lincoln's local on campus pub, you know, he wouldn't necessarily be able to get a drink, but he was able to get, you know, like a glass of water and it wasn't-- He was able to sort of still have a good time and not spend money. And yeah, and for us, it was for me personally, it was very alien because I obviously had a job so I was able to have money, obviously, I lent him a bit of money as and when he needed it, because, you know, it's what friends do. But the fact that he was able to live off five pound for the week because he'd failed to budget or he had a bit of too heavy of a night out or something. You know, and it didn't affect him in terms of he wasn't stressed, he wasn't nervous. He wasn't anxious. He still was able to enjoy himself but it was just a case of I can't do that say because I've literally only got a fiver and I think Yeah, you He learned a lot of life skills through that. And it's only ever happened to him again, like, over the three years, like once or twice, so yeah. And it's like, you don't it's a perfect story for me of you don't have to always sit there and go right I have approximately 37 pounds 53 pence and bla bla bla bla and work out and divvied out into individual segments, as long as you know, roughly like I did. Yeah, I've got this much money. I'll be all right up until a certain point.

Becki :

Yes, I think as well, it's good to understand that everyone has different levels of money of income or maintenance low, not everyone gets the same amount. And some people's parents can afford to help support them. Some people can't. Some people have to have jobs in order to, you know, get enough money to actually like live at uni and some people don't. And I think it's you need to make sure that you're not being like, pressured into spending money here, there or everywhere. Because you feel like everyone else is, if you get what I mean, because to be like, I can't do that, because why don't have enough money I need to spend this on a food shop or I need to do this this day, or I want to do this this day. And so I'm going to miss out on this this time because I just simply don't have enough money for. I think understanding from both ends of that perspective has to be a thing because if you know that your parents can help support you or you've got a really good job whilst you're at uni that pays you a lot. And you know that your friend doesn't, I think being understanding of maybe then turning around one time and being like, Oh, I can't actually go or I can't actually do that. Can we hold off until like, the end of the month, or until the next loan comes in or something like that. You have to be understanding of everyone's financial situations. Which I think is another thing of being off yet. You know, so like growing up, like you realise that not everyone is in the same situation as you are.

Ben :

Yeah, that was literally what I was I was going to say, and sort of following on from what you were saying, Becki, that university is for people that are over the age of 18. You know, in the UK, and with that age comes responsibility and maturity and a level of understanding that I believe you can only really achieve through living on your own and living independently. So whilst it's important to understand that your Maintenance Loan for people that rely solely on that for different sociological or economical reasons, and you only get that three times a year, so budgeting may be more important for you than someone that has a job for example, but when you're at the age when you're at the age of 18, 19, 20, 21, even up to 23, 24, 25, if you're a little bit more of a mature student, understanding that not everyone is the same and that and not everyone has the same benefits as you in terms of money or in terms of facilities in their accommodation, for example, all of these things that you learn through getting to know people and being mature, and is one of the most important things for especially budgeting and money. And being just an all around good person, you know, you're not at school anymore. You're not able to just go out and do whatever you want, because mummy and daddy will help you or whatever. That's simply unfortunately, the one of the things that comes with that change in your life and growing up. So I think understanding that whilst it sounds very depressing, and sounds quite boring, you know, I don't want to be an adult. It is quite boring. But if you make it fun, and take a positive perspective on it, it can make you a much better person and makes you more empathetic towards other people's situations, which, when it comes to money, I think is the biggest obstacle that you will face at university or as an adult, you know, yeah, unfortunately, like you said, you might not be able to go For that drink that you in the boys have been planning for weeks because someone just isn't able to. But at the same time, if you are in a position where you are maybe a mature student or have more money than them maybe offer to buy them that drink, you know, it doesn't have to cost you an arm and a leg. But that little act of kindness shows not only do you support them as a friend, which obviously is an important thing University, it shows that money isn't a massive impact, because I think I think you can get sort of bogged down with the finances too much. Yeah, I'll just go throughout all of this, this sort of segment of the podcast of, you know, you don't you don't want to get too bogged down with it, because University is the best three years of your life. And if you sit there worrying and counting every single penny, you know, you might not enjoy it as much as someone else. And I think that again, that level of maturity and understanding of you might not have as much money as you did last month because you've spent it on X, Y and Zed things into the world. It's really not and I think whilst it sounds quite deep. And I've probably been rambling for a bit too long. It's important, it's important to know because I didn't understand that when I came to uni, and I was always like, Well, why can't, oh come on mate you come out and arw come on I'll buy you a drink. Oh, come on, let's, let's go buy a pizza. Not everyone can do that. And it's a level of understanding that you get from only living on your own and having that sort of independence.

Becki :

Yeah, and we say this a lot on this podcast. Uni is preparation for your life. You are going to have to be financially completely financially independent at some point. So yes, you need to learn how to budget your money and when you've got rent and bills, and you know, a car payment and you know, insurance and it's coming out of your bank account every month. Yes, you will have to learn and understand what you have coming in and what you have going out and, and realising what you can spend what you can't spend. That is adulthood that is going to be your, you know, part of your life. And so learning a bit of it at uni and learning as much as you can at uni, but also understanding that don't let it bog you down too much, because I think money can really be a source of stress. And you know, and cause a lot of problems with people's mental health. Because it is such a big thing and like, you know, there's a thing that money makes the world go round and what not that that can really Yeah, can really stress people out and, I'm sure you could get advice from you know, your universities like sent and help centres and everything like that, like your student support centres. I'm sure that they have a lot of tips on about how to budget your money and how to, you know, work with what your got what you've got, sorry. 100% I'm certain of it.

Ben :

Yeah, work with what you got? Correct, great advice there from from you, Becky. So now we've talked about obviously, all of the preliminary aspects of living at university, you know, the cooking and cleaning the food, shopping the money. It's now time to talk about the reason why you're at university. And that is your education. Because educational independence is something that will be for the majority of people, the biggest culture shock or the biggest roadblock in their journey of independence throughout the three years at university. And, you know, there won't be anyone to wake youup in the morning and make sure you go to your classes. You have to set an alarm, you have to get up and get out of the house, I think is the first sort of big note I want to say of, unfortunately, was like while I was while I was at college, whilst I was still a very independent person. If I missed my alarm, I did ask my mum or dad knocking on the door going,

Becki :

Yeah, you need to get up. You need to go to school, or like my mum would drive me pretty much Every day, like because she went around the corner, so I would have to be up and out of the house and in her car for a certain time, like that was given. So whereas as soon as I got to university, it was like 9am I don't want to do a nine. I don't know what I mean, even though you're waking up earlier than that your entire life to get to, you know, primary and secondary and college or sixth form or whatever. Suddenly, nine AM's are the most earliest time you could ever fathom. And realising that you have to get yourself up, motivate yourself to get out of bed and get to class on time is a big shock.

Ben :

Yeah, because like you said, like you you're used to getting up earlier for college, which is probably the last stage of education you've probably been through if you are interested in going to university. You know, it's expected of you to be there for like, what, quarter nine half a quarter, nine every day. To allow yourself to get to whatever classes or seminars or form we had like form at the beginning of college where you like sat there for like 15 minutes and stuff. So it's not a big culture shock to a lot of people. And when you say I have to you have to get up to a 9am you sort of go right that's that sort of that's fine.

Becki :

That's okay.

Ben :

There is something about nine AM's and university Yeah, that just do not go hand in hand for whatever reason maybe it's the age maybe it's the the wide range of activities you can you can enjoy on a nighttime. Yeah, exactly. I would I don't know what it is. You could have the most perfect sleep scheduled. You could go to bed at 10 o'clock every night. You could get up you could be still ready for the day and you still will struggle to make a nine Am I can guarantee you that I do not know a single person that enjoys or has ever been on time for every single 9am. If you're lucky you might not have a nine am. Nine times out of 10, you will have a nine am seminar or a 9am workshop that for some reason just doesn't calculate in your system.

Becki :

That time of day just, I like using this. It just hits differently. It's just not the same, like you think yeah, that's just, that's an okay time like nine's nothing. As soon as you're here. And you know you're doing things the night before we're staying up and chatting to your friends. 9am is the most unfathomable time to have to wake up for like, it's not even you can wake up at 9am you have to be in university by that time.

Ben :

And I think remembering as well that you Yeah, that's when the class starts. So you need to get there a little bit before there's obviously travel time. If you don't know where you're going, that can be an issue. You know, all these factors come into a nine am but we're not saying just nine as you might have a 1pm seminar, you still need to make sure you're there for that, because I know people that are quite heavy sleepers and can sleep into, you know, into the later late late morning, early afternoon. And will still struggle to make 3pm seminars. So we're not just saying, just because you've got a nine AM, you're going to struggle, although Nine AMs in uni are the worst, and they are the kryptonite of most students. And, you know, you still need to regardless of the time, you still need to have the motivation to get up and get out because I've had times where I've been doing work. I've had like an hour off. So I've been you know, chatting to friends, then you go, Oh, God, I've got I've missed oh, you know, times times flown by, and you need to get to the other side of campus in 10 minutes because you've misjudged the time. Yeah, it's not just about getting up and getting out the house. It's whilst you're out the house. Knowing in the back of your mind, what you what lessons you've got, what seminars you've got, and the time taken for you To successfully get that in enough time to be able to get the most out of the session, because there's nothing worse than rocking up half an hour late, nothing worse.

Becki :

Yes. It's also though, like your work your assignments that you have to complete. You know, it's about being disciplined, like having self discipline and knowing and understanding what needs to be done when because there are things like readings or like, I don't want to call it homework, but you'll have like seminar work that you have to do for the next lecture or for the next seminar. And that will be discussed. And you have to complete these sort of these little work segments because that's what you're going to be talking about. And if you go in not knowing then you've not really taken in the lesson and you've not really understood what's going on and what you'll be talking about and you could can get very lost in a class by doing that. And so is having that sort of, you know, discipline within yourself to be like, right? I've got this seminar tomorrow, how have I done the work for it? Have I done the reading for it? Do I understand what's going on? Or like doing it a few days in advance, because then if you don't understand or you don't get it, drop your tutor an email, drop the lecturer an email and be like, this wasn't clear, or I didn't quite understand this or I've read this, but it doesn't really make that much sense to me. And it is okay like they are there to support you. They are there to help you. You aren't lost. Yes, you have to be independent in your learning. And they say like for every hour of like, face to face learning you're supposed to do like three or something of independent, like independent learning because uni is a very independently led, sort of studying experience, isn't it?

Ben :

Yeah, what whilst while the tutors and seminar lecturers and things will give you the necessary prerequisites in order to allow you to achieve what you need to do. They don't give you everything. It's not a paint by numbers at university, unfortunately, they will give you the basis. For example, if you're doing a theoretical based module in whatever degree it is you're doing, they will give you the basics of that theoretical practice, it's then up to you to develop that to the level that you see fit. It's not a case of like I said, paint by numbers, if you do this, this this and this, you will get a first class degree, you can do this, this this this, you will get a two one, this this this a two two. It's unfortunately not like that. And marking schemes and your education at university in general is very different to that of the mainstream sort of college, secondary school, sixth form things like that. Being able to understand that whilst like you said, You are independent doesn't mean there is no support at all, and that if you are struggling, there are places you can go. You know, you've got well being centres for stress or the well being concerns. You've got Libraries, which will help you with writing development, maths and stats help, and even working in a group. And you know, our library will offer workshops and guidance sessions, like one to one sessions if you're really struggling, or even just your friends or other course mates, you know.

Becki :

A good study sesh, I have really found helps a lot, a good little studie sesh with people on your course. Or like literally, even if it's like half an hour after a lecture, we will stay in the room or go to a different room or to the library or something and talk about things and see if anyone's confused or anyone needs help before you undertake a task can be so useful. Also, I know that here at the University of Lincoln, we have subject specific librarians.

Ben :

Oh yes.

Becki :

So they are able to help you with your subjects specifically, they have knowledge on your course on what you're doing, and will be able to point you in the correct direction. Make sure that, you know, check out if your university has this as well or if they have like, specific areas well they will in a library where you know, all your books will be and you know, you know, you talk about this book with this person. So, yeah, those are like really useful tools that you can sort of use to your advantage.

Ben :

Yeah, and your education at university is realistically, the main reason you're here whilst it is important that you you know, have them social time and other elements of university that make the university experience complete, you know, that the reason why you're here is to be educated and to further yourself in the field in which you are studying. So, understanding educational independence is, in my opinion, the most important thing, because otherwise you're just going to get bogged down and you're going to get put into a place that you don't really feel comfortable. It really is a small fish in a big pond sometimes. And if you were able to crack, being able to work on your own, giving yourself the motivation to do the work, everything else is an absolute breeze. And finally, on this episode of Fresher Take, we want to talk about the unexpected independent related things that you'll have to do whilst at university and the first thing that comes to mind for me is making a doctor or dentist appointment. There are so many times where I've completely forgotten that I am a registered patient at the University Health Centre. So many times.

Becki :

Yes, same. Same, everytimes something's wrong. I'm like, Oh my god, I'm gonna have to go to the hospital or, like wait till I'm back home or, and then I remember Oh, no, wait, I definitely did sign up to the Uni Medical Centre. Yeah. That would be the first point of call that I should probably go to.

Ben :

Yeah, make sure that when you come to university you are like, like At the University of Lincoln, we were given, I believe, a doctor's form that you can fill out if you wish to be registered at the uni GP. And so, you know, you can register there to ensure you feel to ensure that you feel at ease if you ever feel unwell or sick. And because you have a health centre, close to you at university, this is something that people can often forget and can cause them undue anxiety and stress. And it's something that we feel here at the Fresher Take podcast, we should point out to ensure that you don't do the same mistake we did.

Becki :

Yes.

Ben :

And that is that that is the end of this episode of Fresher Take where we talked about the independence at university. A few things before we leave. However, the biggest of the news being that we have a brand new app, you can download the Student Life app on whatever app store you have on your phone, and it is full of lots of fun challenges, regular content as well as support links and other tools and it even has the Fresher Take podcast on there. And of course, as always, the University of Lincoln student life are always putting out fresh and exciting content to help students out. So if you want to stay in the loop, you can find those over on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and even tik tok. Just search @uolstudentlife. And you can also check out our website, which is studentlife.lincoln.ac.uk. That is all the time we have today. I hope you have enjoyed, Did you enjoy yourself Becky?

Becki :

I did. Yeah, it was very interesting convo.

Ben :

A good therapy session as always.

Becki :

Honestly.

Ben :

And again, thank you for listening. And until next time, we'll see you later.

Becki :

Bye.