Freshers’ Week as a Non-Clubber

By Olivia-Mae Butterfield

Freshers’ week is upon you – you’ve spent all day trying to remember new names, new faces, new rules, and to ask the porter about your tap that just won’t stop dripping… and then night falls. Your newfound friends you are so eager to maintain ask you the dreaded question: “Are you coming out tonight?”

For many of us, the idea of clubbing really doesn’t appeal; there’s simply nothing worse. Yet we seem to convince ourselves that the very essence of freshers’ is so tightly bound up around it. Whether you’d rather go to your room and call home, have a quiet one with a couple of friends, you’re just too tired and want some sleep or clubbing simply isn’t for you, skipping it isn’t the end of the world.

This freshers’ week, I’ve found that most people aren’t that bothered anyway, they just feel like it’s something they ought to do, because, solely, it’s ‘what you do during freshers’ week’. So many of us get caught up in the FOMO that we push ourselves to do things we’d just rather not do. Some people love going out late to clubs and bars, others don’t, and that’s okay. Freshers’ week isn’t over just because you decide you would rather do, or not do, anything.

I have had such a wonderful freshers’, and I haven’t set foot in a single club. I’ve been in bed before eleven most nights because that’s what makes me happy. I haven’t missed out on making friends, nobody has shamed me for not going out – in fact, so many people have respected that choice. At first, I expected to be ostracised; to have missed out on inside jokes and important conversations, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

I’ve taken part in so many other events, and spoken to so many new and fascinating people, whilst remaining true to myself and only pushing myself to do what I have really wanted to. Freshers’ is already a very overwhelming week for many people, and sometimes this means taking a step back and doing what’s best for you individually. As someone with a chronic illness, getting plenty of rest and feeling refreshed was best for me, and it has paid off in the long run. Despite some preconceptions, it is very possible, and still very enjoyable, to complete freshers’ week without going clubbing.