University is a time in your life where you move on from your adolescence into adulthood. A once in a lifetime transformation. Regardless of the fact that you still take advantage of cheap student nights out, eat stereotypical student-y food (pasta that is) and somehow still manage to miss your 2pm lecture after a night out, you’re still considered a reliable adult at this point. Enduring this process alone is the reality for some; daunting yet beneficial all at once. All singletons at uni tend to go through the same process if they are living a partner-less early adult life. Here are some of the encounters probably faced by most single students.
Tinder
Swiping through everyone on your campus can make you cringe ever so slightly. Especially if you’ve matched with someone you regularly see in the hallway just before your 9am lecture, things can feel uncomfortable. Your tinder profile pic made your eyes look glowy and your skin pure as if you’ve just bathed in a tub of coconut oil, but your hungover, puffy-eyed self is the last thing you want your tinder matches to see. And they’ve all probably seen it. Downloading Tinder at uni means you will practically see everyone you know, just be careful not to occidentally super-like.
Housemates cooking with their lovers
When your housemates have their boyfriends/girlfriends over for dinner, even your carefree, happily single self would feel a tad bit of jealousy, followed with envy and some more jealousy. Because surely no one enjoys eating a bowl of Tesco value noodle soup while watching their housemates eat an actual meal, with a decent amount of time spent cooking it.
Fresher’s ball/summer ball
The rare time of year where students properly dress up and potentially want to feel adult-ish, means drinking at a decent speed, and sticking to your friendship group all night. In doing so, single students may feel like third-wheeling champions during such events. Sober you probably wouldn’t mind, but drunk you feels on edge when having to constantly dance with a couple who can’t take their hand off each other.
Going out, clubbing
If single, you’ve probably mastered what makes a good night out. Undoubtedly because you’re out at least twice a week. You’ve probably got with everyone in your university town (yes, even some of the weird locals). You have ‘night out’ friends meaning you avoid eye contact with these individuals during daylight, but once you’ve downed a few shots of tequila, you greet them as though you’ve been pals since birth.
Walk of shame
Nearly everyone does the walk of shame at least once in their lifetime. This ‘walk’ however is 100000x worse when you’re at uni. Because it is likely that you will bump into three of your ex’s, seven of your night out buddies, two gossip-lovers from your course and your lecturers lecture you missed that morning. Ideal.
Awkward sober encounters with people you got with
Last night you were Samantha from Sex and the City, this morning you are Laney Boggs from She’s All that. Somehow three rounds of double mixers turns you into a somewhat ‘frisky’ human. Your more mature friends fill you in on how forward you were, and when you see your victim from the night before, certain images pop up in your head and you consider dropping out of uni.
Valentine’s Day is spent getting drunk
The SU, park or your local pub are go-to places on this occasion. You curse your friends who get to go for a luscious meal with their other half, while you ask the bartender for their cheapest shot. You don’t want someone in your life, but you do need a reason to go out and eat till you formulate a little food baby.
Visiting home
This becomes a lot more precious due to the fact that for the first week of being home means you will not have to cook for yourself and will consume real food. Then your annoying distant relatives start to show up and assume you have a personality disorder for still being single. After 4,573,485 questions asked by these relatives about your relationship status, you realise coming back home isn’t much fun.
Friends become your family
You practically spend just under 24 hours with them every day, so you know them inside and out. No boy/girl could understand your private witticisms, or know about the most humiliating stages in your life better than them. Your uni friends will probably be your friends for life.
You know what club/dance floor to hang out in to find your type
You tend to bump into the same people, but still hope to see someone new. And when you do, it’s a perfect 10/10. Or at least drunk you thought so. If there’s no luck on the dancefloor, you can always try the smoking area.
