Ways to Enjoy Student Life Without Drinking
Students are often stereotyped in the media as binge-drinking, drug taking party animals and this isn’t exactly helped by constant ‘drink the bar dry’ nights at student bars and that fact that it’s seen almost as a rite of passage to drink so much on fresher’s week that you get alcohol poisoning. So to help you save both your liver and bank balance, here are my ideas for alcohol-free ways to have fun.
1.) Movie nights: Although you may end up spending a little too much on copious amounts of Ben and Jerry’s and popcorn, in my opinion it’s a great idea for students to bring DVDs from home and watch them either on a TV or a laptop. Added bonus, unless you stay up way past your bedtime, you’ll feel as fresh as a daisy at your 9am lectures the next morning!
2.) Cooking with your flatmates: It’s often much cheaper to go shopping as a group and buying ingredients and cooking with your flatmates is an excellent idea, especially for first years who may have some initial awkwardness while bonding with other students. My flatmates and I tried this out recently with a ‘fajita night’, which turned out surprisingly well for 10 students who had survived on little more than super noodles and pasta since moving away from home!
3.) Sports clubs and societies: Contrary to popular opinion, joining sports teams and societies isn’t just for freshers. It can actually be incredibly rewarding to represent your university competing in a sport you didn’t even know you had a talent for! It’s also a great way to keep fit without slaving away at the campus gym for hours on end and to potentially make lifelong friends. Ok, so you’ll probably end up regretting joining the Witchcraft and Pagan society during fresher’s week, but you never know until you give it a go!
4.) Days Out: Instead of moping about your flat all day waiting for 5 o’clock to come round so you can crack open another bottle of vodka, plan a day out with your friends and flatmates! Why not spend the day at an amusement park? Or the arcades? Beach, maybe? Days out like this don’t require alcohol to make it fun or interesting! By the time you arrive back at the flat, you’ll probably be too tired to even think about getting drunk.
