Not looking forward to this!

StormWarrior

I'm starting uni on Monday. I'm 22 and therefore a mature student, though not much older than the 18 year olds. However, I did all my partying in my younger days and now i enjoy clean living. I don't drink alcohol and I HATE being in cigarette smoke filled environments, therefore I hate pubs!

My problem is, I am so NOT looking forward to freshers week. The thought of pub crawls etc, is NOT something I wish to indulge in. Also I am a heavy metal fan and hate pop/ RnB and can't be arsed listening to **** music in clubs all night long. However, I still want to make friends and don't want people to think I'm being anti social. What should I do? Please no silly replies like "Just get pissed and do it anyway"

projectmayhem

trust me, college is not quite all that. yeah it's there, but every course has a nice diverse group (generally), so chances are there's someone who isn't falling out of the LC, and someone who is into metal.

though non-drinkers will be a toughie, unless you've got a bunch of chinese guys there too!

you'll end up chatting to someone into the same stuff as you. just approach the long haired guy in the slayer t-shirt

muletide

StormWarrior wrote:

I'm starting uni on Monday. I'm 22 and therefore a mature student, though not much older than the 18 year olds. However, I did all my partying in my younger days and now i enjoy clean living. I don't drink alcohol and I HATE being in cigarette smoke filled environments, therefore I hate pubs!

My problem is, I am so NOT looking forward to freshers week. The thought of pub crawls etc, is NOT something I wish to indulge in. Also I am a heavy metal fan and hate pop/ RnB and can't be arsed listening to **** music in clubs all night long. However, I still want to make friends and don't want people to think I'm being anti social. What should I do? Please no silly replies like "Just get pissed and do it anyway"

They brought in a smoking ban two years ago, so head to the pub, what college are you going to.

StormWarrior

Oh, actually, I live in England, so the pubs are still full of smoke for me!:mad:

I don't think the whole partying thing is all it's made out to be. I started college at 18 and I barely go to clubs at all. I did make some effort during Freshers Week and went to a few but didn't enjoy it at all. You meet loads of people, but I never saw most of them ever again due to them being on different courses and so on. It's one thing I always hear people saying - you'll make new best friends in the first week and never see them again Definitely happened to me. I found the best friends I made were in my classes due to seeing them all the time and hanging around for tea and lunch - no partying or alcohol necessary! I don't know where you'll be living but I also met a good few people in halls. I think the whole partying thing is overrated. You can made friends perfectly well without it.

MrJoeSoap

projectmayhem wrote:

trust me, college is not quite all that. yeah it's there, but every course has a nice diverse group (generally), so chances are there's someone who isn't falling out of the LC, and someone who is into metal.

Exactly, colleges are great for this kind of thing. There's always an Alt Music society or whatever, great for meeting people with similar interests etc...

Also, wouldn't worry about the age thing at all.

CathyMoran

I went back to start my second Masters when I was 27, you could do it part or full time, I did not find it any problems mixing with people who were several years younger than me, not drinking or not smoking was not a problem for me as I can be giddy on air so it was easy enough to fit in. Freshers week will be fine for you, just join a few of the college societies and you will be fine, most of them are run by older students in any case.

leeroybrown

Fair play to you for going back. You're not even all that old for a mature student. Technically speaking in Ireland someone is not defined as a mature student until 23. I always found that mature students I knew fitted in fine with the exception of those small few that feel the need to tell everyone that they're right and know better because they have 'life experience'.

There is plenty to do in college that doesn't resolve around alcohol. You're sure to meet a few people through your course that you share some interests with. The college you attend will probably have some very active clubs and societies that will allow you to try out new things and meet new people. The impression I have always gotten of the UK colleges that friends have attended is that the club/soc aspects are more active than here if anything.

As for your musical tastes there will be loads of people around with an interest in metal. You'll meet a people who share your tastes.

wet-paint

Freshers week over here at least, has nothing to do with meeting people. It's about going getting drunk, trying to score randomers, and waking up hungover next to a swamp donkey. You're not missing anything by skipping it. You'll make friends by joining clubs and societies, chatting to people beside you in the lecture halls, and by being a nice guy. You'll be fine. The good thing is, everyone's going to be really chatty and forward, as they don't know anyone either.

Fanny Cradock

StormWarrior wrote:

I'm starting uni on Monday. I'm 22 and therefore a mature student, though not much older than the 18 year olds. However, I did all my partying in my younger days and now i enjoy clean living. I don't drink alcohol and I HATE being in cigarette smoke filled environments, therefore I hate pubs!

My problem is, I am so NOT looking forward to freshers week. The thought of pub crawls etc, is NOT something I wish to indulge in. Also I am a heavy metal fan and hate pop/ RnB and can't be arsed listening to **** music in clubs all night long. However, I still want to make friends and don't want people to think I'm being anti social. What should I do? Please no silly replies like "Just get pissed and do it anyway"

Been there, done that.

I went to college as a 23 year old in UCD and found that you can do as much, or as little socialising as you want. Prior to starting college I had some vague impressions of college life reflecting that of American colleges (well, what we seem on tv) - "Alpha Gamma Pi rulez. Woooh! Allllright!"

If you are not comfortable in a smokey, alcohol fueled environment, don't go out to one. Assuming you are in a fairly decent sized college (even a small one), you will find MANY clubs and societies to join. They'll be full of people with similar interests (i.e. whatever the object of the club is) and that will be an ice breaker. The first few weeks may be a little uncomfortable, but you'll soon settle down.

Wooooh! Alpha Gamma Pi 4ever

Miss Fluff

Not every student resembles Kevin and Perry lol. Join the societies that interest you and take it from there, good way to meet people.

LegacyUser

U don't have to go pubs or do drugs. Find something else to (like Miss Fluff suggested). Stop whinging - you'll be grand.

LegacyUser

Hello there OP, know what youre going through! Im 20, in second year, cant drink, dont smoke, like indie and hate clubs.

I tend to frequent indie late bars instead but still dont go out that often, even there all people do is get pissed.
instead i :
-go to the cinema
-am joined to lots of societies
-go to the gym etc
-hang out with my boyfriend

It is definitely hard at the start, you feel like you're missing out on something but trust me, youre not! People dont get to know others on those nights at all, its pseudo-drinking friendships and eventually, people will wake up when they are 30 and see what a waste of money and time.
I appreciate my family now and im so glad im not out there efffing about puking my guts up every night, my parents or i could die tomorrow and in the end, they are the only ones who give a crap about me, not the fake dolled up eejits in a night club pumping girls aloud and pussy cat dolls, girls flaling themselves around on the dancefloor like they are something special. Sounds pious but i really believe it. Its not that i dont go out, i do, i just go out and have quality time with good friends or a nice meal with the fella. I sound bitter but i hate the way ireland is. im treated like a freak cause i dont drink but people dont realise that i dont mind, ive got clarity on nights out and see things for what they really are. Like the girls crying about nothing just cause they are pissed and the lads in the middle of the street arsing about and fighting like depraved animals, the sick on the street, the €100s spent on sickly sweety pitchers of blue stuff...there has to be more to life than that, theres seeing the world and achieving important things and having proper relationships with the people around you!

Rant over!!!!!

WunderFull

You're still not that much older than the average student, so joining clubs and societies like a film society could work. Try literary readings, more cultured evenings instead of mad nights out. Go to the uni gym.
Check out if there's a mature student society or something similar to find people on the other side of your age group. Or get involved with the student union or something like that.