It's Freshers' Week, the first week of your University career, the first week of a new way of life. You get to your room, unpack your stuff, meet the Computer Science student from next door, bypass the Computer Science student from next door, see whose in the kitchen, return for back up from the Computer Science student from next door, and head for the bar in search of like minded folk. That's all well and good on night one when your stomach is saturated with that farewell lunch your parents treated you to and your excited little mind hasn't noticed you forgot to bring underwear, but what of the future?! A good selection of sensible food is vital. Anything you want really, but the most important thing to note is whether the items go together to make meals- e.g. cereal is no good without milk, sandwich fillings pointless without bread. It is a bit frustrating being able to nearly make something to eat. Aside from edibles, you're hardly going to forget your HiFi or your clothes- but a bed side lamp, a laundry basket and an iron? These may not be on your list. The curtains at Uni don't tend to keep much light out, and seeing as campus is variously lit 24hrs (as you would expect) you may wish to bring a large, thick blanket of some sort that can augment the curtain and keep you in the dark as to why the curtains are so thin
It might also be good idea, particularly if you have a lot of stuff, to bring blu-tack, gaffa tape, string etc that will help you route wires, modify furniture etc and allow you to fit your whole life into one, possibly quite small, room. A couple of unattached shelves can also be useful; prop them with a few books and you have easy, extra storage without fuss. Oh and unless you're Amish you'll never have enough plug sockets in your room, so bring some 4-way adaptors, although some busy-body Admin type will probably tell you that's dangerous. Back to the Freshers' Week Survival Pack If you've been inspired by Robbie's words of wisdom and think you could hack it as a student diarist, find out more here. | 
