1. Sugar House. Although it may not be the most sophisticated of places, I guarantee some of your most memorable nights will be spent here. But make sure Facebook has to check tagged photos with you first, you’ll thank me later!
2. Elements. I also think there’s now something called Buddha as well, or is it Toast? I’m too old to keep up.
3. Drinking in general… no explanation necessary.
4. Nights in. Realising you actually hate going out and would rather have a Domino’s in your pyjamas is also completely acceptable.
5. Lazy summer days are just around the corner. Although it seems like exams, coursework and graduation are looming, you will soon be enjoying your favourite drinks in the sun, with your favourite people.
6. Summer weather. Sunshine is rare in Lancaster so take advantage of it and bring a picnic – or takeaway – onto the grass. Just don’t plan ahead, because if Lancaster knows you are intending to sunbathe, it will rain.
7. Winter weather. We Brits love complaining about the weather, but as well as giving us a reason to moan, the cold also provides a great excuse to snuggle up in a onesie and drink obscene amounts of hot chocolate.
8. Stunning scenery, which is everywhere in Lancaster and is particularly spectacular when it snows… if you ever get to witness this rare occurrence.
9. Grad Ball. Who doesn’t love getting dressed up and dancing the night away? Grad Ball is a great event for watching live music, partying with friends and taking photos – just make sure these are done at the beginning of the night, your nan doesn’t want a picture of you drunkenly trying to high five Ms Dynamite.
10. Campus festival is the perfect place to watch the wonderful societies perform. There’s a great atmosphere, tasty food and spectacular fireworks.
11. Pancake Man. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried one!
12. Extravs! Is there anything better than celebrating your college and being free of exams, at an outrageously themed party?
13. The Farmers’ Market every Thursday is full of interesting jewellery, quirky clothes and delicious food. Where else will we get our fix of Yummy Cupcake?
14. Food outlets on campus. 2am is definitely the best time for pizza, the weirder the combination of toppings the better. Tuna, pepperoni and jalapeños anyone?
15. GoBurrito. Burritos burritos burritos. It’s a cheesy steaming hot bundle of joy.
16. LUSU. Although some people wonder what the purple lanyard clad people do, I can assure you they all work extremely hard to ensure our experience at Lancaster is amazing, so major kudos to them all.
17. Purple card offers. Who doesn’t love a good discount?
18. Student elections, not only can you get a photo with the LUSU cow, but you also have a chance to make a difference to our University.
19. Societies and sports teams. You can discover your passions, make friends and experience once in a lifetime opportunities.
20. Roses. Whether you were competing, organising or spectating, who didn’t love sporting those I Am Lancaster shirts and cheering the Reds to another victory? York better be afraid for 2015!
21. Student media. There’s something for everyone within SCAN, LA1:TV and Bailrigg FM. If you need convincing, I once interviewed a reindeer, who says dreams don’t come true?
22. Celebrating diversity, with officers representing many minority groups and a very open-minded student population, Lancaster is a great place for everyone to get involved.
23. Friends for life. You’ll meet all kinds of people that you will no doubt see repeatedly due to the microcosm that is Lancaster, so show some love.
24. Friends from home. After going your separate ways, you’ll realise how much you miss them, so make sure Skype is installed!
25. Parents and family. University will also make you realise how much you appreciate your family. It might be annoying loading the dishwasher at home but at least there is a dishwasher and of course wonderful parents to ensure you aren’t failing at life.
26. Appreciating your own bed, which is ridiculously comfy in comparison to student accommodation.
27. Appreciating your pets. Given your beloved pet will likely be the most excited living thing to see you back, you’ll definitely appreciate the slobbery wakeup call next time you’re home!
28. Long holidays. We all work hard, so you deserve to make the most of the time off, and the home cooking.
29. Student cooking. As long as you can use a wok and a spatula you’re pretty much sorted, though you might not win any Michelin stars, it will give you a great sense of pride!
30. Living on campus. You can practically crawl to your lecture 10 minutes before it starts!
31. College spirit. You may not be chanting the incredibly sophisticated ‘you can’t spell County…’ after Freshers’ week, but your college will always be part of you.
32. College bars. Agreat place to watch live entertainment and chill with friends.
33. Live performances that the fabulous societies and bands put on throughout the year.
34. Lecturers. Some are pains, let’s not lie, but some are brilliant teachers who actually care about you and your work.
35. Great people. Lancaster is a fabulous place with helpful and lovely people, whether that’s staff, colleagues, or flatmates, you’ll meet people who will give you some much needed faith in humanity!
36. Bad people. You’ll also meet some of these and I include this because these experiences will make you a stronger person – if they tear you down, get back up and fight even harder!
37. Nights out. Whilst I encourage responsible drinking (do as I say, not as I do), these will provide some amazing memories, albeit some horrific photos!
38. Sober times, which also make great memories.
39. Being a grown-up. Unfortunately uni isn’t all partying and drinking, it’s a place to mature… so I’m told.
40. Realising being a grown-up is scary, so proceeing to act care-free whilst we can! This also leads to putting off the grown-up things for as long as possible, by…
41. Doing a Masters and even…
42. Doing a PHD. Of course there are valuable life and career lessons to take from these, but here isn’t the place to read about them.
43. Your degree. Let’s not forget that we actually came here to achieve something and eventually your degree will click and the lectures will hopefully become interesting.
44. Learning new life skills. It’s okay to not know how to work a washing machine, cook raw meat and recycle until you get to uni – isn’t that what the place is for?!
45. Learning to be a productive and useful member of society.
46. Team work. The combination of learning and meeting new people can be equally fun and challenging.
47. Team work experience. Some groups will be brilliant and a real A Team will form, however some will not and resisting the temptation to throw the projector at someone is an excellent show of character.
48. Procrastinating. I don’t just mean checking Facebook, I mean spending an hour on YouTube watching Grumpy Cat videos.
49. Going out of your comfort zone. Push yourself, talk to different people and try new things. If you don’t, you’re doing it wrong
50. Drinking, have I already mentioned that? No wait, I mean studying. That’s my favourite part Mum, honest.
