Hello to all my loving (and, I dearly hope, forgiving) readers. I’m back to tell you that I have not moved to a cave on Mars or suffered some unfortunate accident, rendering me unable to communicate through the means of the internet. I merely got a job. More on the utopia that was my Apple internship and the rest of my summer will be conveyed in a video blog which I will soon be scripting, so for this post I would like to talk about you.

Let’s start with the Freshers. Young, fresh, full of potential and all buzzing with the thought of what this year can bring. A fresh start, a fresh country for most of you, and a chance to break away from any shackles of that juvenile perception your elders had of you up to this point. You are independent, and don’t let your student loan or that monthly deposit from your parents tell you otherwise.

I have had a quite a few e-mails asking for advice about finances, dress code, what to read up on and a whole range of other things about all aspects of uni. To all people apprehensive about what they will get up to in their first year of university, I have this to say: don’t panic! On your first day you will be thrown into an environment where you are surrounded by people who are homesick, scared, unskilled, or have no concept of how to live with other people. I draw you back to a previous post I made about Imperial: no matter how strange you are, you will find people just as strange, so just be nice and approachable and you will have a great time.

As far as freshers week goes, enjoy it as much as you can!! Don’t worry about work or money (you have three/four/seven more years of doing that). All I ask is that you accumulate as many embarrassing stories as you possibly can and tell me all about them once you regain consciousness. The rest of the year can (and should) be played by ear, as it is all about self discovery and how you function in this new situation. How motivated are you when deadlines get close? How well can you balance coursework and society life? How many energy drinks are needed to get you through exam week?

To everyone else, congratulations for getting through to another fantastic year of uni. I sincerely hope your new academic year’s resolutions last at least two weeks this time round.

I’m very happy to report that I will be right here with you all for another year answering e-mails and writing about my life at Imperial College London. Please be sure to say hi to me during freshers fair.

Thanks for reading,

Chris xx