As an incoming Fresher, you've probably spent the past few weeks in some sort of panicked excitement; packing, unpacking, repacking, scouring the internet for 'First Year Uni Essentials' and trying to find a rankings list that proves you chose a better university than your  friends. Amidst joining Facebook groups for your halls and looking at the Freshers' timetable, you’ve probably seen an article about 'The Ten People You'll Meet At Uni' or 'How to Reinvent Yourself in First Year'. These are generally a list of very boxy stereotypes and terrible ideas - the Gay, the Party Animal, the Comic Book Nerd, Girls Look Great with Buzzcuts - and, from my experience, tend to do more harm than good.

I looked at one of these lists before my first year and spent a while agonising over the fact that I didn't seem to fit any boxes. I wasn't dedicated enough to reinvent myself (pixie haircuts scare me) and I wasn't sure whether I could really pull off the Bookish Intellectual Hipster, characterised as 'usually having five books on the go and with a habit of shopping at Urban Outfitters'. It wasn’t very ‘me’. I pushed the worry to the back of my mind but, as soon as arrivals weekend crept up on me, I found myself immediately slotting people into their roles and treating them accordingly.

We're all guilty of this in various capacities, even at college we have our cliques, but I'd never really thought about the effect I had on other people through my assumptions. I decided who was the Loud One, the Quiet One, the Musician... and I’m fairly sure people did the same thing to me. What worries me most is that I probably stepped on one or two people without realising it. I don’t mean literally, of course, I mean that my stereotyping of one girl, let’s call her Sophie, probably wasn’t a good idea. She didn’t come out of her room much, wasn’t a huge fan of drinking, only came to one of the Freshers’ Week club nights and didn’t seem to have any urge to make conversation whether in the kitchen, the corridor or on the way to the VC’s speech.

Sophie was the Quiet One. What I knew about her (from my extensive time reading up on what uni was going to be like) was that she was never going to change and she was boring. The way to make her fun was to get her drunk. Then she’d realise what she was missing and finally become a ’real person’. Great! So I tried. A few of us tried. Peer pressure will out, right? What’s the point in Freshers’ Week if you’re not drunk all night and hungover for your fire safety induction?

The thing is, I still know Sophie. We’re really good friends and have been since about week 3 of first year. She’s quiet, spends a lot of time in her room, doesn’t talk much and isn’t big on drinking, however, she is one of the best people I’ve ever met. When I learned to ignore the stupid things the internet tells you about ‘What Your Life Will Be Like Now You’re At Uni’, I found myself surrounded by really interesting people. It turned out that the Gay was also the Musician, the Comic Book Nerd was a massive Party Animal and the Quiet One was the girl who had a full pilot’s license with a summer job taking people skydiving.

As a Fresher, you’ll want to fit in and be liked. Everybody does. My experience has taught me not to change myself and not to try and change others - it’s not worth it. Make real friends with real people and don’t worry about ‘finding yourself’. Enjoy your Freshers’ Week, enjoy your year; everything else falls into place with time.