Having fun is all part of the student experience. These are the best years of your life and you want to make the most of them!
However, leaving home for university also brings with it a whole new range of responsibilities, not least the need for you to take control of your own safety and well being.
Safety issues are most acute at the times when you are least likely to think about them, such as when you are out enjoying yourself in the evenings. You have to take care of your own possessions, arrange your own transport, manage your alcohol intake and remember the dangers of drugs.
This might sound simple but it is a crucial part of ensuring your evening is a safe and an enjoyable one. You also need to know what to do in a situation where you may be at risk of violence.
For many students, social life is strongly associated with drinking alcohol. Remember that when individuals become high on drink it influences their emotions, and in some cases can make them more irrational or aggressive. You have probably encountered the ‘heady’ individual, endowed with Dutch courage, who is looking for trouble.
If you find yourself face to face with this person (as you may do, simply by being in the wrong place at the wrong time), walk away it’s just not worth the hassle. You will either make a fool of yourself or get hurt, perhaps seriously. Either way, you could have saved a lot of aggro by just saying no.
Secondly, drink can seriously affect your perception. You become more inclined to take risks because you do not appreciate the full scale of the danger you are putting yourself in. For example, should you walk home alone at the end of a night out or call a cab?
Under the influence of alcohol, you might believe that the twenty-minute walk back will only take you five or ten. Be safe: don’t let a few drinks lead you into risks that you would never normally take.