Going cold turkey

You have been waiting patiently in line for the checkout when finally it is your turn to claim your prize, to hand over the cash knowing that one swipe later, the gorgeous must-have items that you have scoured from the rails will be yours. Yours to wear with confidence and yours to love and to cherish. But hold on a minute, don’t you already have tens of t-shirts like the one you are handing to the happily waiting cashier? Don’t you have two or three skirts to go with that fabulous chiffon blouse that you have not got round to wearing yet? Well, yes probably, but who’s asking?

Then suddenly as you are caught up in your very own catwalk moment while your card is being authorised, the now not-so-friendly sales assistant promptly and not-so-discreetly tells you that your card has been declined. DECLINED. Fashion fantasy over, finance reality is staring you in the face.

The trouble with shopping is that there comes a point where self control is the must-have accessory, never mind the hot new tasselled clutch that has just arrived at Topshop. Self control and the idea of putting sense before lust is something that I must learn and really put into action. This may involve just steering clear of the rails emblazoned with sale stickers and ‘just in’ logos but fundamentally it has to be about building up a wardrobe that I can be happy with for months and not feel the need to buy something to add to my vast collection of clothes at every retail stop I take.

It sounds drastic, I know. And as a student with little income and even littler disposable cash, I have decided that for now, going cold turkey is the answer, at least until my bank account sees the light at the end of the tunnel anyway. This means that over the next couple of months I will do my best to buy absolutely no clothes, zilch, nada. So my journey to becoming a more sensible shopper begins here and I will document my progress herein. I am not willing to be confronted by another sympathetic shop worker any time soon, but I can still allow myself to live in a fabulous, fantasy-ridden world of fashion, wish me luck.

Choose university living:

Life moves fast. In no way do I see myself as a philosopher, but as my first year of University comes to an end, I find myself pondering the future.

These are the best years of your life. One of which is nearly over with a mere blink of the eye. This year has been eventful, filled with cherished memories that reduce me to fits of giggles just at the thought. No one will take that away.

The scary thing is how fast it has all happened. It seems like five minutes ago that I was moving into my flat as a Fresher, not knowing a soul and fearing what might come next. Now, I move out of the same flat in a matter of weeks carrying with me many more things that I came in with (an expanded collection of clothes included).



University changes people. Myself included. To a certain extent anyway, and I believe that these changes are usually for the better. I have met some exceptions, however. No one's perfect.

So, as I was sitting in my friends bedroom, Lily Allen playing in the background, I found time to think about my first year of University coming to a conclusion. I noticed a poster, a rather amusing and 100% true poster about life at University.
It presented a list of things, which I now know to be inevitable activities for the average student and after a year of living under this stereotype, I can admit to doing a few of the things mentioned. Some of the included being: 'choosing to sniff-test clothes to see if they are wearable', 'choosing left over take-aways for breakfast' (gross when you think about it afterwards, but so good at the time), 'choosing a new lover to replace the one you left at home' and the most stereotypical, 'choosing to increase your alcohol tolerance level'.

Amongst the many that I have experienced, there are others that I haven't and some that I never will. Choosing to sleep with a lecturer to get top marks being a firm "no".

University is a way of life. It is different to anything that I have experienced before and to anything that I probably have yet to experience. It's a time when you can do things, get away with them and put it down to being a tear-away student.

Personally, I would recommend University to the masses. Going past the major occupational benefits, Uni is the the time in your life when you will discover more about yourself (and others; good and bad) than ever before.