The ultimate timeline of your freshers’ journey at Sussex

Sixth form and the stress of A-levels are over, and you've got into Sussex! You're on your way to living the proper student life at university, with the added freedom and independence of leaving your parents behind and meeting tons of new people.

But what lies ahead? What madness will ensue? Just how many traffic cones will you steal? We've spelt out a potential timeline for your first term at Sussex.

16/17th September: Feeling mixed emotions watching your parents cry and leave you in a new and alien environment

It may be the start to your Freshers' week of meeting new people and joining new societies, but despite all the exciting events coming up, you'll suddenly long for the comfort of home-cooked dinners, but mostly your dog.

18th September: Answering the same questions to every new person you meet.

"Where are you from?"

"What course are you studying?"

You'll feel like a stuck record playing over and over again, so you might as well just stick a label on your forehead to avoid repeating yourself, for the sake of laziness.

20th September: You'll realise you hate the Co-op queue

All you forgot was milk from the Sainsbury's food shop with your parents, and now you have to wait for what seems like a lifetime just to have your morning cereal. Plus, why is it always busy when you're in a rush?

21st September: When your washing basket is full with clothes smelling like alcohol and bad decisions, you come to the realisation that your parents never showed you how to properly wash your clothes.

First of all, finding yourself 10p short to make the £3 to actually wash your clothes is agonising. Then you might call your parents first and ask what you need to do, or if you feel confident, your first wash may results in, shrunken towels, a lost single sock, and maybe even an grey coloured t-shirt.

23rd September: The first 3am fire alarm seems funny at first, but halfway through first term, it becomes a war between the one who set it off and the rest of your building.

The second it is set off it's like a hunt for the kill, as everyone tries to figure out who set it off and then precede to gang up on them with comments like, "I have a 9am, you a**hole!"

24th September: Your wardrobe becomes 65% fancy dress.

You would have spent ages on your fancy dress outfits just for a couple of photos, and by the end of Freshers, you've lost your Primark devil horns, the angel wings have snapped, and you'll have accumulated enough fancy dress to have 12 different outfit ideas for Halloween and Fright Festival.

25th September: The first maintenance loan payment makes you feel invincible

That night, you'll probably decide to splurge a little too much on Domino's, or a post-night out Fish & Chips after buying your third round of shots in The Haunt or at Trash Mondays.

26th September: The minute freshers' week is over, and your first lectures begin, you finally feel the pang of homesickness

You resist the urge to call home every day, begging to come home. Your mum knew this was going to happen, and you both cry down the phone to each-other, or Facetime each other, just so you can see your dog, and cry even more.

27th September. …And then actually getting sick.

Cue Freshers' flu. Yes this is a real thing, and the first couple weeks of your lectures and seminars are full of red and dry noses, and tissues, whilst the lecturers' voice is drowned out by constant coughs and sneezes. You'll spend the entirety of your illness in bed and watching Netflix.

29th September: You accept that you probably won't go to most of the societies you signed up for at Fresher's fair.

Even if you signed up for Harry Potter society because you think Daniel Radcliffe is fit, or wanted to try real life Quidditch, it's unlikely you'll ever go. Even that Nicholas Cage Appreciation Society seemed interesting at first.

13th October: You'll finally get to grips with the Sussex/Brighton rivalry after hearing about 2017 Varsity

Second and Third Years will probably tell you about all that happened in last year's Varsity, and even get angry about 2018 Varsity which has been cancelled as a result. Tensions when meeting Brighton students on nights out increase.

21st October: The first person you meet doesn't mean you have to be best friends and hang out with each other forever.

The"five minute best friend" you meet on the first day literally lasts the entirety of Freshers, and results in awkward encounters around campus where you'll walk past and just smile at each other, remembering all the best drunken memories you had together.

29th October: Avoiding looking at your bank account the day after Fright Festival

Although it seems like Halloween for Sussex means going to Fright Festival, you'll spend a fortune on getting the best fancy dress, buying over-priced food and drink there, and a taxi to Brighton Racecourse (who knew it was so far from campus?). But, it was all worth it in the end because Halloween is arguably the best pointless holiday ever.

5th November: Get hyped over Lewes Bonfire

The world renowned firework display is a mere bus or train away and you want to capture every moment of it, including showing off to your all friends back home on Snapchat.

6th November: Stay off social media due to Lewes Bonfire

Crowds and traffic will give you future nightmares, and you were forced to walk back to campus at midnight. You just think fireworks are just fireworks, and retire yourself from ever returning again. They'll just be better on screen, right?

13th November: The constant partying and food start to drain your bank account, so you realise, finally, you don't have the bank account of Richard Branson.

That loan is slowly disappearing from your bank account, eaten up by the £10 spent at PRYZM on a single round of shots and the recurring 2am chips from Buddy's after a night out. You decide to start buying all your groceries from Sainsbury's Basics range.

1st December: As the end of term and deadlines approach, you are faced with a fatal decision that may cost either your social life or education

Do you sacrifice your weekly The Haunt Monday's, PRYZM Wednesday's, and Coalition Friday's for the sake of your grades, or continue to go out as "first year doesn't count"? You decide you might just work really hard to earn yourself a night out, but that doesn't always happen.

15th December: You can't believe how fast the first term went, and now you look forward to the long Christmas break, even if it means revising for those January exams.

Now that you're heading back home, maybe even for the first time, you'll realise how much you'll miss all your new friends and your flatmates. Even that one you don't really like or keeps themselves to themselves. Also, you'll probably delay your revision until the second week of January after meeting up with your friends back home

26th January: You'll realise the library is a maze, with hidden rooms and passages you've never encountered before, and some you probably won't ever see

During the January exam period, you'll wander around the library for a five minute break from revision and find yourself in some aisle containing books on 'The History of the Potato' and some strange, explicit photography book.

5th February: With first exams over and a new term, it feels like going back to normal

You'll feel like you've conquered a lot. University? Completed it. However it's a new term, and it's probably going to get a lot worse from now on. Prepare yourselves. You're back with your flatmates and friends, ready to get back to PRYZM and Skint Tuesday's, but your tutors are already talking about coursework and exams.

Freshers is definitely a whole year of milestones and learning, especially with "adulting", friendships, and relationships, but this journey gives you plenty of happy and funny memories, even your missing favourite sock from that first wash.