Why remembering is important
If you’re going into your first year, there’s two things about life that have become apparent to you: time goes fast, and it gets faster the older you get. When you’re young, you have only lived a few years, so the years ahead seem grand, but when you’re 18 years old, a year is about 5.5% of your life. This means it is important that you remember your first year at university, because what are we without our memories? Having something physical helps in remembering that one night your friend wore that awful outfit, or the time you tripped over in front of everyone.
Be the annoying photographer (but not all the time)
The rope you walk of when you get your phone out at a social gathering is a tight one, since you want to enjoy the experience, but part of why the experience is so enjoyable is because it is ephemeral, and slowly slipping through your fingers and that is the very same reason you want to capture it. Furthermore, I am a man. It’s not really in our culture to take loads of photos. Is it unmanly to get your guy friends together and pose for a photo? If we spend time together, we might maybe get one for the night, but only if a woman suggests it. My suggestion to you is to make the culture in your group of friends. Personally, I prefer to take spontaneous photos. Quick-draw style, like an old western duel. Like: ‘BANG!’ before anyone can change their face from their regular face to their camera face. Obviously, check with them before. Hopefully, you will get a bunch of fun pictures of you and your friends. But, if this still doesn’t work, just ask. Now you have your photos, there are a lot of websites where you can print off your pictures, and you can stick them on your pin board.
Keep mementos (but not empty bottles of alcohol)
I like the idea of mementos. They are like historic artefacts, but that represent my own history and memories. Although mementos are different for everyone, don’t keep bottles of vodka from a good night out, because that’s just an empty bottle of vodka. Additionally, don’t keep traffic cones that you nicked from down the road that same night. Here’s an example: in my first year, a friend I met online, came all the way to the great city of Lincoln from Belgium. It was a cool experience, and the best part, she bought with her two small bottles of Belgian beer, which tasted amazing! These two bottles of beer are sitting on the shelves above my desk. The heading is a lie, if an empty bottle of alcohol really means something to you, keep it! Give it a good wash first, though. Another thing you can keep is your receipts. Not so you can get a refund, but so you can stick it on your pin board. It could be a first date with someone sweet, or a film you watched and loved with your dad.
Music is a perfect way to remember (but make it your own)
We each consume it in different ways. For me, an addiction to an artist starts, where I almost only listen to one artist for the next several months, with some other songs sprinkled in. At the end of the year, grow sick of the artist after listening too much. So, I make a playlist for every year. Now, when I look back and hit play on one of these playlists, my mind is automatically bought back to when I used to listen to these songs, and the memories come back as well. Sometimes, specific days that have vanished from my memory long ago reappear. My suggestion is to make yourself a new playlist at the start of first year, and start adding all of your favourite songs, and make some memories as you listen to these songs.
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