Student blogs

Hola peeps. I know it’s been forever since I last wrote something (yeah, I know, I totally failed my resolution) and sorry about that, but I’m currently in one of my lazy moods:3 (and if that’s not a good enough excuse; which by the way, it should be; I have been pretty ~sorta~ busy with exams, a deadline coming up next week, a weekend trip to Budapest and beginning my journey into exploring the vast field of Geology and Earth History). I’ll blog more about Geology later on, but for now I’m just gonna tell you about clubs and societies at Imperial.

 

Now, if you’re one of those (including me) who looks up the list of societies Imperial has to offer, you’ll notice that we have literally hundreds of clubs to choose from. And if you don’t find one that suits you, you can always start a new one. In fact I’m pretty sure that almost every year someone will come up with something new (I think this year it was the Oenology Soc or something).

 

Anyway, the basic advice everyone always give you on Freshers’ Week is to sign up to the mailing lists of all the clubs which interests you (usually there will be dozens so be prepared to have an overflowing inbox over the next few weeks), then go to every taster you can (to shortlist them into just a couple) and finally commit to just one club.

 

~At least that’s what everyone says. Me? Well, I’m greedy in a sense, and when I’m feeling keen, I really am keen. By that I mean I have a ~somewhat~ tendency to go overboard/ overenthusiastic in my first year; being that I WANT to join EVERYTHING. Not to mention, I’m not the most decisive person ever, so I have a really hard time choosing only one club (in my defense, I do like to keep busy so that I won’t get bored/ keeps my mind off things). So, I ended up joining… seven clubs?

To be honest, it’s not that bad… Like I said, I like being busy so this works for me but if you’re not like me, I’d suggest sticking to one or two. Most of meetings don’t clash and you’re free to not go if you don’t want to, so it’s not one of those high-commitment things. But hey, I get to do stuff I’m interested in and it helps with my social awkwardness so what’s there not to like? (yeah, I’m a shy kitty-cat… probably doesn’t seem like one from my blogs huh?) I’mma do some club promotion now, k? Here it goes:

 

1. Anime Society (ICAS)

You can probably guess what we do here, huh? But wait! We’re not just a bunch of otaku shut-ins who meet up twice a week to watch anime together (popular anime series according to genre theme on Mondays and movies on Fridays), we do socials and drawing classes on Wednesdays and we also have special event nights! (like Halloween night with a pumpkin carving competition and inter-uni karaoke)… If you buy membership, you’ll also get access to the Anime library with over 500 items (ie manga, anyone?) and discounts to MCM Comicons and other conventions if you’re into that stuff. Plus you get food on event nights, so that’s one less meal to worry about (snacks count as dinner too, right?)¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Membership: £ 4

 

2. Astronomy Society (AstroSoc)

Did I ever tell you I used to want to be an astronomer? Even though that didn’t come true, that doesn’t mean I’m giving up on astronomy… Here at AstroSoc, we not only do star-gazing activities (with snacks, of course), we organise astronomical-related talks/ lectures as well as visits to observatories and museums. We went to Greenwich Royal Observatory November last year and even to Mill Hill Observatory which is managed by UCL about two weeks ago. Tickets for members are usually discounted but you can still come along if you’re a non-member. It’s true that London is probably not the most ideal place to do observations, but it’s kinda fun when there’s a lot of people to chat to while you’re waiting for the clouds to pass so you can catch a glimpse at Altair or something (I’m kidding… mostly?) Joint events are also popular, typically with one of my other clubs 

Membership: £ 5

 

3. Baking Society (BakeSoc)

One of the resolutions I didn’t mess up. I actually did do a lot baking this month (sugar cookies and lemon pound cakes, anyone?) We don’t actually do much for this club to be honest but it’s fine since this club’s free… we’ve only had a few meetings last term but one’s coming up this Thursday. Typically, we bake something according to a theme and bring it to our potluck where we eat it together. A general rule is that it’s free if you bring something and £ 2.00 if you don’t… and you get to enjoy baked goods as much as you like (as long as it’s not finished). It’s a great opportunity to share/ compare recipes and stuff (debating whether chewy or crunchy cookies are better) while you’re munching on cake. Spontaneous baking is also encouraged so you can bring your failed experiments for us to eat too if you want If you’re still not convinced, we arrange cake-hunting outings to bakeries and occasional cooking classes too.

Membership: Free

4. De La Beche (DLB) + Geophysics Society

These are actually two separate clubs. De La Beche is the Geology club and Geophysics, well it’s self-explanatory… I don’t actually count them as real clubs because for me they’re academic/ departmental clubs, but I thought I should mention them as well. Basically if you’re a geologist, you’re automatically a DLB member and if you’re a geophysicist, it goes the same with the Geophysics Society. If you’re a Geology and Geophysics kid like me though, they count you as a geologist so you’re in DLB. But if you’re undecided whether you want to venture more into geology or geophysics (like me), or you’re just somewhat of a busybody who wants to feel included (also like me), you can join both. They’re both free anyway *waves hand*, and the events are open to everyone (mostly people in ESE but we’re welcoming people so if you’re interested, do join in the fun… PS if anything happens, kindly refrain from mentioning my name:3 don’t worry, I’m kidding again~). DLB and Geophysics Soc both organise talks on a semi-regular basis with snacks and refreshments usually around lunchtime or after afternoon lectures so feel free to attend. They also arrange field trips to sites which are of geological interest typically in summer (and a few weekend trips as well) but tickets are limited and typically get sold out within minutes so do be quick! Oh, and being departmental clubs, they have a lot more other events like bowling, paintball, pub crawls, etc. Also a good chance to get to know the senior years and network if that’s your thing (I’m a bit too much of a scaredy-cat to do much of this, though)

Membership: Free

 

5. Science Fiction and Fantasy Society (ICSF)

The reason I joined this club was because they have an amazing library full of sci-fi/ fantasy books which you can borrow books from if you’re a member. Since I like reading, and the price of membership would be cheaper than the overall amount I’d spend on books otherwise, I figured “why not?” The membership is a bit pricey but bear in mind that it includes regular lunchtime meetups, ~weekly viewings, occasional discounted cinema trips and rights to borrow books, DVDs and graphic novels from the ICSF West Basement library. There’s also special event nights for Halloween, Christmas, etc where we watch/ sing sing-a-longs and munch on festive (and not so festive) foods. We are also the proud organiser of Picocon, ICSF’s annual convention and biggest event. This year’s is on 17th February so grab your tickets here– panel discussion, fun convention games, a bucket of liquid nitrogen, and a massive hammer borrowed from a friendly fire engine; it’s going to be epic!

Membership: £ 8

 

6. Islamic Society (ISoc)

Me joining this club was a bit of a coincidence, I guess… I wasn’t planning to go but I just came back from somewhere that Saturday and decided I didn’t want to go back to my accom yet so I went to their taster session instead… and decided that I liked it. Everyone was so friendly and it was nice to have others who were in the same boat as I am. You know, being a hijabi Muslim in London and all, it’s good to have someone I can depend on when I’m looking for new halal restaurants or just wanted to talk headscarf fashion styles/ designs/ tips (because a girl will always be a girl, after all) Besides, we have these fortnightly social events called Shake Breaks where we listen to some advice, play games and yes, drink milkshakes! Not to forget, sisters’ circle where we ladies get to catch up and discuss issues/ problems (plus hot choc sometimes if you’re lucky). We also do charity/ volunteering events where we raise money for various causes like the homeless, refugees, and many more.While we’re on the topic, Discover Islam Week is coming up soon this 5th-16th February so follow us at @DIWIMPERIAL #DIW2018

Membership: £ 2

 

So yeah, that’s most (if not all) of the clubs/ societies that I joined. The moral of the story is, Imperial is an open community where you’re free, and are encouraged to, pursue whatever you’re interested in (as long as it doesn’t get in the way of your studies, of course). So those rumours about Imperial students being nerds who don’t have a life; well, we ARE nerds (and proud of it) but we still manage to have a ~pretty~sorta~ normal social life. Because your life is up to you to live it… and you decide the amount of stuff you can handle going around. But don’t worry, in case you’re struggling (hey, everyone does at some point… it’s totally normal), there’re always people here who can (and are happy to) lend you a helping hand; whether it be fellow students or staff. So yeah, go forth. And since I’m done being inspirational and promoting Imperial/ my clubs/ myself lol?, I’m gonna sign off now.

Peace out. Toodles~