University of Portsmouth: First Year Diary

September 2017 - Part 9: Wetherspoons

   I had planned to go to the Cinema Society social that was held the night after the taster session which I did go to, which was to watch the movie 'Wonder Woman' in the Student's Union. The social was to start off in the Union bar, which was the part I had planned to stay for to get to know people, and to sign my name on their white T-shirts which was the aim of the social, and then it was to move on to a nightclub which I knew and accepted was inaccessible. However, almost instantly after I arrived at the Union bar I felt vulnerable and out of place, especially as I had been in my manual wheelchair that day and felt extra small compared to the tall masses of the people around me, and my senses seemed heightened to noise and I felt overwhelmed. Additionally, I was embarrassed as I had forgotten to bring my passport to prove my age so they wouldn't have let me in, except for the fact that the guy on the door trusted me and let me in that one time without my passport.
   So instead of going on a social that I knew I wouldn't enjoy, I ended up going to the local Wetherspoons, the Isambard Kingdom Brunel, with Jack, Joel and his personal assistant Marc. I hadn't yet eaten dinner that night so I bought myself fish and chips, and what's great about the Wetherspoons as they offer smaller portions of most of their dishes, for if people aren't necessarily that hungry, which is the option I went for, and enjoyed it very much. I also had the experience of getting slightly tipsy (I know very nice drink called Strongbow Darkfruit) but I knew I was nowhere near the stage of haziness that some of the other customers were at around me.
   Overall, I'm glad I went on an alternative outing, which would've happened eventually anyway, instead of going back to my room and feeling sorry for myself. However I am glad that I tried to go to the social instead of convincing myself as I  almost did, that it wasn't worth it at at all.