A student who gave up alcohol just weeks after freshers' says uni life is just as enjoyable sober - and she doesn't care if people call her "boring".<br /><br />Elysia Sanders, 19, quit the booze in November last year after realising she didn't even like the taste - and 'hangxiety' was affecting her mental health.<br /><br />The geography undergraduate returns to Durham University for her second year on Monday (25/9).<br /><br />She says she's going to continue her sobriety - and have a good time doing it.<br /><br />Elysia, from Chiswick, West London, said: "I drank throughout sixth form and I drank for my first freshers' week. But I realised I just didn't like drinking.<br /><br />"It isn't that I signed a contract to never drink again, but I just don't want to and can't imagine myself wanting to again.<br /><br />"I still go out clubbing twice a week - people ask how. But I wouldn't go if I didn't want to.<br /><br />"There are so many benefits to not drinking, like saving money and still being able to get up for your 9am feeling fresh the next day.<br /><br />"The main benefit is the confidence and self-assurance that comes when you know you don't need to be under the influence to be fun to be around."<br /><br />Elysia was still drinking when she completed her first freshers' week.<br /><br />But she didn't enjoy the hangovers and anxiety the following morning after a heavy night of drinking.<br /><br />She says she didn't drink more than the 'average British teenager' but admits there were times she regretted how much she had consumed.<br /><br />So she opted to go sober and, ten months on, even as this years freshers week' rolls around, she hasn't looked back.<br /><br />As a sober student, Elysia says she's in the minority - and is the only one in her friendship group who doesn't drink.<br /><br />But she still plans to go clubbing, attend late-night events and work into the early hours in a student bar.<br /><br />She said: "The overwhelming reaction when I tell people I don't drink is genuine curiosity.<br /><br />"Some can be a bit negative, saying 'you'd never get away with not drinking at my university'.<br /><br />"A lot of people are genuinely curious how I do it, but I still go out clubbing once or twice a week and it's not difficult for me.<br /><br />"Last year we had a ball and to qualify as a 'survivor' you had to make it to 6am - which I did.<br /><br />"Everyone couldn't believe I'd done it sober - but I don't think I'd have stayed awake if I had been drinking!"<br /><br />She said she most enjoys being able to go on a night out and still get up the next day and do what she had planned.<br /><br />The cost benefits have also been significant for Elysia - who says the most she has EVER spent on a university night out was £25.<br /><br />That included two taxis and club entry - because she only drank soft drinks.<br /><br />Elysia said: "There were times when I agreed to have a drink because I felt embarrassed to say I'd rather have a lemonade.<br /><br />"I wish I'd had the confidence to say I'd rather have something I like the taste of."<br /><br />Elysia encourages anyone considering going sober to give it a try.<br /><br />She added: "I wish I could tell myself a year ago nobody will massively judge you for it. A lot of people are really supportive."
