/25/ – second year recap (tl;dr)

So here it is; the end of year two. I can’t believe I’m already half way through my degree; I can’t believe I’m 21; I can’t believe I’m about to have a whole year in Berlin! How is it all happening so fast?

Before this portion of my life slips away completely, I want to record what an average week for me looks like this Trinity.

I spend many weekends back home with my parents, isolating myself from the world with nothing but my laptop and a stack of books for company.

Monday morning there’s a lecture on – Paper VIII, Modern German Literature – but I don’t really go now. The lecture series has covered all my topics of interest already (and I’m kind of lazy). In previous terms, I’d have two or three, even five lectures a week but now it’s just the one and I’d rather sleep in.

Most days I have coffee with one friend or another, grabbing a Cappuccino (much to the distaste of one friend, who informed me that Cappuccino is not to be drunk in the afternoon) and sitting on the bench on the Front Quad. Come rain or shine, I’m there.

I try to go to the library, but get bored quickly. I’d rather read in my bed, or in a coffee shop, or in the newly-refurbished GCR, a small common room with computers which I helped refurbish (and by helped, I mean I made most of the design decision s and the college’s maintenance team did all the actual hard work, so an ideal situation for me really even if I felt a bit lazy!). It’s a pretty sky-blue colour, and has some of the comfiest armchairs I’ve ever had the pleasure to lounge in.

I often grab a burrito or Chinese takeout for dinner – and I wonder where the pounds come from? – or make something back home, usually while watching an episode (or two, or three) of my latest favourite TV Show. This term, it’s been The West Wing, Game of Thrones, Parks and Rec and Hart of Dixie.

I don’t go out as much as I used to, but it’s a rare week that doesn’t find me in a club at least once. I don’t like to drink that much and though I’m often amused by my friends and have a good time dancing and talking, I don’t love the getting bored way before anyone else wants to leave any more than the slightly wobbly walk or bike ride home. Of course I also get wasted time to time, but the times are become further apart and I don’t miss it.

I also have my fair share of student jobs. At least once a week, I set time aside to go out and take some photos for the Development Office, be it of the College buildings, a sports match, a rowing race, or any number of other events happening around the College. On Thursdays, I work in the Development Office on our College’s magazine, Exon (you can read old editions here), where I commission, chase down, edit, and occasionally even write articles. My favourite articles are the features.

My other job is working in the bar. I love working in the bar – 99% of the time, you’re serving your friends, and there’s a really good quiz machine down there. I have no idea how many pounds I’ve wasted on playing Battleships, but I won my fair share of times! Because this term was my busiest so far, I often ended up taking the lighter shifts on Sunday evenings (which goes some way to making up for having worked every bop in the last year on top of one or two shifts a week – I’m so glad that we can have this flexibility for our studies when we need it). I’m really going to miss bar work during my year abroad but I know that job will be waiting for me in fourth year when I come back.

Of course, there never really is an “average” week in Oxford. This term, I worked on an immersive cinema event, photographed the Windsor Regatta, went to a Watsky concert, served Pimms on the riverside, stayed up all night dancing on the 1^st of May, celebrated my 21^st birthday with some of my best friends, took part in the selection process for the next rector, helped on a linguistics research project, went to three balls, and even managed to squeeze in the occasional run.

So that’s it, pretty much! I have no idea what my average week in the next year will be like but I can’t wait to find out.