New Year at Cambridge University

People often begin the New Year with a set of resolutions - and it seems that, because the year '2020' simply sounds so exceptionally poignant and cool, people are particularly keen to set themselves big goals this year.

I haven't spent too much time mulling over potential resolutions - I guess that if everyone put their mind to it, they would probably have a very very long list of all the things they wish to start or continue in the New Year.

But one of the things that I DO know that I wish to do is to sharpen my pencils, pull up my writing gloves, and to create fresh content every week full of all the wonderful things we sometimes miss in the mad shuffle of our daily lives! Whilst I'm studying at Cambridge University I'm aiming to create both weekly blogs and weekly vlogs, giving an inside look at life in Cam, from the studying to all the frivolities I fill my extra moments with on the side.

This week is the start of that! So without further ado, buckle in for the journalistic musings of my daily life at Cambridge...

MONDAY

The day of my return to Cambridge. My train from Durham was leaving at 16.59, with a change at York, a change at Stevenage, and then a late 'bonjour! Welcome back!' to Cambridge at 20.51. However, what is life without a little eletrical difficulty on the train line, with two cancellations and one delay on the trot! I had the most marvellous time working out which alternative ways to Cambridge would be potential possibiltiies, journeying back to Peterbrough from Stevenage, and then finally getting a train to Cambridge at 22.19. Even more excellent, a fellow passenger offered to carry my very heavy back all the way back to college with me (which I very kindly accepted).

TUESDAY

My latest illustration is up on Varsity! I hunted around various university offices to find a copy which was all well and good until I realised the newspaper won't be released until January 17th. Hey-ho!

WEDNESDAY

Although term began yesterday, my first day of lectures was today. It started with a one hour group supervision, followed immediately by two hours of lectures. By 4pm it actually wasn't too dark (is darkness after 4pm just a Northern thing? South-dwellers, please enlighten me) so I picked up some groceries (i.e. restocked my freezer with Quorn as the common thief on my corridor stole mine again) and then made my calendar for March... which to me seems very far ahead, but life is so packed with meetings and the time actually does fly. But the highlight of the day? Trying out this AMAZING Norvell Amber Sun tan! It smells delicious, and it is so satisfying to watch yourself instantly bronze. It darkens overnight too, so you wake up with a new-founded Mediterranean glow.

THURSDAY

Went to the college gym for the first time this year! And I had it all to myself which was even more excellent. Followed my exercise session with doing the reading for my Research Methods lecture tomorrow (proud of me), unpacking my suitcase, and then starting a new book. Currently LOVING Mint Intense Dark Lindt and my gorgeous golden tan. Had a pub quiz on the evening, and my specialities seem to be naming Musketeers and guessing which baby photo belongs to whom.

FRIDAY

Last lecture of the first week back - study hack: typing out notes during the lecture instead of writing them like a Victorian scholar vastly improves how many notes you take and attention retention. I know that most people have only ever used laptops in university lectures but it really does dramatically increase how much you absorb (especially if you don't connect to Wi-Fi and do a little undercover web-meandering simultaneously). An extra bonus was finding a delicious bar of Hotel Chocolat caramel cappuccino chocolate in my laptop bag.

Plus I edited together my first uni vlog of 2020! You can check it out here. Hope you enjoyed my first in-depth blog post of the year. Much love xx