It’s nearing the end of first term, so uni is starting to ramp up in intensity. Conversely, I think I’m doing less work now than in the first few weeks; I learnt I was putting too much pressure on myself to always be doing something, rather than simply being. In my head, everything had much more urgency than in reality, and I’ve witnessed that life has gone on by allowing myself to relax.
For me, a week at university looks completely different from another – I only have about seven hours of contact hours a week, so I vary the ways in which I fill my time. I still thought it’d be interesting to show what exactly a final student gets up to. Maybe I can debunk the myth that uni students do nothing besides drink: something I hardly ever do nowadays!
Monday, 17th November 2025
I only have one hour-long lecture at 1pm on Mondays. However, I’ve gotten into a habit of waking up early, coming with both benefits and downsides; it’s good because I have more time to get things done, but it’s bad because it’s probably making me sleep-deprived long term. Accepting the situation, I set off to uni at about 9am to do some work before my lecture.
I had my French oral exam on the Thursday, which asks that we upload a group presentation for a subsequent class discussion. We had to post it at least two days in advance, so Yi Chen, the other half of my pair, suggested we meet after the lecture to record it. With this in mind, I spent the morning polishing my script. We chose to discuss the reasons why Swiss are in general good health, since Yi Chen wanted to explore its relationship with the country’s cleanliness.
I went to the lecture for my module, ‘Translation as a Cultural Practice’. It’s really fascinating and something I’d never properly considered before doing the module; we learn about all manner of translation theories and the idea that there’s no such thing as an objectively correct translation. In week 10, we have to do a presentation about a subject of our choice within the translation realm, so my group have chosen to talk about how queerness is expressed in gendered languages. We haven’t started it yet, but I’m excited to read about it.
Yi Chen and I then went to the library. We initially had some technical difficulties; we struggled with audio feedback as we were recording on two devices, until we realised we had to mute ourselves whilst the other was talking. It actually went better than I was expecting, – I’d started working on it weeks before but hadn’t really thought about it again until that morning. I now just needed to prepare for potential questions for the class discussion.
On Tuesday, the Feminist Society (of which I’m the secretary) were running a bake sale to raise money for Gaza. This meant that the previous weekend, Lewis (my boyfriend) and I spent the afternoon making a millionaire shortbread. We wanted to do something easy, but a switch from classic cupcakes or cookies. When I got home that evening, I took it out the fridge, but I had to leave it on the side before slicing it up.
In the meantime, I decided to get started on a present for Lewis’ birthday on the 25th November: I had a plan to write 30 things I loved about him in his birthday card as he’s turning 30, but I had an epiphany to instead make a jar of them. I painted the lid with paint markers, wrote each reason on a piece of paper, and cut them out. Anyone who knows me knows I love crafting, and even more so when it’s for someone else.
I made my tea, a simple omelette, and knew I needed to bite the bullet with the shortbread. The chocolate was luckily less solid at this point, but we appeared to have made another mistake: we didn’t grease the dish enough and the base was stuck! After about half an hour of gently prying it out, I broke a lot of it, but thankfully ended up with a few salvageable pieces. I gave the crumbly aftermath of the dish to Ciaran (my housemate) and told him to knock himself out.
I had a bath, one of my favourite things in the Winter, and shortly went to bed. I did my standard nighttime routine of journaling, yoga, meditation, followed by a Netflix episode. I just finished rewatching Stranger Things in preparation for the new season the following week, so I’m now rewatching Peep Show. I think I may have fallen asleep watching it because I don’t remember turning it off!
Tuesday, 18th November 2025
Unfortunately, Tuesday is the day of my 9am 2-hour linguistics lecture. I met my friend Ellie outside the lecture theatre, where the only seats left were on the front row. The lecturer usually turns up late, so we chatted for a bit until it got to 9:30. Concluding that this was taking the mick, we left and went to the library. It was only when we got there that the lecturer posted an announcement to say she wasn’t coming. This uni is supposedly third in the world for linguistics…
Since I was already on campus, I used the time to find statistics for the discussion on Thursday and finish my Feminist Society presentation – I was presenting the session for the first time! I’d chosen the topic language & gender because it was my favourite topic in first year linguistics and ties in nicely with my society. I’d already done most of it at home, so the morning mainly consisted of adding all the ‘frilly bits’.
It was nearing 12 o’clock, so it was time to start organising the bake sale. I think we must have chosen the worst possible day for it; the temperature was about 3 degrees and pouring down with rain! Audrey, the activism coordinator, picked up the table from the students’ union with me, but we had trouble carrying it across Alexandra Square because of the rain. A guy asked us if we needed help, to which we first said no as the strong feminists we are, but he insisted and carried it over his head to shield himself. We joked that not all men are bad.
I was anxious about revealing my millionaire shortbread since it looked a bit…temperamental. The bake sale got off to a slow start, but luckily picked up as time went on. We annoyingly weren’t given a card reader which apparently didn’t stop us – we still managed to raise over £60! The other exec members told me it made them emotional to think of how much of a difference we were making to people in Gaza, leaving me with a feeling of positivity.
I wasn’t there for the final hour because I had a seminar at 2pm. This was the seminar for the same module as the lecture yesterday, where we had an interesting discussion about culture and language. I made a half-joke about Americans who feel the need to declare that they’re German when they’re actually referring to a very distant relative and know nothing about the language nor culture. I suppose it’s somewhat relevant to me; I openly tell people I’m half-Turkish despite not speaking Turkish…
When I returned to the bake sale, I was happy to see that a few pieces of my shortbread had been bought! Ruby, the president, tried a piece and told me she was impressed with how I’d made the caramel from scratch. She’d warned me that caramel is tricky, but I didn’t find it so bad, even as a novice baker. I excitedly told the news to Lewis, and we’re now excitedly planning what to bake next.
There were a few hours to kill before the Femsoc session, giving me time to, once again, sit in the library and get some work done. I started reading another book my dissertation supervisor recommended to me, but I’m currently reading so many books without a very clear direction on how I’ll actually use them. The deadline isn’t until the end of April, but I still needed to at least come up with a solid plan, so I planned to mention this to him in our meeting on Friday.
We brought the remaining bakes to the session so our members could bring any final donations and finish them off. I presented my powerpoint and we had an insightful discussion about differences in men’s and women’s speech, which I really enjoyed hearing. After the session, I took home one final fairy cake from the bake sale and drove home.
I felt very accomplished after the day I’d had. I’d not only presented in front of a lecture theatre, but I’d also made a positive difference to people in need by helping at the bake sale. But, after being on campus for eleven hours, I was more than ready to hit the hay.
Wednesday, 19th November 2025
I was really excited because Lewis and I had booked pottery painting! I’d only ever done it once before in Stockport, and it was Lewis’ first time, so I was curious to see what was in store. In the morning, I had a shower, did some reading and got ready. It was brought to my attention whilst doing my makeup how dirty my makeup brushes were, giving me the impulse to clean them all. A task which is always worth it but really hard to make myself do, I knew I had to do it there and then.
As soon as I left the house, I felt how chilly it was so I texted Lewis asking whether he had gloves. Thankfully, the answer was yes. We had a quick chat with his Mum and Granddad when I got to his place – Lewis’ band is playing a gig on his birthday, so his Mum and I were planning to go together. We then set off to the pottery studio, his hands freezing off as I benefitted from the warm gloves.
The studio had a very welcoming atmosphere and the staff were lovely. We had a conundrum over what to paint – I wanted something functional, so I suggested a vase for when Lewis buys me flowers, but he decided he wanted to do it for me. After a bit of deliberation, I chose a heart-shaped jewellery/trinket box, of which I already own several, but this one will at least have more character.
Lewis had the advantage that the vase consisted of geometric shapes, whereas I had trouble deciding on a design for my box. I was inspired by a funky pattern in the moodbook, of which my attempt wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination. I did add our initials and the date on the side, as well as a mushroom on the lid, so it had a personalised touch.
Stomachs rumbling by this point, we walked to Gallico Lounge for a bite to eat. I ordered a cheese toastie and sweet potato fries – I was craving something warm and cheesy, whereas Lewis ordered tapas of quesa fundido, Louisiana fried chicken, and a mushroom bao bun. On the way home, Lewis showed me a vegan wholefoods shop called Single Step nestled behind Penny Street, where we bought some pea protein pieces.
We went back to my house and spent time relaxing and watching The Chase. We were competing to see who could get more questions right, and he was very impressed by my answers. I pride myself on my general knowledge, so we said we want to start doing pub quizzes. The only problem is we need a full team…
I was feeling particularly down and fatigued on this day, likely made worse by the cold. This, combined with my speaking discussion the following morning, meant I went to sleep early and Lewis went home.
Thursday, 20th November
I was misty-eyed as soon as I woke; Lewis knew I’d been having a rough time so he’d left a surprise note with a really sweet message, telling me not to worry so much and that I’ll always have him. I was feeling anxious about my speaking test, but I was given the motivation to power through by mentally carrying his message.
I set off early to do last-minute prep for the test. I’m really glad I made that choice, as it was the coldest day of the year and I had to spend about 15 minutes defrosting my car, including a thick layer of ice on the inside. I’m not sure whether that’s normal, but it’s apparently caused by humidity inside the car. Great.
The test went quite well. I believed that Yi Chen was talking a lot more than me until my teacher asked, “And Yi Chen, what do you think?” and looked at me as if to say, “shut up and let her speak”. It seems that multilingualism simply gives me the ability to waffle in several languages…
We have to wait until January for the feedback; the turnaround time is four weeks and others have yet to do it, so I likely will have forgotten about it by the time I hear how we did!
Whoever made my timetable must really not like me, as my Thursdays go: oral seminar 9-10, one hour break, writing seminar 11-12, one hour break, translation seminar 1-2. This meant I spent my one-hour gap preparing for the subsequent seminars. I had my writing seminar, which has a weird structure – we spend it debating, in spite of the name, and writing is set as homework…
I concluded I hadn’t the energy to stay on campus for another two hours, so I went home. It was a classic case of week seven blues: work is mounting up, it’s cold and dark, and there’s the looming C-word. I felt a bit bad about skipping classes since I promised I wouldn’t this year, but I know that it can also be a form of self-care to step away when it gets too much. I instead had a relaxing bath, relishing in the sheer autonomy I get from uni and living alone.
I rang my Mum, which lifted my spirits. Whilst talking to her, I put together the final bits for Lewis’ birthday present. The last gift didn’t arrive until after his birthday, but one of his Christmas presents ended up coming before, so I had to do a rejig between his birthday and Christmas presents. I then started making watercolour Christmas cards for my friends and family, a task that always calms me down.
I made my tea: noodles with veg and itsu gyozas. One of the best remedies when you’re feeling down, or at least in my experience, is having a nice, warm, comforting meal. Noodles do exactly that for me as they make me think of Studio Ghibli films. Another good one I like, is a meal that reminds you of home – jacket potatoes in my case. Food can heal the soul as well as the body.
I decided to get an early night as I really needed it.
Friday, 21st November 2025
I woke up feeling a bit better. The day got off to a good start; I was eagerly refreshing Ticketmaster for Pulp tickets next year, ending in success! I was surprised by the speed of the process because I’d tried and fail to get Oasis tickets last year, where there were 30,000 people ahead of me in the queue. Not only that, but it came up that Romesh Ranganathan, mine and my Mum’s favourite comedian, is going on tour in April 2027, so I got tickets for him too! It was a rather expensive morning, but at least it gives me things to look forward to.
Riding on a high, I went to campus for my meeting with Ben, my dissertation supervisor. I brought up the idea of creating a plan, which he said was great, and he advised me that it’s better to write little and often instead of doing it all just before the deadline. I agreed with him as I like to organise myself well and think it will ultimately be of a higher quality this way. Coincidentally, one of Ben’s colleagues was sitting across from us, so he called him over. I learnt that he’s written papers on themes I want to explore, so Ben’s going to put us in touch!
Straight after the meeting, I had another meeting with the Femsoc exec. We were taking part in 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, so we needed to come up with an activity for each day. Our first one is a zine-making event next Tuesday which I was excited for – I’ve never made a zine but I knew they were a cornerstone of riot grrrl culture. We also started a Google Form to submit positive anonymous messages, as there’s unfortunately been Lancaster confession accounts popping up with nasty and sexist posts.
Ruby and I then wanted to study in the library, but we bumped into her friends, so not a lot of studying was actually done! It turns out that one of Ruby’s close friends is a girl on my course whom I’d never really spoken to before, so we spent a bit of time getting to know each other. It meant my afternoon was fairly unproductive, but I felt glad to have made a new friend I’ll see in lectures.
Once they’d all left, I thought it was really time for me to do something productive. As I’ve mentioned, I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself to be working 24/7, so I started by putting together a bit of my dissertation plan. I also revised some French vocab, which I haven’t done for a few days, but I actually found that not thinking about it for a bit improved my active recall. It goes to show that maybe I never needed to be working more – just working smarter.
I had Folk society at 6, so I went to my car to fetch my violin and drop off my uni bag. I walked to the off-campus kitchen to heat some food I’d brought: a chickpea curry I’d made the week before. We had a jolly old time playing and singing Christmas tunes. Friday evenings are the same time as my Fosbrooks rehearsals back home, so it’s nice to have that little bit of normality, although it’ll never be quite the same.
I’m always absolutely knackered by the end of Folksoc, perhaps because it also marks the end of the week. So, I went home and straight to bed. I accidentally broke the legs off the telly in my room that morning – it was propped on a pile of books that I needed to get to. This meant I read a book instead of watching Netflix to fall asleep, which is probably a healthier habit than staring at a screen anyway.
Saturday, 22nd November 2025
I woke myself up with a warm shower. I believe they say it’s actually cold showers that do this, but I needed it to motivate myself out of bed. Since I didn’t have anywhere to be, I decided to do my washing, which is normally a Sunday task, but my washing basket was full. I also change my sheets on Sundays, so I knew it’d be way too full if I then added bedding.
My most important task was to go food shopping; my cupboards and fridge were running low. I thought of a perfect remedy against the biting cold: I walked to Booths wearing my Oodie. When in an extreme state, like extreme cold, I realise how little I actually care about what others think because the most important thing was just for me to keep warm. As it was Booths where I was going, I did worry I may have been spat on by a middle-class woman with kids called Penelope and Tarquin.
I successfully managed with only a few funny looks. I didn’t get everything I needed because I didn’t want to kill my shoulder lugging it all back, so I still needed to go to Aldi on Sunday. When I got home, I did a few admin tasks, followed by reading. I thought it wise to do some research on postgrad applications because it feels as though they’re looming over my head. Most unis’ deadlines are a long way off, but it settles my mind to know I’m somewhat prepared.
At 4, Lewis finished work so he came to my house. He sweetly surprised me with a bunch of flowers, which I’ve had to put in a glass for the time being as I didn’t yet have the vase. I then surprised him with a maple and pecan plait from the Booths bakery, making it a mutually pleasant reunitement.
He made us some pasta using the pea protein pieces from the other day. It was our first time trying them – we like to experiment with different meat substitutes – but all we could think of was how much they tasted of peas! Last week, I suggested we tried tempeh after I really liked it at a restaurant in Manchester, but he didn’t like the texture. We said we might try jackfruit next.
We didn’t do an awful lot the rest of the evening – we mostly talked and caught each other up on the two entire days we hadn’t seen each other. He was working at 10 the following day, so he soon had to go home.
Sunday, 23rd November 2025
I was really proud of myself on Sunday morning because I rose at the very late time of… 8:15am! My body has fallen into a habit of not letting me go back to sleep when I wake up early, so it was a little win.
The first thing I did was wash my hair, which is a 3-hour task: I leave rosemary oil in for about an hour, followed by washing it all out, and I leave a microfibre towel on for an hour (or as long as I can) to prevent frizz and save hair-drying time. When I got out of the shower, I wrestled with my fitted sheet, on the verge of tears, before I realised it was the wrong way…
Fresh sheets finally on, I dried my hair and did a little bit more of my dissertation plan. Ben told me to be as rough as I want with it – essentially write whatever came to my mind – which I found hard at first. I’m starting to realise that some of the books I’ve already read had quotes that would have been relevant which I didn’t write down at the time, meaning I’ll probably have to go through them again. It’s a good job I’m doing this early.
I walked to Aldi for my second food shop of the week, sans Oodie this time. I bought some pasta sheets, as Lewis told me he’s going to try and make cannelloni, as well as a few other bits. This shop was luckily much cheaper than it was at Booths.
When I got home, it was soon time to pick Lewis up from work; we were going to his Mum’s house for a birthday Domino’s with the rest of his family. I met his cousin Rhiannon for the first time, as well as her partner, two daughters, and cocker spaniel! Lewis’s Mum had even made him a birthday cake with homemade jam, which was very tasty. I’d actually planned to surprise him with a cake until I found out she was already making one. Once everyone had left, we sat and chatted with his Mum for a bit, where we could hear better without all the commotion.
We soon had to leave, however, because Lewis was doing an impromptu gig at the pub. We drove back to mine and got picked up by Matt, his bandmate.
Lewis had only been asked the previous night if he could support this band on drums. He’s the singer and guitarist in his own band, but he said he loves playing drums so always accepts any offers. It was the first time I’d seen him on drums – I loved how energetic his playing was! The first song they played was Ex’s and Oh’s by Elle King, a song I’d mentioned to him that I liked. He told me afterwards that he told the band they needed to play it because I was coming. What a sweetheart.
He thanked me profusely for coming, to which I told him I wouldn’t want to miss it for the world. We left soon after because Lewis was working the next day, not to mention the fact it was Sunday night! I went to sleep feeling grateful after being so welcomed by his family, and being surprised by him playing the song I liked.
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