Are we going up again, or coming back home?
Oxford’s short terms are unique. One spends just under half the year at university, and the other half, allegedly, revising for the collections. But for Freshers, back for their second term, something often feels a bit off-key without the magic of Freshers’ week and the inherent newness of Oxford.
Personally, I felt like I was coming home last Thursday. And as my parents noticed over Christmas, I failed to even unpack. Maybe this was out of laziness, and the fact that my parents had kindly decided to use one half of my room for storage, blocking my wardrobe, desk, and making the simple act of getting into bed more cumbersome than an army assault course, but perhaps it had some deeper psychological meaning: that I didn’t really feel like I was home.
And many other students feel the same. You slip so easily into the privacy of locked doors, en-suite bathrooms (if you’re lucky), and in general the sense of independence and freedom which being at home lacks. And in case you might be overjoyed at being back home, the mountain of holiday work is a nice reminder that Oxford is never far away.
Once you’re back, the Ford deals you a sharp, but by no means short, shock to the system. I had to endure six hours of exams preceded by an all-night revision marathon before I could even think about hunting down all the friends whom I’d missed being able to see every day.
Others, however, will always find the ordeal of washing their own clothes and dealing with the banalities of making sure there’s enough bread and gin to hand quite impossible. It’s unlikely that graduation will see them much more adept at coping. Others are so tied to their friends and family at home that they can’t wait to get back after the first term. Most are just plain exhausted.
The majority of Freshers argue that you never really quite recover from that infamous first week, and it’s not long before the fifth week blues hit; then there’s the mandatory final fortnight of partying to max yourself out before you’re sent away to make room for other Oxford hopefuls.
Admittedly I found even myself talking about going 'back' with reference to Oxford, not home. In fact, uttering those words 'going home' left me rather dejected. But in general, perhaps we Freshers should wait a few more vacations before deciding what we really call ‘home'. Or indeed, maybe the sixteen week summer vacation will bring us back to our roots. Wherever they are for now!
