here is a lot to be said for blind positivity. On a good day, I’m a manifester, a big believer in my ability to speak things into existence. During my English A-Level, I had complete confidence that the crystals hidden in my bra would provide enough luck to snag me an A*. Today, I put great faith in words, relying on the same ‘I can do it’ that gets Olympic athletes across the finish line, to help me through difficult situations.
I’m now in my fourth year, and as such, must grapple with the reality of my Oxford days drawing to a close. Granted, this is something that every student must contend with, and I watched on as most of my friends bade a fond farewell to this city where our friendships began when they graduated last summer. Yet there is something about the fourth year that I’m certain makes the final year even more strange: a sense of something already lost, of living in a moment that has already passed.
Now, having exhausted myself with these relentless pursuits, the job has been passed on to a new bright-eyed Cupid, and in my retirement I’ve become fondly reflective, and decided to curate my insights into this list:
"There are a series of faux pas which I have witnessed (and on occasion committed) at student dinner parties, and in this short piece I hope to provide inspiration."
"The day proceeded as a series of endless lines parading back and forth, adorned in seemingly endless variations of every possible garment, in front of the same blank faces."
"It’s telling that we call them ‘stories’. The word ‘story’ says it all. Because it’s true, it is a story. No one really knows why you’re telling it, and neither do you, but you tell it anyway."
TW: fatphobia, eating disorders, self-harm.
Vessel, the new theatrical anthology from Dawn Productions, examines our relationship with the body and food through episodic fragments....