Friday, March 14, 2025

Lifestyle

Reflections on the perils of overthinking

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.

The fourth year: Oxford after your year abroad

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.

An evening at Pierre Victoire: French bistro dining at its best

Pierre Victoire has been here on Little Clarendon Street for decades – one of...

Being Cupid isn’t easy: What I learned from a term of running Cherpse

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: 

Love, actually: dating in 2020

I can’t lie, when I heard the news that we’d probably all be holed up in our rooms for the next few months, without...

Cherpse! Trudy and Will

Will, St. Hilda’s, Physics 1st year First impressions?  Her fashionably late entrance left me worrying I had been stood up on a Zoom date - that would...

Letting loose: our relationship to “natural hair”

It’s been about three months since the start of what we now know to be a worldwide shutdown. Like many other students, I’ve been...

Tradition and transformations: reconnecting through food

What is your Christmas smell? Mine is cinnamon. At that time of year, it seems to spill off the table and into every bowl and dried...

Oxford, Reviewed

The Radcliffe Camera The pièce de résistance, the joire de vivre, the petit filous, the jewel in Oxford’s mighty, mighty crown. You’ve posted the shit...

You are not alone – What getting run over by a bus taught me about myself and Oxford

It’s been an odd year for everyone. Few could have predicted that Hilary would end in such a dramatic fashion, and certainly not myself,...

Now do I belong?: The effects of early-onset impostor syndrome

As Hilary Term drew to a close and we sat in my friend’s room, anticipating a final night out, we reflected on how we’d...

Human nature: why we should all be getting outdoors

At the moment, I feel more grateful than ever to live where I do. My house backs on to fields meaning whichever direction I...

Isolation Hustles – How lockdown has affected student mini-businesses

The coronavirus crisis has stopped the global economy in its tracks. Each week, yet more gloomy headlines appear: this week, a BBC headline proclaimed...

Cherpse! Cai and Charlie

Cai, 2nd year, Chemistry, St. Hugh’s  First impressions? He seemed kind, friendly and relaxed, and had a nice voice. Did it meet up to your expectations? Yeah, we...

Oxford’s community: life beyond the spires

Students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds are twice as likely to be low performers. Think about that for a moment. Sometimes at Oxford it’s easy...

Face to Face // Screen to Screen

If there’s one thing a national lockdown has given me, it’s time. Weekly screen-time reports never fail to astound me – minding my business,...

‘L’appetito viene mangiando’: why Southern Italian food is the best in the world

To make Italian food is a labour of love, and requires a love of labour

Nostalgia: it isn’t what it used to be

I remember a time when I took for granted that I could eat at restaurants, lay around in the park, and visit my family. Weeks...

Productivity fanatics: A society that’s forgotten to press pause

There’s a wonderful irony to the fact that the mediums we turn to so frequently for procrastination are the mediums that shame us the...

Food waste apps: small difference or meaningful change?

64% of all food waste actually occurs during harvest

Diversity, waste, and travel: what globalisation means for food

For many people, being at home during lockdown means that there is an abundance of time to spend preparing, eating, and thinking about food. Combined with...

A Note on Self-Forgiveness

TW: disordered eating, suicide In quarantine, where rooms are small and walls are thin, it’s very easy to become aware of the expanse of...

“Superstition ain’t the way” – did Stevie Wonder get it right?

On my left wrist sits a tiny silver star on a chain. On my right hand, a ring my mother was given by her...

The Real Cost of Eating Out

It’s a familiar feeling. You enter a restaurant, sit down, and by the time you open the menu and see the outrageous pricing, it’s...

Follow us