Sunday, March 9, 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: 

A comprehensive guide to Oxford student stereotypes

The facts of Oxford are far ahead of its fictions, creating a peculiar disjunct in the identities of its undergraduates. Each student must battle with either “I’m not your stereotypical Oxford student!” or “I am your stereotypical Oxford student!”

Represented at Oxford: State school students

How did we come from the Bullingdon Club culture to the Oxford we have today?

Oxford kebab vans: For the uninitiated

Oxford students have loyalty to two things: their college and their kebab vans.

Stockholm syndrome: Reversed 

Education folklore has it that for many years, students at MIT have scrawled the acronym ‘IHTFP’ (I hate this fucking place) around campus in an attempt to express disdain for their university. After two years at Oxford, I can now report that students here often experience similar feelings.

Why get up? Why keep going?

At every late library session or rainy walk back to college, I think back to my days in fluorescent-lit, outdated offices. I think of riding a busy bus, an hour each way. I think of pointless, drawn-out meetings. And I think of all the time I wasted for no good reason.

Keep missing the Northern Lights? A guide to aurora-chasing in Oxford

Last night, Oxford was treated to another spectacular display of the Northern Lights. For many students, this marked the second time this year they...

Narcissus’ reflection: Ego and the Oxford experience

What exactly does it take for someone to think of themselves as ‘worthy’ to study at one of the greatest universities in the world?

Much ado about nothing: Oxford cafes

Having spent a ridiculous amount of time working(ish) in Oxford cafés, these are some of the top tips and tricks I have learnt about attempting to navigate Oxford café culture.

The grey area

It is a funny thing to become a statistic. It all seems so binary before it happens to you. Are you the zero, or the one?

Going out without flunking out: How to write your essay when the room’s still spinning

We’ve all been there. The perfect opportunity for a night out, potentially foiled by the un-attempted essay due tomorrow at 4pm. An age-old Oxford conundrum.

The helliday

My friends and I had approached the trip with the motto ‘catch flights, not feelings’, and it appears we completely forgot to add ‘or parasitic infections’ to that list.

Serious life lessons from silly Oxford mistakes

You’re not alone, and to make one mistake – or even a hundred – doesn’t doom you to eternal failure.

Underconsumption-core: Are students the perfect subculture to reclaim underconsumption?

Living at university – with lives bundled completely and entirely into 4-by-4-metre rooms – requires prioritising the necessary.

What I wish I’d known before my year abroad 

For many students the year abroad had either been one huge disappointment or a life-changing rite of passage.

Reflections on the life of a mature student

I think we find ourselves in a particular state of searching after finishing secondary school. Even if we have an idea of what we...

The college tortoise that has taken over my life

I celebrated May Day in a pretty unorthodox way: I adopted a tortoise. Or more accurately, I took her over – with a group...

Here’s the problem with dating a man far more privileged than you

There is already a power imbalance in heterosexual relationships. The society and institutions in which our relationships with men are built favour men, their...

The definitive Oxford smoothie review

With summer comes smoothie weather, and Oxford offers a plethora of fruity delights. Coming from a place where a small smoothie is twice the...

Inside the Oxford wine world: The Bacchus termly dinner

Dressing up in black tie on a Tuesday isn’t too alien to an Oxford student. But, even to the Editor of Oxford’s best newspaper,...

Your insight into interrailing this summer

“ it can all come with a rather hefty price tag, so here are a few tips to help you save some precious pounds.  ”

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