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: 

How to make rizz-otto

If like me, patience when cooking is not your forte, find a friend to cook it for you

Gendering Oxford: Through the female gaze

A couple of years before I arrived at Oxford, I came across a French film on Netflix: Je suis pas un homme facile (I...

Dry January

Dry January is the national month of ‘New Year, New Me!’-ing yourself out of alcoholism. My guess is that a combination of excessive drinking...

The Patience of Ordinary Things

Recently, I have invested in Good Bread. This is most likely not something that I truly need to share via article, as a large...

Rocky (Road) Comms?

I like to consider myself a rocky road aficionado. There is a beautiful alchemy in mixing the various standard ingredients with a few wild...

The diary of a LinkdIn-er

Charlotte Renahan discusses the pitfalls of the popular networking social media: LinkedIn.

Five reasons to eat the whole apple

I’ll admit that there’s nothing quite like that first bite into a crisp apple. Crunching off the overhang you’ve made as you’ve gone around...

To all the pubs we’ve loved before: Crown Vs. Turf

Today we are putting two classic favourites, the Crown and Turf Tavern, head-to-head. Turf is arguably the most famous pub in Oxford. It was...

Flapping wings: taking the chicken scene by storm

There are two KFCs in central Oxford – one on Cowley Road and the other on Cornmarket – and until a few years ago...

New Year’s Resolutions: pointless or powerful?

New Year’s resolutions: Are they truly transformative or just a setup for disappointment? January 1st arrives amid lingering holiday indulgence, often leaving us with...

1st week: Is there mushroom for failure?

Like many returning students, I have spent the past week either bitterly cold (apologies to those who gave me concerned looks on the high...

In defence of living out

"All things considered, then, I’d still choose to live out. Maybe it isn’t perfect, but living out has been a staple of Oxford student life for decades, and it’s one of the only similarities it has to the typical student experience at any other university."

How to have a Hot Girl Hilary

Hilary is grey. It drizzles, it’s cold, and all the trees are bare. Caught between the post-Christmas blues and the happy warmth of Trinity,...

The patience of ordinary things

"A different perspective exposes something new in Oxford’s tangle of streets and colleges; from afar, students on bikes and tourist groups and traffic disputes stop feeling like a nuisance, revealing instead a quiet, understated sort of loveliness."

To all the pubs we’ve loved before

We are Réka and Suzy, two law finalists on a mission to find the best pubs in Oxford. We will begin our journey by reviewing our clear favourite...

A fresh(er’s) perspective on Michaelmas term

"My approach to Michaelmas term was that it was a trial run for the rest of my university experience."

The Patience of Ordinary Things

"How truly can we say that our past selves are gone, when there they are, right now - pressed between the pages of an old diary..."

0th Week: ‘Dough(nut) trust strangers!

Thursday evening. Eighth week. My head has finally stopped spinning after a tumultuous Park End (I think). A crinkled pastry bag is tucked under...

New Year’s Resolutions: Why are we so bad at keeping them?

New year, new start. It is a terrible cliché. But the fact is, as another year ticks by, it’s a good opportunity to close...

‘Home is where the heart is.’

"It can feel like a bit of a conflict - the home where I grew up now feels like a waiting room before I get back to my ‘real life’ at Oxford."

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