The Sense of an Ending

When I decided to begin writing my post-graduation blog, it felt a bit like traversing a mine field of clichés. It’s been an incredibly emotional couple of weeks and it’s been difficult not to get all dewey-eyed and oversentimental about the whole thing. Cynicism aside, the day itself was fantastic, and as you’d expect, a time for reflection on three pivotal years at University.



It was genuinely wonderful to see so many friends so upbeat, finally able to celebrate after years of hard work, deadlines and stress. That’s not to say the day itself wasn’t a *little* stressful. Between the erratic weather conditions that alternated between sunshine and torrential rain, and my (adorable) two-year-old niece scurrying around the reception area during a major sugar rush it was a pretty crazy day.

Unfortunately, my parents weren’t able to make it to the ceremony, so I was grateful when it turned out Brookes would be streaming the event live on their website. This meant that they too could see the five wonderful seconds I spent on stage collecting my degree. I’m honestly still surprised I managed to avoid falling over.

 The ceremony itself also featured a speech by Vicar of Dibley writer Paul Mayhew-Archer, who collected an honorary doctorate. I felt the need to mention this as he gave a witty and insightful speech, and it was a nice surprise on an already great day.
To be honest, one of my personal highlights was actually being given a slightly different robe to wear than the rest of my friends. I still have no idea why this was the case, but I’m clearly easily amused and it made me feel important.

My photogenic family

All this couldn’t have been more at odds with my attitude three years ago, when I received my A-level results. After barely salvaging some pretty mediocre AS scores, I managed to just about make it into my first choice University. While that involved some memorable celebrations as well, including going clubbing with my teachers after valedictory dinner, my merrymaking was accompanied by a vague sense of disappointment. College was a fantastic experience for me, but making the step up to University represented an entirely different set of challenges and opportunities. I didn’t feel ready at all.

It really has been a rollercoaster three years (I did warn about the clichés). Far too much has changed to explain succinctly. In relation to my degree, I like to think Brookes was where I finally knuckled down and started applying myself after years of feeling fairly indifferent towards education. Especially given that this felt like my last opportunity to tap into any potential I had for academia. In the end, I’m proud to think I succeeded in doing this, thanks in part to making the JHB my second home for large chunks of the year. At the end of it all it was amazing to graduate with a first class degree on what was a surreal day.

Before Brookes molded me into the man I am today

In spite of everything I’ve just written, I do think I probably don’t feel quite the same as a lot of other people who graduated on the same day. I’ll be continuing my studies in English Literature at Brookes at Master’s level next year. I’ll even be staying at Clive Booth Hall again, like I did in first year. This obviously meant that graduating didn’t represent the seismic shift in lifestyle or leap into the dark void of adulthood that it did for most others. Regardless, I will miss a lot of people who won’t be around next year and not seeing them on campus will be pretty bizarre.

Thanks for reading and best of luck to everyone who has recently graduated from Oxford Brookes!

Why Third Year of University is Actually Great


Easter has been and gone. Deadlines are coming thick and fast. For a lot of people in third year it’s understandably looking a bit bleak, with only work and then the dreaded end of Uni on the horizon. There’s no denying that the end of your final year can be tough, but looking back on the year as a whole it’s been great, surprisingly. Here are some reasons why I think third year is actually pretty swell.  

Hitting the Ground Running
This is the essence of the rest of my points, really. Just by having been through two years of making friends and facing up to new challenges makes a huge difference. By third year you can put the awkward mistakes of getting used to University behind you and enjoy student life. You can also draw on the life skills and experiences you’ve picked up along the way without even realising. Things like cooking, housework and other parts flat-sharing that might have seemed like a drag just months ago are easier too.

Accomodation
Halls weren’t for me personally, but whatever your opinion them on there’s definitely something to be said for choosing where and who you live with instead. I found having had the time to get to know certain areas better is really important in making a more informed decision. Admittedly, I’ve had my share of kerfuffles in this area, but having learnt from mistakes I’m much happier with my living situation this year.
The Headley Way Massive
Getting to Know Oxford
While I’m still hesitant to say I’ve discovered the ‘real’ Oxford or anything like that, this is the year I’ve finally felt truly settled. To be honest, I’m happy enough just getting lost less than I used to, but Oxford has a huge amount of shops, restaurants and scenic spots that I’ve only just started to appreciate. Even now, there’s still so much I’d like to get around to doing that I didn’t even know existed in the first couple of years.  

The Nightlife is Better
In a similar vein, knowing where to go and where to avoid on a night out is a big plus. I’ve definitely enjoyed going to more house parties or checking out nicer bars in Jericho and Cowley, more than the monotony of going to the same club nights every week. Even having more work means the potential silver lining of being a bit more selective with your social life, so not just going out for the sake of it.

The Work
Alright, bear with me on this one. As tough as the increase in workload can be, many courses become refreshingly refined once you get the chance to study specific areas both you and your lecturers are more interested in. That being said, in a surprising amount of cases you really don’t have to do a dissertation if you don’t want to. There are often more options for third year students you’d think.

A cultured, sophisticated third year student
Still Being at University
 As I write this, graduation and the terrifying thought being thrust into the ‘real world’ are drawing ever closer. This can actually be a good incentive to get out and do things in the city you haven’t got around to and to make the most of just being a student. Despite the added stress, it’s great to be in a state of relative freedom at a time of life where you still have plenty of opportunities. If that isn’t a bit cliché.

Rock of Ages & Other Stuff

Hello everyone!

After a few people pointed out that my first blog post was actually a bit bleak, I’ve decided to write about something a bit cheerier this time.

Overall, my final semester of University has started really well, although this may have something to do with my decision not to do a dissertation.

One highlight has been having a friend down to visit for a few days a couple of weeks ago. Showing them around the city and doing generally Oxford-y things was a nice reminder of how great it is to live here. It can be pretty easy to forget, amidst all of the work and drama of University life that you live in the ‘city of dreaming spires’. Visiting a few museums, pubs and stately Oxford University colleges and generally acting like a tourist for a while was definitely a refreshing change of pace!

Anyway, something from that week I felt especially inspired to write about is the performance of Rock of Ages by the Fortune Players musical society at the Brookes Union Hall.



To be totally honest, I’ve never been huge on musicals and didn’t really know much about Rock of Ages, apart from vaguely remembering there being a film adaptation featuring Russell Brand a few years ago, so I didn’t really know what to expect.

The musical itself is based around a simple boy-meets girl story, but is best described as a frenzied, self-aware mishmash of 80s rock, rebellion, widespread debauchery and silly German accents. In short, I was really blown away by the whole thing, there really wasn’t a dull moment.

I knew a few people performing, but I can say with confidence that the entire ensemble totally knocked it out of the park. The entire soundtrack was brilliantly performed by every singer and the band were especially amazing throughout, including an unexpected saxophone solo at one point.

Even the set, lighting and production were top notch, although if I had to take issue with anything, there were a few haphazard sound issues on the night I went, but even these were handled pretty well by the performers.

Congratulations to everyone involved for an evening of genuinely hilarious, utterly silly entertainment. I’m now hoping for more stuff from the Fortune Players before the end of the year, including apparently hosting an 80s themed ‘Dixieland’ night and a possible concert.

Thanks for reading and good luck to everyone handing in their dissertation soon!

Happy New Semester!

After the relentless cramming and daily library sessions at the end of last semester, I was desperate for the start of the Christmas holidays and for a fun and relaxing January. For most people this time of year is synonymous with spending time with family, giving and receiving presents and drinking heavily finally being just a bit more socially acceptable.

In reality I’ve found myself lost over the last few weeks, without constantly being surrounded by friends, the difficult but lovable University lifestyle and living the city of Oxford and I can’t wait to be back at the end of the month.

Like many students, I’ve found being at home for a few weeks a bit like being in weird state of limbo. When I found out my next semester would only be starting back up in early February, the idea of sitting around all day watching Netflix and being able to make fun of friends who’d long since began work at other universities, sounded great.

For me at least, this turned out to be a lot less appealing and my daily routine has ended up consisting of regularly refreshing social media, whilst nagging friends with actual jobs and responsibilities to indulge my neediness.

When Christmas day itself arrived, the large majority of my presents were books that I needed for my course. Compared to the days of spending all of Christmas playing with shiny new toys, this was an anti-climax, and another scary reality check to be honest.
Merry Christmas John.
Not that I can really complain too much. Heading into the final few months of my degree, and of course graduation, it’s just so hard not to be thinking about University. Even around New Year’s when most people start looking back, I seem to have found myself looking forward to the year ahead.
University life just seems so much more appealing. As someone who was especially homesick during first year, and still regularly phones my parents asking for embarrassingly obvious advice, this is something I never thought I’d really write.

As much as I love my home town, the fact it was listed as the least cultural place in Britain by the Royal Society of Arts last year means living there is a bit of a contrast to Oxford too.
I’m totally aware of how whiney this all sounds. A lengthy break from any real work has been much needed, plus I’ve definitely enjoyed taking advantage of things like home cooking and succumbing to the allure of £1 Jägerbombs.

Work-wise, it could be worse as well really. I’m lucky enough never to have gone through the pain of January exams, or having coursework to worry about during the ‘holiday’ season.
Overall though, I really am itching to get back to Oxford, make the most of my final semester and really push for the best grade possible. Or I’ll just end up in the JHB all day, pretending to work hard, as usual.
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