End of Easter 2009/End of First Year

Oh my word, you lot, we have survived an entire year at Cambridge - who would'a thunk it? We've had the results of our exams (well, we've had 'pass/fail' on our 2nd MB, and a class on our Tripos, which is as good as it gets for about the next month), we've had May Week, we've had to pack up our entire rooms and head back to our parents' houses (we've discovered how much stuff we managed to store in our overhead storage each previous holiday, woops), and we've had a few days to rest, recover, recuperate and get bored.

This term has been a weird one, compared with the others. Thanks to the exams, pretty much the whole of Cambridge goes into lock-down; everything just stops. For the middle half of term. It's incredible. Even the student bars close, what is up with that?! Anyway, as we were packing to leave Newnham we observed that, because May Week is the week after the end of Full Term, unlike in Michaelmas and Lent it felt like term wasn't quite finished when we all left - we reckon an extra couple of weeks' room rent wouldn't go amiss. Especially seeing as how Cambridge is stunningly beautiful in sunlight, and everyone likes it better with no work to do.

Anyway, as always, the point of this post is to let you know all the non-medical things we've learnt in this term. If you're really lucky, I'll get my act together and do a post of things it took us the whole year to work out! So:

What have we learnt?

That there is actually no real reason why you shouldn't stay up until 7am, go to bed, then get up before 10am and run 5k.
That, frankly, Easter term is weird, thanks to the whole no-lectures, lots-of-revision thing.
That it's completely normal to spend as much on the dress as on the ticket for a May Ball.
That it can be possible to get ready for a May Ball in under an hour and a half, and still look good.
That less is more, sometimes.
That without lectures, weeks pass almost without you noticing, and you forget which day of the week it is.
That facebook will ruin your degree, and wikipedia will save it.
That, in fact, you can get pretty far on last-minute cramming.
That Joanne should be the one responsible for organising everything.
That even in May Week, when you ought to not have much to do, there's barely time to breathe - just for a different reason.
That punting is not only really good fun, it's also hard work.
That it is, in fact, possible to survive on energy drinks and potatoes for six weeks without anyone noticing.
That this does not mean that's a good idea.
That some people reach 18 without ever having eaten asparagus (this came as a shock to some of us).
That there are hayfever medications which specifically say you can drink alcohol while taking them.
That it is surprisingly easy to spend a whole day in bed.
That there is little in this world more likely to make an entire year of one subject group panic than a typo on their exam paper which makes it unanswerable.
That there are major disadvantages to being one of the biggest subject groups in Cambridge: namely, several exam halls means chances that some of you will hear notices others don't.
That the examiners will practically never fail anyone's Tripos essays (hurrah!)
That Newnham's gardens are the prettiest.
That there is nothing in this world that says 'Cambridge' quite as strongly as the sight of a young man cycling along in his gown and black tie, holding a bottle of wine in one hand.
That having prior warning doesn't necessarily help (see exams).
That every now and then, the examiners have a moment of creativity, and the medics do not like the results.
That there is little more frustrating when trying to revise than badly-written lecture notes. Learn to punctuate, PLEASE!
That Julia is wrong when she says she hasn't been working hard enough and she will fail all her exams.
That you can go several weeks without seeing people in your own college, almost without noticing.
That if you don't see some people above once a day, you start missing them.
That Felicity is spectacularly good at getting her priorities wrong.
That there is very little as soothing as Disney and tea on a bad day.
That having a break halfway through your exam season doesn't actually increase the amount of revision you do for the exams after the break.
That when Felicity is knitting, what starts off looking odd and unlike anything can end up being adorably animal-shaped.
That when Julia spends too much time revising, seagulls made of fluff and felt may result.
That mealtimes are very, very flexible.
That nothing throws your body clock and appetite off quite like eating constantly from 9pm until 4am and then sleeping until 1pm.

I think that will do for now, hope everyone has a great summer and watch out for "advice for incoming Freshers" before October!

Love,
Felicity xxx (bored back at her parents')