Lifestyle

The art of reaching out to old friends

Coming to university, I realised that the stable, effortless reliability of my friends from home was, all of a sudden, precarious and difficult to maintain.

The only thing missing from this bean was chocolate

If there were a smell I could capture, bottle up, and treasure forever, it would be the toasty and heartening smell of cacao roasting in the morning.

Hidden in plain sight: the bakery behind Oxford’s café counters

You may not know the name, but you have almost certainly eaten the pastry. Does the bakery behind Oxford’s favourite cafés hold its own at the counter?

Why are we so afraid of being bored?

We’ve come to think of boredom as an inevitable but unpleasant gap between activities, or as space to fill, but we’ve stopped seeing that space as worthwhile in itself.

Does Oxford prepare you for the real world?

As one of the approximately 3000 undergraduates to have recently bid farewell to Oxford, I’ve learnt just how easy it is to be overwhelmed...

The incandescent and the immovable

I went to Ometepe in search of a view, but found something closer to a memory. The island floats inside Lake Nicaragua, its twin volcanoes...

‘Have you heard the new Laufey album?’

We all know the type, or at least the meme. The tote-bag sporting, wired-headphone wearing, matcha latte drinking, so-called ‘performative’ men flooding our social...

The maddening art of procrastination

In delaying and avoiding writing this piece, I am succumbing to exactly what many university students are guilty of: procrastination. Though not among the...

To read or not to read?

It’s 5pm and I’m standing on a packed, unmoving train, somewhere between Swindon and Bristol Parkway, dodging questionable armpits and trying my best to...

New generation, old hobbies

Knitting needles, film photos, vinyl records, and books: what’s the link? You’d be forgiven for answering with “things I might find in my grandma’s...

Ramen Korner: The souperior choice?

Ramen Korner, located on the (you guessed it) corner between the High street and Long Wall street, boasts a striking facade with bold lettering...

Why we should all relish the chance to be bored

If there’s one thing that this summer has taught me, it’s to relish boredom. It’s in scarce supply for us all in term-time, but...

What does summer mean to me?

“What does summer mean to me?” was always the first question on the first page of a new schoolbook. A trap disguised as a...

My journey with British identity

I was gently raised with the idea that Britain was fair and decent, a country that meant something good. This was likely shaped by...

Performative perfection and the reality behind the Instagram post

It’s a beautiful Sunday morning, and I’m scrolling through Instagram. One of my resolutions for this summer was to reduce my screen time, but...

The girl who lived

Like Harry Potter under the stairs, I was ‘the one who lived’. A rainbow baby (a baby born after loss), wrapped in nappies and...

The art of snacking in an ingredient household

There’s something quite liminal about being a student. One minute you’re running around a city feeling like a Grown Up, and then suddenly it’s...

Tiny Love Stories

I gazed at the mountains encircling my mother's hometown. I had been travelling in China for a month, constantly apologising for my broken Chinese....

Intellectual manspreading? Male students of feminism

If I had to choose one, I’d say my favourite part of studying a paper in feminist theory was reading The SCUM Manifesto, written...

When a small sweet treat becomes a big problem

I can’t walk past the Covered Market without feeling inexplicably drawn to Moo-Moo’s. The array of servers at Knoops have my order memorised. Even...

The sibling dilemma

Beatrix Arnold reflects on being one of five, how university changes family dynamics, and surprise gatherings at Bridge.

My friends and I ranked (almost) every college formal

Amanda Li rounds off her time in Oxford with an impressively comprehensive review of Oxford's formals: rating the good, the bad, and the inedible.

Wake of the Locks: Baldness, and mourning my hair

Ben O'Brien humorously reflects on his experience of having male pattern baldness at a young age

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