So, Easter is over; nothing remains of your chocolate hoard, not even a crappy bit of own-brand and you are back in bubble; back in the Bridge. Welcome to Exam Term.

Having arrived at college and, less than 12 hours later, finding myself in the waiting room at Addenbrookes A&E, I did wonder whether this was really going to be my term. Could it get more tragic?

Well, you ask, and Cambridge delivers…

Some things do just take time and there is no point in being frustrated with yourself because you haven’t learned all the material yet

Now, mostly in one piece, I went to deliver my Part I dissertation to my DoS. I was allowed about nine minutes of joy, in between handing it in and checking my inbox, where I discovered four separate emails, from four separate supervisors, demanding four separate essays, all due in this coming week.

Whether or not this was pure coincidence, or they all sat down together and conspired against me in a savage attempt to ruin my life, we’ll never know. All I knew at this stage was that I was quite firmly in the shit.

These essays were entitled ‘revision essays’, which meant that my supervisors had made the unfortunate assumption that I had actually done revision enough to write a comprehensive essay on anything that was going to be coming up in my exams. Naturally, I have not yet started writing them; instead I’ve just been lolling about in the anxiety of having to do them. I have, however, managed to make it into town, out of my room and allowed the people of Cambridge to somewhat reduced my state of crisis…

Things to remember this week

A mother and daughter were walking past Caffè Nero on Market Street. The daughter looked about 15 and their shopping bags clearly indicated they’d been having a ‘girls’ day’. I think the mum was consoling her about something, but nothing overly dramatic and she said, “Yes well love, Rome wasn’t built in a day though was it? It’s going to take you some time, is all.”

As Cambridge students, we’re always looking for a way to get as much done as possible, in as little time as possible, occasionally that’s just not an option. Some things do just take time and there is no point in being frustrated with yourself because you haven’t learnt all the material yet, or you’re not over your break-up yet, or you’re still having a hard time figuring out what happens to Ben in Friends? Like, yeah, OK, Ross has a baby with Rachel, but then does he just abandon Ben altogether? I don’t think Ross is that kind of guy, but Ben barely shows up again…

These delights of the real world will still be there when we eventually surface from the depths of Exam Term

Two construction guys were having a cigarette by some scaffolding. One looked at his phone, read something, and then said, “I can’t believe it, this is actually the worst thing ever!” To which the other guy, after taking a long drag of his cigarette replied, “Nah, it’s not.”

Although this doesn’t seem that profound, it really resonated: very rarely is something in your life, even in relative terms, the worst thing ever. The world is going to think up a thousand different horrors and challenges for you to face so even if the one facing you at the moment seems unparalleled, it’s unlikely that it will seem so big when you come to look back on it.

A couple of girls were sitting having cocktails at around 12.30 on Tuesday. (Based on the gift bag under the table, I think it’s safe to assume it was a special occasion rather than just alcoholism.) As laughter flooded out from their table, the assumed birthday girl turned to her friend and said, “Honestly babe, no man is safe this evening.”

While perhaps unnerving for the men of Cambridge, it’s nice to know that even if we’re cooped up pouring over textbooks and past exams papers, there will always be people day drinking and party-girls misbehaving in clubs and people celebrating their loved ones’ birthdays. And these delights of the real world will still be there when we eventually surface from the depths of Exam Term.

So, this week: allow yourself enough time for things, not everything happens overnight; no matter how big the crisis seems now, remember that once you gain some distance, it will look far smaller and, take solace in the fact that, the party will still be waiting for you when you get back.