What Sophie Said

December is such an exciting month, full of merriment and friends and family, and of course it features Christmas. Here are my ten favourite things about the final month of the year: Family time. My family are great, simple as. Advent calendar chocolate for breakfast. Why does chocolate taste ten times better when it’s been hidden behind a cardboard and foil window? Christmas songs. I know they’re cheesy, but I love them. Christmas carols. I love singing them at the top of my voice in Christmas services. Giving presents. There’s nothing nicer than being able to treat the people you care about Christmas decorations. Everything is so bright and sparkly! The gatherings. The chance to get dressed up and have a good old catch-up with friends and family. Christmas jumpers. They’re so warm and so cheesy: perfect. The mood. People seem so excited, and happy to be heading off for a break from ‘normal life’. The traditions. There’s something so cosy and comforting about family Ch...

So here it is, part 5 of my uni life series: the top ten things I’ve learnt over the last 3 years. The previous posts covered living in halls , friendship , holidays and the academic side . This post pulls together the whole experience as I look back over my time studying for my degree. Some are directly course-related, and some are larger life lessons that I’ll be taking away with me. Read widely This has always been a bit of a motto for me, English geek that I am, but my degree has taught me even more the value of reading. I have learnt so much from the pages of the novels we’ve studied, be they about different countries, experiences or time periods. Reading widely challenges you to ask questions, and that’s something we all need to do more of. Take the support on offer I remember sitting in the talks at the beginning of university and wondering why I’d ever need ‘welfare support’ or help from a supervisor for any more reason than filling in forms. But then your degree ...