Term 3 so far

This time last year, Warwick campus was eerily quiet and serene, with many students still at home and teaching still online. Most of us only knew our flatmates so spent a lot of time just in halls whilst revising. 

This year, it couldn’t be more different. The campus is buzzing and alive and filled with students, with classrooms filled up and people taking their lunch breaks on the piazza. Study spaces are packed and the cafés on campus are filled with students. It’s an entirely different world, and it’s still something that I don’t take for granted. Seeing Warwick busy and bustling is one of my favourite things, because it feels only like yesterday that it just wasn’t. 

This term is a bit different to Term 1 and 2, because it’s exam season. We have some seminars for the first few weeks, and then we are set free to study hard on our own. At the moment, I’ve been spending most of my time in Linguistics with other coursemates, studying in the Common Room or classrooms around the building. I’ve loved seminars so far this term because, with Covid rules as relaxed as they have ever been here, it feels like what ‘normal’ would have been. Revision and exam season are hard, but they are so much easier now that we are all studying together. 

Term 3 has also come with a sunny and busy social life. My friends and I enjoy going on bike rides round campus in the evening (as pictured above), or exploring places like (actual) Warwick, Stratford and Coventry. After a long day of study, we really enjoy going out into nature. Term 3 also has a lot of exciting social events to look forward to after exams – including the Sports Ball, campus club nights and society events. It’s only five or six weeks now until exams are done and we’re free to take some time off – and, as much as I enjoy my degree, I’m looking forward to a break.  

Another lovely aspect of Term 3 is that you start to reap the rewards of the hard work throughout this year. Grades start to drift back from Easter assignments, and we can apply to summer conferences or presentations to show our research that we’ve done over the year. And in my case, the further we get into Term 3, the closer I get to moving abroad. The year abroad application is quite long and I’ve found it stressful at times, but I’m beginning (I think) to see things fall into place, which is incredibly exciting. 

Term 3 is a lot of work, because exams are tough and second year is important. It’s sometimes difficult learning to strike the balance between working hard and enjoying all the other aspects of university life, especially with exams on the horizon. But nonetheless, the sunny, busy and positive atmosphere around campus makes it easier than ever to enjoy what’s left of this year.