Last Wednesday, I was on the phone with my best friend, Grace.
For avid Critic nerds, Grace was the main creator of the For The Girls game included in the centrefold of the Party Issue. Nowadays, I’m sad to say that we don’t find nearly enough time to talk with busy schedules and very different postcodes. But we do have pretty relatable lines of work that mean we interact with a lot of students, so when we do catch up, it's a very easy conversation.
I had been especially bad at talking to Grace lately because I’ve been pretty burnt out, and I told her that. She just nodded, and said she understood. In her line of work, she’s been meeting student after student that are coming in at the moment with mental health, flatting and the costs of living. Chatting about how “everyone’s crashing out” at uni made me realise that I could probably write something about this. Afterall, part of my more subtle duties as Critic Editor are to make sure that no student feels alone in their student experience. So here are some things I want to mention.
Your second semester will almost certainly be harder than your first. You will be tired, you’ll spend a lot of it really cold, and you’ll have no money. Everyone’s talking about leaving for home, flights are expensive, and exams aren’t far away. The library seems busier. There’s war on the news, an election looming, and everyone’s breaking up. There are grad roles, rejection letters, friends on LinkedIn, and a final draft due. There is a lot going on right now. But you’re not alone in it.
Despite how uni is supposed to be the best years of our lives, it has an odd way of funneling us into these little silos. Often, we’re stretched between three or four points: the lab, the flat, or tutoring. Work, gym and the library. The library, your partner’s house and your parent’s house. In my case, Dead By Daylight on Xbox, Critic office and my bed. It’s easy to see the same few people everyday, and fall into a routine that doesn’t brush with the things that make life genuinely enjoyable. But there is a whole world out there, and you’re not as isolated as you might feel.
Sometimes the best thing you can do is just put your headphones in and go for a walk. I really mean that. Try to notice that it actually is getting a couple of degrees warmer, and that you can get home at 6pm and it won’t be close to dark yet. The sun rises earlier, and you’ve started being awoken by the world instead of your alarm. Walking around in just a t-shirt is less risky. Your mum or dad might’ve started to mention the start of Christmas plans, and reuniting with siblings or cousins might be on the cards.
The night is darkest right before dawn, and the end of the year is on the horizon. You’ve got this.
XOXO, Dwight Fairfield enthusiast
