"Why must I take out a small mortgage to keep my clothes clean?"
1. Circuit laundry
The root of all evil. Why must I take out a small mortgage to keep my clothes clean? Nothing screams “I’m barely holding it together” quite like standing in front of a washing machine that’s just swallowed your last £4.
2. Doing a big food shop and being red in the face before I even reach my front door
Armed with my re-useable carrier bags and a dream, it feels like I've reached pique adulthood. I'll frolic around the supermarket with notions of meal prepping swarming around my mind. Then the reality hits... the dreaded walk home. By the time I finally get home, my fingers are purple from plastic handles, my arms are shaking, and my face is the shade of a ripe tomato. The worst part? I always end up forgetting the one thing I actually needed.
3. Choosing an extra 15 minutes of sleep
It's a tale as old as time. My alarm will go off, I'll convince myself a few more minutes in bed can't hurt, and all of a sudden I have less than 20 minutes to get myself out the door and onto campus. I'll rock up to my 9 am in an outfit that is far from socially acceptable and try to make sense of the 18 lecture slides that are somehow supposed to take up 2 hours.
4. Checking how much I've spent after saying I would just have a 'small night out'
Budgeting? Clearly haven't heard of her before. Self-control? Also haven't heard of her either.
"It happens to the best of us: thinking we absolutely devoured an essay, only to have our dreams crushed by the feedback comments."
5. Reading the feedback on my essays
It happens to the best of us: thinking we absolutely devoured an essay, only to have our dreams crushed by the feedback comments. There are more question marks than you've ever seen before and a suggestion to go into more detail despite having a word count that didn't allow any room for further explanation.
6. Getting picked on by a seminar leader when it's painfully obvious I haven't done the pre-reading
Sometimes I feel like I wear a sign on my back that reads, "Pick on me!". Seminar leaders seem to have a warped sixth sense where they know exactly who hasn't done the required reading. And that said person is usually always me.
7. Not checking the weather
Mother nature always seems to have it out for me. Every time I decide to straighten my hair, the forecast predicts a torrential downpour. God forbid I choose not to bring a jacket one day - I fear I'd turn blue before my final lecture ends.
8. Every all-nighter I have ever pulled
It's just never a good idea. Yes, you're fueled by adrenaline (or perhaps it's just an ungodly amount of caffeine) and a looming deadline. But I can honestly say my best work has never been the result of an all-nighter. All it leaves me with is feeling like a zombie the next day.
9. The fire alarm that decides to go off at the crack of dawn
Arguably the most humbling of them all, the piercing wail of student accommodation's fire drills. One moment I’m peacefully asleep, the next I’m standing outside in my pajamas, clutching my phone and wondering where it all went wrong. It’s always 5 a.m., it’s always freezing, and you can only pray you remembered to grab your key card to let you back into your room.
10. The passive aggressive emails I receive from my lecturers
Every email I send is crafted with love and care - so why is it nearly impossible to receive the same kindness back? The tone is perfectly balanced — not quite rude, but sharp enough to make me rethink my entire existence. The worst part is when it’s addressed to the whole class, but you know, deep in your soul, it’s about you.