Study snacks

I've been spending quite a lot of time in the library recently. I'm on the very last stretch to finishing my degree. I won't expand on this, because I can go on for hours about how fast this all has gone and how scared/excited I am about what comes next. What I'll expand on is... food. How surprising.

Spending hours/days/weeks in the library requires real motivation. Distractions are everywhere; even with SelfControl turned on I can easily doze off for fifteen minutes just thinking about dinner. Essays do have to be written though, and since they can't write themselves, it's up to me to find some deeply hidden motivation.

So, naturally, snacks.

I'm sure it works the same for everyone. It's the principle of the carrot — or at least that's how we call it in France, if anyone cares to let me know whether the phrase works in Britain... — like a horse walking dutifully towards its beloved carrot, people work towards a reward. One paragraph written gets you a raisin, a thousand words on the page gets you a chocolate square, etc.

Except raisins and carrot sticks are for already motivated people. Raisins and carrot sticks are for the first week, when I still aspire to continue eating healthily and even proudly follow my library days by gym sessions. Raisins and carrot sticks are for the last days before panic kicks in.

Then by week two, dried fruits disappear to be replaced by homemade muffins.

By week three, all reason is out the window. Ohhh, week three. Week three is for happy snacks.

What are your favourite happy snacks? Would love to expand my collection over the two weeks I have left. Not that I don't love happy hippos — man, I love happy hippos. But this is probably my last ever excuse to feed myself on tiny chocolate hippos, and definitely my only ever chance to get Pizza Hut to deliver to the library.

Back to writing words to get snacks, then, because this time around, ten thousand words gets me on the Eurostar for the first time in months! xo

Life as a student

I've forgotten what it feels like to be warm. We have heaters, but we rarely turn them on. Layering is the number one student skill. Layers of jumpers, socks, duvets and blankets; layers and layers of words to fill up essays; layers of bread in between actual food to make it more consistent.

I'm sitting at my desk (just an Ikea wood board shoved against a wall), wiggling on my chair (no way it cost more than £5 since it is the most uncomfortable thing I've ever sat on, and I've slept on the floor multiple times), writing an essay about love and how it's basically a dead thing in our contemporary society (and yes this is what I got a loan for.)

Reading week has just ended and all I could think this week is that I had too many things to do/nothing to do. It's difficult to know where to start/when to end. I spend days on end thinking about work/going out. I sleep too much/not enough. And at the end of the day, I blog.

On Friday, I got really good grades back on an essay I really thought I'd failed (after going through the worst tutorial of my life: tip for you all, don't do one-to-one uni work when hungover) and went for a celebratory spontaneous haircut. I didn't think about the consequences. Didn't think about my tutorial when I was out drinking, didn't think about my bank account when I walked into the hair salon, didn't think about my hair when I said 'cut shorter.' Ain't nobody got time for that.

Also, the library has become a second home. I watch videos of the Old Spice Guy in the library (my friends wrote an essay about him.) I watch videos of a guy making pizza in the library (I'm interviewing him.) I watch videos of my friends awkwardly talking to a camera in the library (because this how we do SU elections in my university.) Sometimes, I actually read books and write. Sometimes.

This is (part of) life as a student.

And it's so incredibly good.