As self-important as it sounds part of me feels that a worldwide celebration or at the very least a minor fanfare should mark my last entry as a student of York University! Hard as I’m still finding it to believe, I’ve actually managed to write and submit the 15,000 words required to complete my degree and I even survived the closed exam. Ok so there were a few tears, some loud arguments and a minor panic attack when I realised that I’d mistimed my whole exam - in the midst of my terror about not finishing my essay I realised I actually had an hour to spare. Still, several rude words and a strategic toilet break later, I returned to add a few extra paragraphs and embellish my efforts with an extremely complex key. I’ve even found time to intersperse my revision and essay drafting with a spot of costume guiding as a Victorian. Though not, as my housemates were disappointed to discover, dressed as a French maid but rather less attractively in mob cap, long skirt and white apron. Convincing groups of hungry schoolchildren that they do want to learn about Victorian life and help me with the polishing is surprisingly exhausting, but, as I remind myself when the alarm goes off at 6 am, it's useful experience and good preparation for a future in museum education. At several points over the past three years I seriously considered abandoning this degree and never thought it would be possible to have debates with fellow students as to whether grey was an appropriate colour for degree robes or whether black would be more flattering.ÌýStill I’ll be so thrilled if I succeed in earning the right to wear a mortar board that I won’t care what colour it is! | "It’s time I made the most of living in a house where it’s possible to start a day by finding a pair of lacy red knickers in the freezer" | |
Despite my frequent complaints about the pitfalls and hardships of university life I’m starting to realise that I will actually miss aspects of the student existence. It’s time I made the most of living in a house where it’s possible to start a day by finding a pair of lacy red knickers in the freezer and discovering that the broom has been destroyed in a sword fight, and finish it extracting carrots from pipes under the sink and speculating over whether the missing mop bucket might have been transformed into a mountain range or used as a beer crate! Veronica | 
