As we enter the final year of our degrees, my friends and I have realised that our carefully curated lists of things to do and see before we leave Cambridge have been left relatively uncrossed. At the start of an undergraduate degree, three years seems like so much time, but when it’s broken down and you’re suddenly ntering your seventh eight-week term, you quickly realise time is running out. Final year is no longer that mythical, faraway land. While most of us have, by this point, completed the majority of the classic bucket list items, I’ve come to realise that many of the things I said I’d get round to one day have been forgotten. Well, this year is about making time for that day and finally completing what I like to call my third year bucket list.

Dinner plans

Call it Stockholm Syndrome, but over my two years here, I’ve grown to love the comfort of the college buttery. But as much as I love its social bubble (and as necessary it can be for the student budget), I’ve realised Cambridge actually has other food. The food available outside college gates is arguably, well, better. While we’ve all forked out a small fortune for a sweet treat from Fitzbillies, or worshipped the cheesy chips at Gardie’s (RIP) after a night out, there’s a lot more out there. Top of my list is the Chinese restaurant just across the street from my college, which, to be fair, I think I may be one of the only ones not to cross the road for (yet). Maybe I’m too loyal to my Chinese takeaway at home, but more likely it’s because it’s just too close and I believed I’d inevitably go at some point – or at least that’s what I said before the past two years slipped away. So this year, I will cross that road.

“I’ll go at some point – or at least that’s what I said before the past two years slipped away”

Becoming cultured

Cambridge is home to some of the world’s (arguably) best minds, but many fail to take in the city’s wider cultural offerings. This might be my Art A-level talking, but there is seldom an activity more likely to make you feel cultured than visiting an art gallery. Whether you’re there to read every single information plaque, to sketch some of your favourite pieces, or to simply take it all in, the feeling of overwhelming peace can’t be ignored.While the Fitzwilliam Museum is an obvious choice for those seeking such an experience, and for good reason, it’s Kettle’s Yard and Murray Edwards’ Womens’ Art Collective that top my list for this year’s cultural cravings. Another visit to the Fitz is undeniably on the cards, but I mustn’t let myself shy away from the art a little further up the hill.

A library crawl

Unfortunately, third year remains one centralised on that large-looming final evil: exams. HSPSers are (debatedly) blessed in second year by a 100% weighting on third year, something which now seems a lot less fun than it did last year. And so, while I endeavour to strike the perfect work/life balance this year, I’m not going to pretend that a lot of my time won’t be spent reading. This doesn’t have to put an end to the bucket list though because, as ashamed as I am to admit it, there’s still a long long list of libraries I’m yet to visit. Only studying in your college library may seem boring, but I’m blessed to have a pretty beautiful one, and when it’s so close, it’s hard not to settle for its creature comforts. My point remains though; this year, I want to push the boat out a little. You may even catch me in my subject library – a sight yet unseen. The UL, though? Never.

“No one knows what else you have left to do in this city apart from you”

Go out on the town

Maybe I’m showing my age here, but a Rumboogie isn’t exactly my idea of a dream night out anymore. And this isn’t me calling out those people who do still dance to Mariah Carey and The Lion King soundtrack every week – we all need somewhere to let off steam. But for the times when me and my friends want something a little different, we’ve started keeping an eye out for places we can drink and dance, minus the hordes of freshers. Unfortunately, this will most likely mean forking out a little more of the student budget, because as much as we love the free entry at La Raza, the drink prices more than make up for it.

Speaking of overpriced drinks – a key challenge on my bucket list is to finally complete the Cambridge Nine Pub Crawl. The city has more than its fair share of watering holes, and by no means should you limit yourself to these nine, but the promise of a free t-shirt at the end is more than enough to convince me to crawl.

While I’m sure there’s a lot I’m undoubtedly missing, the third year bucket list is something that you have to make your own. No one knows what else you have left to do in this city apart from you. And, don’t panic, even if you don’t get it all ticked off this year, there’s always a panic Masters!