Can we all please talk about what on earth is going on with the weather? I know that I have spent most of the year complaining about the rain and grey clouds, but little did I know — back when grey skies were a thing — how truly glorious they are. Yes, the clouds may be miserable, and the rain unpleasant, but I think there is little I wouldn’t sacrifice in exchange for a cold day right now. Sleep has become a thing of the past as the charming sweltering heat has decided to become a permanent feature of my room, even when I leave my windows wide open.

Why, oh why, must the hottest and stickiest weather come right in the middle of exam season? I know this may be a welcome state of affairs to some, but surely I am not the only one who is finding it absolutely impossible to concentrate? All I want to do is be outside all the time, and when I am inside trying to “work” I end up getting agitated that I can’t be out there where all the fun is — purportedly —happening. Thus, I try to toil away in my room but actually end up staring longingly at the bright blue sky. In the meantime, when I do go outside, I always manage to get burnt even when I am wearing factor 50. It is a thoroughly perplexing situation.

“I try to toil away in my room but actually end up staring longingly at the bright blue sky”

Also — for better or for worse — it feels like Cambridge has turned into a 24/7 fashion show at the moment. The flowery dresses and the colourful bandanas and the dangly earrings, while extremely pretty, are also not very good for my bank account. Nor is the recent opening of Urban Outfitters for that matter. The result of these two factors is that I end up thinking that maybe I do need that new pair of shorts afterall, in a hopeless and futile attempt to keep up with the sheer style that the streets of Cambridge showcase. I would also like to spare a moment to appreciate freezers for all of their glacial glory. The scorching weather makes me miss freezers a lot. I have to buy more expensive ice creams because I can’t get the tubs of it else they will melt. This is a travesty of justice. Melodramatic? I do not know what you are talking about.

“The sheer state of ecstasy and glee that I am witnessing on the streets is actually turning me into a real life grinch.”

What’s more — now I am really getting into the swing of this — I am not a fan of walking through town and seeing the grins on people’s radiant and glowing faces when they have finished their exams. Yes, their euphoria is well deserved, and yes, I would be doing exactly the same thing if I had finished my exams. But therein lies the issue; I still have a week to go. This means that the sheer state of ecstasy and glee that I am witnessing on the streets is actually turning me into a real life grinch. I want to be happy for everyone, but I also want to be happy — so I would appreciate it if the HSPS department could hear this plea and cancel my last exam. Then I can join the ever-growing number of radiant-faced, post-exam students of Cambridge.

My motivation to work has also taken a real hit this week, probably because I have decided that I have finished exams even though I have just, objectively, not. All term I have worked for what feels like more than the rest of my life combined, and now that I am finally at crunch point — aka exams — I honestly am losing the capacity to care. Burnout, who’s that? This unnecessary state of exhaustion leads me to the conclusion that next year I’ll try to make the most of the sun and stop confining myself to Victorian anthropological theory when it doesn’t even make sense in the first place. Exams are a social construct after all…

Now that I am being forced to come to terms with the fact that summer is (probably) here to stay, I am also thinking about the fact that I have three months of idle time ahead of me. On the one hand, this is absolutely fantastic. I’ve had enough of my degree anyway, and three months should give me just enough time to be able to tolerate it again. On the other hand, I am nowhere near inventive enough to fill my time creatively. People keep talking about post-exam bucket lists, and yet mine — thus far — consist of sleeping and recovering from the handful of exams I have been sitting. STEM students, please forgive me for my only-having-four-exams privilege.

Last but not least; the thought of third year is something which I will happily ignore until October, when it will be time to face reality once more. Following Tuesday, which is the day of my last exam, and thus, of liberation, I will identify as a non-student non-anthropologist for the duration of my three month sabbatical.