A dark pall hangs over Murdoch these days, students look harried and dash furtively from the library to the cafe and back again clutching precious mugs of coffee. Meals go uneaten, dishes go undone and blogs don’t get updated. Yes, exam season is underway and with it comes all the stress and anxiety that comes from your entire future being decided in two hours of frantic writing.

It may surprise many of you to find out that I am actually very productive during the exam periods. I tidy my room, play noughts & crosses and even find the time to update the blog. This is merely a very productive form of procrastination as I avoid the stacks of textbooks and lecture notes that I know I really should be reading. Revision is a dirty word that must not be uttered in case the crushing despair descends once more.

This is also the part of semester where everything gets confused, you want to feel happy for the upcoming holiday and the chance to see old friends again but on the other hand it’s a bit sad to say goodbye to the people you’ve lived with, especially those you’re unlikely to see again. There’s also that stress I mentioned earlier over whether you have passed the year or if you will get a letter from the University politely asking you never to return. All in all it’s a pretty busy part of semester so I feel completely vindicated spending my time dealing with these issues instead of revising.

Students who don’t live in Perth and that don’t plan on spending the long summer in WA are scrambling around trying to find storage units and trying to pack 50 kgs of stuff into boxes built for maybe half of that. If you’re staying over the summer expect a lot of anxious friends to show up in the coming days with an over-flowing box and an apologetic look on their faces. Gradually your own room will begin to fill up with so much other people’s stuff you will be forced to close the curtains and pretend you aren’t in. Not that I’ve ever done that.

Anyway this summer I will be heading to the UK to see friends and family for the first time in over two years before heading home for a Christmas in Zimbabwe. This will involve a lot of long flights and longer layovers in South Africa but I’m confident it will all work out alright and when things go horribly wrong I’ll be sure to put it up here for everyone to enjoy.

Now I think I’ve spent enough time writing this and it is time to do some actual studying, or I might read a book. Expect to see my assignment entry this upcoming Sunday, I don’t want to give away too much but there is going to be a LOT of chalk in it.