By Sophia Charchalou

With Cuth’s life occupying every spare moment of every day during term time, such long holidays and breaks away from Durham can be tough to cope with. College withdrawal symptoms begin to take hold, uni friends live miles away and home life eventually gives you just a bit too much personal space (those uni housemates/ flatmates/ roommates suddenly become priceless).

I anticipate that these feelings will be even more intense for those of us who embark on a journey to study abroad or begin a placement! But these tips are also essential for fellow Cuth’s students who are looking to prepare for the next big holiday or even those who have just graduated. So, from a wise Cuth’s third year, here is a list of the top 5 things I will certainly be relying on to escape my blues this academic year.

Note Cards

This is a Cuth’s tradition which is definitely underappreciated by all of us! As far as I’m aware, it is something which is totally unique to our college (I have had to explain the concept to friends from other colleges many times before). A kind of modern version of 19^th century love letters, they are items to treasure from your close friends and college celebrities. In the depths of your blues, having the chance to reflect on all the amazing memories you made last term by reading back through heartfelt hand-written cards is the best ritual. They’re often an allusion to previous conversations, a character profile to attach to someone’s name, an inside joke to be remembered in the long run. These note cards may be small and easily lost after a good amount of rubbishly good college wine, but they have a fierce sentimental value.

Photos

An asset to any bedroom, photos are the typical way to capture life in Durham. A small Free Prints order conveniently fits in amongst my clothes in the hold luggage I am taking abroad with me, in a handbag pocket or even a car door. Like note cards, photos are a small, tangible and portable pieces of Durham which can easily be transferred to any space as a portal to your uni room. I recommend starting shared albums for every Durham term with friends: a great way to collaboratively reminisce and to digitally scrapbook (you can even add comments to photos!).

Facebook: Durfess, Tindur, Overheard at Durham etc.

Calling upon all the chat forums offered to Durham students on Facebook is possibly the greatest form of entertainment for when you reach a low point away from uni. In between your habitual social media scrolling, take the opportunity to immerse yourself into the Durham lifestyle by reading through the ‘rah’, unfiltered and probably most bizarre stories you’d typically hear along the Bailey or at a college bar. Ranging from answers to your most embarrassing thoughts and questions to spotting your friend’s initials in a rogue declaration of love, Facebook groups have a genre for everyone and every occasion!

College Merchandise

Breathe in the distant hassle of doing laundry for an extortionate price and allow yourself to be swallowed by the sea of Cuth’s green. It’s as good as borrowing your partner’s clothes! College merchandise is at best (and often worst) a magnet for Durham students in your hometown. At the peak of missing university, wear your merchandise with pride and prepare to have awkward small talk with people from our small world in the North. Investigate every face paint, ketchup or grass stain which still clings to the fabric and visualise that football win, that hunger for free chips or that excitement by a Freddie Mercury tribute act.

A general piece of advice

The people you know from Cuth’s or wider Durham are those who make up your experience at uni! Remember that by leaving Durham, you can still stay in contact with them. Perhaps they live far away, so utilise facetime or group chats and organise a day to regularly catch up or even reconnect through your shared longing to go back to uni. Or perhaps they live close by, so meet up in person, show them your local area. The Durham world extends far beyond Durham itself and whilst it’s always a place to look forward to coming back to, there are many ways to ameliorate your I-miss-Durham blues.

Image credits: Sophia Charchalou via St Cuthbert’s Society