Photo credit: Mathilde Ramsden-Board

The last few weeks of Michaelmas term are the final straw for many of us. We’re stressed, we’re tired, we appear to be permanently hungover and you might even suggest we’re craving a meal not pasta-based (or potatoes for those braving college food). The ever-seeming damp and gloom of the North East also isn’t helping the situation; we just want to go home.

Surviving these last few weeks requires some solid willpower, resilience and determination. Realistically, the only reason we’re still managing to stick around is for the several Christmas dinners and college balls in the last week (or for those among us who stand by solid attendance – I applaud you – those last pesky seminars).

But with all this socialising, late nights & mass volumes of mulled wine being consumed, you need to learn to play the game right. The end of Michaelmas is a marathon, not a race. A boozy night inevitably means the dreaded hangover tomorrow and with several of these nights to last for, you’re going to need to be tactical, be smart, you’re at Durham after all.

So, before the long anticipated Christmas dinner commences, get planning. Which lectures can you catch up on online? – most likely all of them (shout-out to encore). Who can sign you in to your seminar tomorrow? – there will be a lovely soul in your group more dedicated than you willing to do the job. (Hold these people close to you in life – they are precious cargo). Soon, you’ll see that skipping the entire day to sleep through your hangover guilt-free is not just an unreasonable, abstract concept, it’s absolutely possible.

Photo credit: Mathilde Ramsden-Board

Execute your plan diligently & you’ll be able to sleep off that pesky hangover to the full and just like that, you’re ready for your next mulled wine / prosecco jolly bender. Time will fly in the haze of festivities and you’ll be home explaining to your parents how you’ve managed to max out your overdraft in 1 term before you can say “I’m failing my degree”.