Looking back: A reflection on my time at Durham
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. I write this as my household enter isolation for the second time this year. Don’t worry, my sniffles are only those of a belated freshers’ flu – I’ve had my PCR test. Sometimes college accommodation felt more like a nursing home than a university hall of residence. When food was delivered to our doors and college staff escorted us to freedom through the test to release scheme, I remember that this is no ordinary year. Of course, how could anyone forget? My year group may have had a Freshers’ Week, made new friends, and sat exams, but often online or at a distance. It’s moments like these that make me wonder whether I should have distanced myself from this year. I could have deferred while I still had the chance. Yet, I always come to the same conclusion: I had made the right decision all along.
Michaelmas term began with a five-hour journey from home to Durham. The distance between my old life and the new unfolding before me, like another chapter beginning to be opened. With my early morning arrival on the Bailey, I was greeted with the traditional banging of pots and pans, crowds of Freps in green St Chad’s stash and the presence of our very own mascot, the goat. Sorry to shatter the illusion, but this goat was really a human dressed in an animal costume solely for entertainment purposes! In the College bar, I realised that the goat was also the Chadsian drink of choice. It’s true that I didn’t yet know that much about Durham. The view of Castle from my room may be one of the many tourist attractions of the city, but truly knowing my way around the sites was still lacking.
Little did I realise that Epiphany term would be spent entirely at home. Thanks to the January lockdown Durham had to be admired from afar. I felt like I had acquired an extra limb as my computer screen became an extension of me. The monotony of Zoom calls by day and Netflix by night provided my limited connection to the outside world when stuck inside. I knew I needed a sense of routine to get me out of this rut; Zumba and yoga classes slotted perfectly into the free hours of my day. Lecture halls replaced by Zoom calls and Teams meetings have their benefits after all – no need to rush the notes or race to get to a lecture on time, instead it’s whatever suits your working hours and learning style. I might have missed the social interaction of an in-person tutorial and the chance to forge a sense of community with fellow English students, but at least I was still learning.
Exams rolled around as they always do after the Easter break, but this time there was no exam hall, no invigilators and no more scribbled handwriting. Somehow, with the passing of time, the memory of downing espressos whilst endlessly crafting essays in my childhood bedroom has thankfully become hazy. Back in Durham again and things had changed; no matter how corny it sounds, I felt like a different person. Trying to make the best of a bad situation is a skill this year has gifted us. Boris Johnson’s Freedom Day delay and the rise of Covid-19 cases in Durham will hasten my fond farewell to the place I have come to call home. All I can say is: Durham I will see you again soon and for that I am grateful.
Ultimately, when I reflect upon this year, I can’t neglect to mention how I felt this time last year. Exams were cancelled and schools were closed, I had no idea what was going to happen next. While time felt as if it stood still this year, the bells of Durham Cathedral continue to ring, the Market Place comes alive with hustle and bustle once more, and us students can still thrive despite it all.