Zeng Ruijia

    November must be a brutal month for most British students from level three because they are struggling with their essays as well as their postgraduate applications. And I, as part of them, just realized that it was already into the second half of term when I submitted a 500-word plan for my dissertation 15 minutes before the deadline.

    Deadlines are good for productivity, at least for me, one of the final-year students who are either on the way to our campus library or sitting at a computer in the library to search for secondary resources online for their dissertation.

    Every morning when I hear the clock ringing at 6:30, I jump out of bed without any hesitation since once I open my eyes, the pink poster hanging on the wall — “Keep your head up because your tiara is falling” — appears before my eyes, and never fails to give me a sense of anticipation. At 7 a.m., I hurry out of the dormitory with two pieces of brown toast, a cup of coffee and a list of reading books. On my way to the library, the fragrance of Jo Malone London’s English pear from my coat mixed with the smell of café latte wakes me up and reminds me that I am studying in London, a multicultural, fast-paced and creative city.

    The library open for 24 hours every day is the best gift I received here and the top floor that I always go to is the quietest and has the best views of the campus. Usually, I sit next to timber windows and read papers for my afternoon lecture until my stomach starts to grumble. Then, I eat a bit of a sandwich and go for lectures starting at 2 p.m.. After three-hour lectures which make my brain feel burned out, I go back to the dormitory, rush to the kitchen straight away and cook dinner with my flat mate, Natassya.

    Natassya, an all A+ student, is a pretty Eurasian whose father is from Britain and mother is from Singapore. And the reason why her dad sent her to a British university is because she spoke perfect English but with an American accent when she studied at an international high school in Singapore.

    Natassya and I share so many common interests. We love reading, exercising, going shopping and, most importantly, eating food and that’s why we became close friends. As for cooking, we have witnessed each other go from being beginners to skillful cooks who are able to cook meals ranging from Korean hotpot to British fish and chips.

    We eat our dinner together and at the same time watch the BBC News program. After washing our dishes, we go to the library together and as usual, find a spot on the top floor next to the timber windows.

    When we get stuck while writing our essays at the library, Natassya sometimes needs to take one or two smoke breaks if it is not raining outside and I might accompany her. During the break, we will talk about the funny things that happened in class today as well as express our anxieties and worries. We are worried about our postgraduate applications and anxious about the unfinished readings.

    We also dream about our futures to come and imagine what it is going to be like if we are doing PhD degrees in the future. Dreams and confusions always clash, which makes us shift between the spring of hope and the winter of despair.

    However, no matter how stressed we are when we find we haven’t received any message from ideal universities so far or more and more books need to be read for next week, we stop complaining once we return to the library and carry on working until 11 p.m.

    Moonlight spills over the roofs of the houses when we go back to dormitory. Natassya is always the one who tries to cheer us up and jokes: “Aha, it is not easy being a princess but hey if the tiara fits! Keep your head up, Lily.”

    That’s true. Hey girls! Lift your head up no matter how tired and stressed you are. Always wear your tiara with invisible power because tomorrow will be a new start again.