I have truly loved my first term at Cambridge – I have gone from only ever knowing my lovely Essex friends, to meeting amazing, smart, interesting people from all over the country and the world. ‘Imposter syndrome’ is definitely still ongoing, however I’m trying to embrace that now and just appreciate the crazy amount of intelligence that I’m surrounded by. On top of all the new things I’ve learnt just by talking to my friends in other subjects, I have also learnt a lot from the geography course. One of the things that most people love about geography is its breadth, and that is most definitely true of the 1A course. Although I usually prefer human geography (I have really enjoyed the geopolitics and historical geography modules), I have also really enjoyed the physical modules too, like the Cryosphere and the Earth. Everyone says about the intense Cambridge terms and workload, and it is true, week 6 and 7 were particularly manic for me. Online lectures and supervisions have also been tricky at times, accidentally zoning out or getting distracted by things in my room. However, I’ve also been very, very grateful for them on the days where I’ve almost slept through the start of my supervision, but only have a quick hop out of bed to my desk. Plus, it makes it actually exciting when you have an in-person supo, even if that means an hour walk out to Girton.
So yes, it has been a rather crazy 8 weeks. In terms of Covid, us Freshers don’t really know any different, but I feel like we have adapted well. The geography Freshers in particular have been really good in making an effort to meet up in random groups of six, which has actually been really helpful to meet new people, since, in all honesty, it has been hard to meet people from other colleges at the moment.
Above all, living in Cambridge has been an absolute blessing. If it ever gets a bit too much with work, nothing beats a chilled walk up the river or around the city, especially at the moment with the classy Christmas lights. However, as much as I have enjoyed Michaelmas, I am very much looking forward to going home and catching up on some sleep over Christmas.
Written by Georgette Payne, 1st year Geography student
DISCLAIMER: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR ONLY AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS OR OPINIONS OF COMPASS MAGAZINE AS A WHOLE OR THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY