Oxford Diaries 11: Oxford in Bloom • Sara Laughed

I’m back in Oxford again, after a month of spring break (lucky me!). I’ll admit something that I wasn’t willing to acknowledge last time I was in Oxford: I was pretty unhappy in Hilary, the second of my three terms here. Blame it on the weather, or perhaps on the truth in the saying “what comes up, must come down;” but either way, I felt stressed, tired, and uninspired. After my long break, I returned to England with determination and some cautious optimism: I was going to make the most of my last term here, and enjoy every minute of it.

I’m happy to tell you that my hopes were not misplaced. Oxford in Trinity term is absolutely lovely, flourishing with greenery and life. A short walk down the street turns into a long walk in the Oxford University Parks. It’s so beautiful you just can’t stay away.

Oxford University Parks

I’ve been going on plenty of walks lately, in between essay-writing marathons.

The Rainbow Bridge

Oxford is a truly magical place. The closer I get to leaving, the more I am able to appreciate how truly beautiful it is; how lucky I am to be here; how much there still is to explore. Unfortunately, while I’m skipping through flower fields, many of my friends are studying like mad for their final exams, which I don’t have. As such, if I want to spend time with them, it’s usually in a library.

A library where I’ve been spending lots of time lately.

As a result of all that library time and some bad scheduling on my part, I’m currently trying to write an essay every 2.5 days. The goal is to spend as much time as possible with my friends when all three of them arrive at some point this month (three visits in May. I’m so unwise sometimes!). Beyond that, I have a few trips to London coming up, as well as my first real Oxford ball! The dress-of-honor is hanging over my closet door in anticipation.

In the meantime, though, I’m still doing my best to enjoy the views – and maybe leave a small mark on this beautiful place.