Sarah, Gemma and Shane are three of the six student bloggers sharing their lives on a weekly basis. The bloggers will give you the lowdown on everything from the latest YouTube sensation, places to go and what they’ve eaten and where. And, most importantly, how much it all cost. To whet your appetite take a look at a small sample of what Sarah, Shane and Gemma have to say.

Sarah Perkins
Age: 20
From: Bristol
Studying: Dietetics, Year 3
Favourite things: cooking, purple and Disney
Most likely to blog about: food and Sutton Bonington life

So I’ve had exams. And I watched Les Mis. And this is what happened…

There was a time exams were kind
When answers were clear
And MCQ’s inviting
There was a time when examiners were blind
And life was a song
And grades were exciting
There was a time (KS2)
Then it all went wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When free time was high
And work not my living
I thought my social life would never die
I thought examiners were forgiving
Then I was young and doing SATs
And exams didn’t really matter
There was no revision of types of fats
Nothing that left your brain in tatters

But the caffeine comes at night
With its buzzing, twitching thunder
As it tears your sleep apart
As they turn your dream to ash

I had a summer holiday that was free
I filled its days with work and play
I took the freedom in my stride
But now it’s gone, and winter came

And still I dream a first will come to me
That my life won’t be revision
But there are dreams that cannot be
And this degree was my decision!

I had a dream my exams would be
Much easier than the ones I’ve taken
So different now from what they seemed
Now exams have killed the dream I dreamed

Gemma Ubah
Age: 20
From: London
Studying: Mathematics and Economics, Year 3
Favourite things: Street dance, listening to the radio, horror films
Most likely to blog about: Food, meerkats, the latest crazes

Why I find exam rooms annoying?

Coughing: One person coughs, and it sends everyone else into a frenzy. It’s like people need one person to take the plunge and cough first, as a sort of reassurance that it’s okay to cough.

Noisy handwriting: I had one particular exam this week, where sitting next to me was a guy whose exam answers must have involved a lot of crossing of Ts, and dotting of Is. I’m sure people in the building next door could hear his frantic writing.

Invigilators that don’t notice you: Yesterday, I desperately needed more paper, but when I put my hand up, I wasn’t seen to for about a whole minute. Every minute counts in a one-hour exam you know.

Shane Chard
Age: 20
From: Bristol
Studying: English and American Studies, Year 2
Favourite things: Social media, food and Beyonce
Most likely to blog about: Technology… and Beyonce

There are three types of people in the word: the clean freaks, the lazy bodies and the ones who don’t care what state the house is in as long as their stuff is tidied away so they can’t be blamed for the mess.

As any student not living in catered halls knows (and boy do we miss those days) living with people can be… an experience, particularly surrounding the kitchen! In the grand scheme of life’s problems, kitchen cleanliness doesn’t even make the shortlist, yet for students it can be The. Most. Frustrating. Thing.

It takes less than 20 seconds to wash out a cereal bowl or coffee mug, less than five minutes to wash up everything used to make a meal. Yet such items can be found sitting on the kitchen counter four days later, forcing everyone else to work around YOUR mess (you know who you are).

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