We’re at Week 2 already. Someone’s posted on Camfess (the confessions page at Cambridge) asking Just wondering which week of term week 5 blues are meant to hit. Is week 2 too early?
I’ve read and watched a lot about Week 5 Blues, and my parents even discussed it. Truth be told, I’m hoping to avoid the feeling altogether. I’d like Week 5 to be Blue, but just another week filled with Cambridge Blue.
Speaking of Blues, I had a rowing ERG induction this morning. Super fun, and a very, very rythmic movement. All sports I’ve played have rhythm and flow built in – you look at tennis, cricket, hockey, and golf – and you can see examples of that flow, in every swing or shot. Rowing feels the same way, just more repetitively and at a higher frequency. Mass workouts for our Boat Club start this week, and I’m very excited to see how my stamina and fitness develop through the workouts.
Today was two interactive sessions: Global Governance and Jurisprudence. Both super fun – one used Breakout Rooms, and the other one I made fun by watching the lecture on Together Mode on Teams, which made me feel like we were discussing Jurisprudence and HLA Hart while watching a basketball match. The small joys of a virtual learning environment. Although Jurisprudence only happened online because the Faculty Building closed today.
Aside from that I spoke to a Professor whose work I had read as an undergraduate, chatting with him about his current research, life at Cambridge, and things that fascinate the both of us. I’m really looking forward to his lectures when he takes them in Global Governance, but interacting with him more. It feels like a privilege to just e-mail somebody whose work you’ve admired and ask them if they can have a conversation with you: informing them that you have the same institutional affiliation and would like to learn from them. I’ve cold e-mailed before, a lot of times, and I’ve never expected a response, so it’s very heartening when you do hear back.
I’m worried that the workload and the stuff I want to try out here will see me slip away from the healthy sleep schedule I built for myself during lockdown. This evening I charted out my day on OneNote, slotting in non-negotiable “Sleep” hours and “Personal” hours – to play videogames and de-stress, or write/read and destress. Basically something I’m committed to doing, but doesn’t fit in with the otherwise output oriented nature of my existence. I hope I can live up to that.
My roommate from College reads the blog daily, and spurred me on to write these today – so I hope he takes some joy in knowing I sleep on time and wake up quite early. Which is quite unlike the Tejas he saw for five years at GNLU. I relied on him way too much to get me up for class, and often chose not to go even after waking up, electing to do some work instead, knowing I had the exemptions and the access to notes to figure out exams when I needed to. That’s absolutely not an approach valid here. I mean, it is a route, but it’s too burdensome, and for me, not how I want to take academics and their values anymore.
Tejas Rao 