So it’s Week 12. You’re exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally and are starting to question why the hell you enrolled in so many subjects this semester/uni at all. The pile of work you have to do continues to grow as the number of days you have to do it in starts to shrink. Time seems to go a lot faster during the day than you remember it going in high school. You can’t believe it’s already week 12, but at the same time you feel like you’ve been doing the same routine for four years (I guess you kind of have).

The only way I can get through the endless slog of uni work is by having something to look forward to at the other end. Even if you don’t have a holiday lined up for the winter break (suckers haha) there is still a lot to look forward to when you finally put down that pen at the end of your last exam.

That first sip of brown lemonade (or your drink of preference):

It’s no coincidence that at UOW, the Unibar is right next to the exam hall. Your first destination after that final exam should be the bar. Even if you’re not a drinker, organise for a group of your classmates to meet at the bar afterwards to rejoice in surviving another semester of uni and get to know each other outside the classroom context. Debrief about the subject and exam, or just pretend it didn’t happen at all! But don’t forget to enjoy that first sip of guilt-free goodness!

Seeing your friends:

If you’re anything like me, you’ve kind of been finding it hard to catch up with some of your friends in the last weeks of semester as everyone is busy cramming as many facts as possible into their brains. But soon you will have the opportunity to catch up for breakfast, a binge-watching session, late night chat or just a night out on the town.

The weather:

Although I hesitate to like the excessively warm weather we’ve seen over the last three months, I wouldn’t have minded more time to enjoy it. There’s almost no need to escape the winter chill this year as it doesn’t seem that it’s going to be around. So, although this ongoing beach weather is not so great for the environment, it looks like it’s here to stay, so you might as well enjoy it.

Splendour in the Grass and sideshows:

The best end-of-holidays hoorah there is. If you missed out on tickets to the festival this year, there are still tickets available to the sideshows of Jake Bugg, James Blake and plenty of other acts. And if you did manage to grapple some tickets to the festival, be prepared to have the one of the greatest weeks of your life. You definitely won’t want to be heading back to uni on that Monday morning.

An actual income:

Coming to the end of semester, you’re probably coming to the end of your piggy bank as well. The winter break is the perfect time to spend a few weeks earning the big bucks to help you through the next half a year. If you have nothing else planned for the break you may as well spend it working your little butt off and saving all your pennies. That way you can kick back a bit next semester and not be worrying about your finances alongside everything else going wrong in your life.

Sleep:

Arguably the thing a uni student longs for the most. And soon you can have as much of it as you want! The best things in life are free.

We’ve come so far and we’re so close to the end! So just knuckle down for the next few weeks and smash this semester out of the park. The rewards will be so much sweeter if you do.