student life

The life of a student has two sides. On the one hand, there is this new level of independence, the huge number of possibilities to have new experiences and so on. And yet, on the other, scarier hand, a list of new and unprecedented problems and questions seem to wait just for you.

How can I save money without having the feeling of living a beggar's life? Which recipes suit both my (low) budget and my taste? What are the best ways to comfortably earn some extra money? And, after having resolved the financial challenges, how can I socialise and make some lovely new friends?

Having got through all these problems myself, I can provide you with some quick, handy and useful tips to make your everyday life much more comfortable.

1) Keep calm and enjoy your meal

I know that probably 80% of you come to university not having any further cooking experience than how to ‘cook' instant pizzas and noodles (I'm not blaming you, Mum's dishes tasted too good). Am I right? If yes, try this super-quick, super-budget and super-lovely curry.

Chicken and Vegetable Curry (from this recipe):

For any student starting their first year of university, there are many things to think about: being away from home for the first time, a student loan in your pocket, plenty of freshers' activities on offer, making new friends, maybe going to the odd class...the chances are that eyecare is not on a typical student's list of priorities. For international students who also have to worry about a new culture, a new language and - let's face it - some pretty cold weather, it's even further down the list.

Yet caring for your eyes is important if you want to be able to put the time in in front of your laptop studying without creating health problems for yourself. There are many things which can cause problems with eyesight, especially if the climate is different to that which you're used to. Here we outline a few of the eye-related problems and what to do about them.

Long Flights

On the way in and out of the UK - which may involve five or six trips every year - your eyes may struggle to adapt to the low humidity in the plane. Those wearing contact lenses especially talk of dry and itchy eyes, which are made worse by dozing off on the plane. Having eyedrops to hand is very useful - these can be picked up from any UK pharmacy and will rehydrate the eyes.

I left the Seychelles feeling like a big fish in a small pond, and now I feel like a small fish in the sea. Studying abroad has made me independent, open minded but most of all, looking at the competition out there, more hard working than ever.

As exams approach, I think of the end when I can hopefully call myself a law graduate. The usual reaction to the title can be depicted with a picture of a lawyer turning a man upside down and shaking him to empty his pockets of every penny. Nonetheless, the majority seem impressed.

I'm often asked legal advice from friends. For example, a short anecdote of a friend who gives me an urgent call for legal advice: "If I were to take my Xbox to university and sat down playing, could I be criminally liable for anything?". And so I answered, "yes, extracting electricity unlawfully". I certainly should have taken insurance before giving out legal advice as a first year, but giving free legal advice becomes the norm as a law student.