The year is 1665. Isaac Newton has been sent home from Cambridge University following an outbreak of the Great Plague. Just another university student in his early 20s, Newton is confined to a year-long isolation. […]
Category: Personal Essays
How running helped reclaim my body from anxiety – 20 minutes at a time
When I am running, I am body and breath and thumping footsteps, and when I finish my lap of the woods, I feel capable. This is my love letter to running, an activity that quite […]
Bristol’s Kill the Bill protest: A view from Rupert Street
By Sacha Perera On Sunday 21 st March, Bristol burst. After a year of lockdown after lockdown after lockdown, the city – which prides itself on liberal values – simply couldn’t stand for the sacrifice […]
It’s time to recognise the constraints and discrimination imposed by society’s gender norms
By Phoebe Baltazar I’m angry, sad and hopeless. In the space of just one week we began with the celebration of International Women’s Day, immediately followed by a vicious online attack of a high profile […]
The innate loneliness of being an only child
By Andrea Butler As my parents and I get older, the reality of my lack of siblings begins to set in. My lack of siblings was never something I thought much about as a young […]
What being a virgin in my 20s is teaching me
“Virginity feels like this outdated idea that never had much meaning beyond misogyny, yet on the other hand I know in my gut that it still means something to me – if it didn’t, wouldn’t I have lost it by now?”
Erasmus: The government fails students. Yet again.
Thanks to Brexit, the UK is withdrawing from the Erasmus programme. Will the replacement match up to what Erasmus+ has offered for 33 years?
Why the hospitality and retail industries should be closed over Christmas
By Lauren Taylor Having worked in retail for several years I have experienced the festive season from behind a till in a high street clothing store, engulfed in the hustle and bustle of last-minute Christmas […]
Life before death: Obituaries should be for the living
Obituaries are important for paying tribute to the deceased and allowing people to recount the person’s life. But shouldn’t we be celebrating people whilst they’re alive? The history of obituaries Throughout its history, the obituary […]
It’s Not Just “Hypochondria”: Health anxiety in a public health crisis
The pandemic has taken a toll on everybody’s mental health, but those with health anxiety have been more severely affected. How can we continue to keep the public safe while also understanding the impact of […]