A day in the life: philosophy student Esme

10.00am
Getting out of bed is a struggle, but I usually start with a cup of tea, breakfast, a shower,  while also packing my lunch in some varyingly chaotic sequence. Whilst I lived in Endcliffe for my first year, I now live in a house in Crookesmoor, a popular student area only a short walk away from campus. 
11.00am(ish)
I arrive at the Students’ Union which I use as a sort of base. I am a Philosophy student with eight to nine contact hours a week, so I am trying to adapt to new ways of working this year as much as anyone else. Hopefully seminars will remain face-to-face as long as possible as talking through readings and essay ideas is one of the most stimulating and engaging parts of my course.
 
12.00pm – 3.00pm
I am very involved with the SU’s theatre company, SUTCo, and this year I am Chair, so there is always something I need to be doing. I’m always finding myself in a corner of the SU with a to-do list and my laptop in between lectures and seminars writing emails, having meetings with the SU and committee, planning new ideas and projects or sorting through piles of costume in committee central. Being involved with the society has been great; Sheffield has the best SU in the country, and huge amounts to get involved with. Keeping myself busy and creative has been an incredible coping mechanism for whenever I’m feeling low or homesick.
 
3.00pm – 4.00pm
I meet my housemate for coffee and to get uni work done. Sheffield has amazing places to work and my housemate and I have spent more time in these than anywhere else. Our personal recommendations are 200 Degrees on Division Street, Five Rivers in Broomhill, which takes the prize for the best caramel latte I’ve ever had, and Wildwood on the Moor.
 
6.00pm
My evenings differ from week to week. Theatre Show weeks mean I am in the Drama Studio until late with a meal deal for dinner followed by a Bar One pint. On a quiet week, I cook and eat with my housemate. I am vegan and my housemate is vegetarian, so teaming up for meals makes sense and has saved us lots of time and money. I recommend finding someone with similar eating habits, budget, and schedule to share meals with!
 
8.00pm onwards
Evenings are spent with my housemates watching a film or going out for a drink. We went out a fair bit in our first and second years, being particularly partial to a Pop Tarts night in Foundry, but the coming year will, obviously, be different. Recently, evenings out are a bottle of wine in Crookes Valley Park or a pint and pie at Notty House, but I try to get to bed as early as I can – Sheffield’s hills have a way of tiring you out! The people I have met at university are what makes my time here so positive, so as long as I can spend time with them, things remain wonderful, and leaving Sheffield at the end of this year to start my Masters is near heart-breaking.