The winter holidays are the perfect time to look back at all the hard work you’ve done over the past year. What have you accomplished? Who have you met? How have you grown? This December I’ll be heading home to chilly north Lincolnshire, enjoying Christmas with my family. It can feel strange heading home though, spending time with people outside of your university city’s social sphere — the people you’ve  been living with, working with, or complaining to these last few months. Towards summative season I begin to feel like a wind-up doll, ritualistically repeating, ‘I’m fine, just busy,’ or ‘I’m nearly better, I just need a day to recover,’ or ‘I’m ready for the winter break!’.

Unfortunately, many (including myself) find it hard to wind down when the break comes around, and the period is over before we know it. This is your reminder to prepare for the holidays, this is the perfect time to relax, give yourself the space and time you need to properly recharge. You deserve it! While you relax, full bellied and horizontal, it can be fun to look back on the accomplishments you made over the year, however big or small.

Today I’m looking back at lifestyle! What got us talking about our lives?

In August we looked at new beginnings; we asked questions about starting university and the ways it can shake up your life. Anne Glia (Kasey Campbell) navigated new beginnings, and the online lifestyle section featured an article by Lin Vu on long distance relationships, as well as a piece by senior writer Caitlin Bennet on decluttering your living space. August also featured an article by yours truly on the dos and don’ts of clubbing, as freshers found themselves at the LCR for the very first time!

September was our first print edition! There were a couple of big talking points to discuss, Romy Todd’s piece on AI and talk therapy, and my feature on the red tape roadblocks around socially transitioning. Caitlin Bennet brought some quintessential lifestyle energy with an interior decorator’s guide to Norwich, and Anne Glia kept up the theme of new beginnings, alongside a foray into horoscopes!

In October we did the rounds with some spooky favourites! Co-Editor-In-Chief Fiona Hill talked tarot and the commercialisation of the occult, while I contributed a piece about Halloween activities for adults in Norwich, alongside a feature article on an experience witnessing community social care. Finally in October, Anne Glia began her Glia Gossip series with a super important piece on the wellbeing provisions at UEA!

In November we started to react to cold, dark nights. Anne Glia wrote a piece on how to cope ‘When it Isn’t the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’, and Lillie Clark carried the torch of the dark, chilly theme with an article on keeping warm on a budget. In November, I contributed a feature on ‘Making Your Home a Winter Nest,’ and a piece on the student divide around part-time work. 

Editing the Lifestyle section and getting involved with the paper has been great fun so far, and I can’t wait to see what comes next from the writers (and for Concrete). See you next year!

Photo Credit: Unplash