Egham – The Orbital

University is the Most Confusing Time of your Life, and No One Talks About it

16Nov

By Claudia MacalusoNo Comments

Opinion

University is the Most Confusing Time of your Life, and No One Talks About it

By Claudia Macaluso Picture this. You’re eighteen, it's Christmas Eve, you’re sitting around a table with loads of people who you’re apparently related to, and you suddenly get asked this question: “So how’s uni?” And you shudder, thinking to yourself, “How could I possibly answer that nonchalantly?” The truth is, university is undoubtedly the strangest time of your life, and you’re not given enough credit for it. Everyone anticipates this moment for most of their teenage years, and yet when the time comes, you turn into this tiny goldfish who gets tossed into a massive aquarium full of fish species you’ve never even heard of before. One of my friends once told me, "I would love university if I didn’t actually have to do university.” You’ve been in education your entire life, yet...

21Nov

By Charlotte TownNo Comments

Lifestyle

Romanticising University Life

Romanticising simple tasks, such as a trip to the shops, walking to a lecture, or going into Egham for a coffee is something we are all guilty of. There is a feeling of comfort which arises by putting on a big coat and your favourite playlist and idly making your way around campus. The extravagant Founders building and the warm colours of Autumn which currently adorn Royal Holloway are the perfect complement to romanticising your university life. Romanticising your life can play a crucial part in cheering yourself up on gloomy days of Autumn and Winter. As busy students, we should allow ourselves to occasionally follow the beckoning lights of a local cafe or the friendly call of a day exploring charity shops (it is self-care really). Even revision can be made enjoyable when it is...

Ginger Ale, Germans, and ‘Good Girls’: An Advocacy Against Speed Dating

17Nov

By Olivia TaylorNo Comments

Lifestyle

Ginger Ale, Germans, and ‘Good Girls’: An Advocacy Against Speed Dating

All names mentioned in this article could be real or I may have made them up, I honestly just can’t remember who said yes or no to name dropping… Congratulations to me! I have reached my 20s, a decade dedicated to making decisions that will go on to shape the rest of my life, whether that surrounds my career, social life or even - dare I say it - love life. In hindsight, would it be better to scrap the congratulations? I must preface this article by saying it definitely is not about love, because if it was, I would be both deeply embarrassed and entirely let down, however, it is about my first time experiencing speed dating. Reasons for doing this include 1. I am an excellent wingwoman, 2. This article, 3. It sounded hilarious. Notice how none of my reasons include finding the love of ...

Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises

21Jun

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Searching for a Home: Connection through Crises

As I sat down to write this article, it suddenly struck me just how wide and complex the word ‘connection' is. At its core, connection has these profound connotations of a bond, of intimacy, of emotion. Yet we apply ‘connection’ to acquaintances and social media friends. On LinkedIn we ask a stranger to ‘connect’ in the name of professional development. We connect the dots, and play Connect 4. Most recently, connection has been used to talk about current crises from the Russian war on Ukraine to climate change. Now with Ukrainians being forced to find refuge in countless countries across Europe, we might wonder how this changes our viewpoint on connection. Yuliya, who recently fled Ukraine, told me her story. Below is her account of what happened. “I was born an...

21Jun

By Accalia SmithNo Comments

News, Opinion

Unity for Ukraine

How the Invasion of Ukraine Has Demonstrated What a Europe In Unity Can Do For Victims of Violence, Invasion And War On 21st February 2022, Putin recognised the independence of non-government-controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk, and on 24th February ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The EU council had already delivered its first round of sanctions on the 23rd, in response to Russia’s recognition of the separatist regions’ independence. This was then immediately bolstered by further sanctions on the day of the invasion, alongside the Joint Statement by the EU council condemning the ‘unprovoked and unjustified military actions’ of Russia, deploring ‘the loss of life and suffering’ and warning of measures which would ‘impose massive and severe consequences on Russia...

Disconnection Is The Theme, Making Money Is The Dream

21Jun

By Jethro RobathanNo Comments

News, Opinion

Disconnection Is The Theme, Making Money Is The Dream

The government’s announcement of intent to privatise Channel Four isn’t news. Sadly, this song has seemingly been played since time immemorial. Earlier iterations of privatisation plans were blocked in the House of Lords in 2016 with hope for a repeat performance soon. Back on 4th April 2022, Boris Johnson’s unscrupulous government revealed that ongoing discussions were taking place in the DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) to sell Channel Four Television Company. This has been met with widespread public backlash from the creative industries and politicians alike. Even other Conservative MPs have denounced the government’s plans for privatisation, instead requesting additional support for public service broadcasters. Sir Peter Bottomley acknowledged that C4 was in ‘the best st...

21Jun

By Sofia BajerovaNo Comments

News, Opinion

Marking the Study Abroad Experience

The Connection Between Person and Place After tasting the cuisine, meeting, and befriending local people, walking through the streets and immersing yourself in a new culture and country, you make a connection to a place. Positive or negative, a connection is formed. This can take seconds, days or years and can change and develop as time progresses. An amazing weekend somewhere can leave you longing to return for the rest of your life. Multiple years in a place can leave you wanting to run away and never look back. When students study abroad, some form a connection with their country of study that can only be described as a second home: an intense emotional connection that leaves them planning their return before they even leave. In society we often make specific emotional conn...

Issue Five Introduction: The Friend Game

21Jun

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Features, Lifestyle

Issue Five Introduction: The Friend Game

At six, I pledged to a girl named Isabel that she’d be my best friend forever. She was blonde. I was brunette. Despite this, Isabel always insisted on playing Gabriella when we re-enacted scenes from our beloved High School Musical. I started to hate her a tiny bit. At fourteen, we fell out over boys. When I was nine, I told myself my best friend was a girl called Aoife. She was a bitch in the making, and something about that drew me in. She had a strength that I didn’t. But, like any blossoming bitch, she wanted to surround herself with other bitches (and despite my efforts, I was just a bit too off-the-wall to fit the bitch criteria). I haven’t spoken to Aoife since I was twelve, when her parents shipped her off to boarding school. When I was thirteen, my best friend w...

21Jun

By Zaki ChanNo Comments

Creative Writing, Features

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behold the golem of prague how tothe first step is seeing them then talk to them then convince themsimpleso after saving them from that edgeplace your own edge on their throat and slice theirs open first before any seas can lay claim to it firstbefore earth before hearth before flame before greedy fingers pry their way to their tonguerip it out first beforeand then wear it in the mouthsit it in the right placecreak teeth out of placealign rows of molars incisors caninessculpt gum to fit perfectanother persons stolen tongueand when that is done and when you are caughtand when there is nothingleft to bare in their hotlampsleft to bear the roiling heatleft alone to step without rhythma syncopated disfunctionof them forcing that maw openad nauseam they will rip out your speechsear yo...

21Jun

By Alice ClarkNo Comments

Creative Writing

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