Heya everyone! I’m India, a second-year Film and Television Studies student here at Exeter, and welcome to a week in my life!
Monday
Timetabling obviously strongly believes in the saying ‘early bird catches the worm’ because every Monday morning, I’m up at 7am, ready for my 8:30 lecture! This week in my Adaptation’s module, we’re studying Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca (1938) and how it has been adapted over the years from the Alfred Hitchcock classic (1940) to an Orson Welles radio production (1938). Straight after the lecture, we screen the film adaptation, and then I meet up with my study group to discuss the Padlet we have to complete for our formative assessment. Then I make a slow meander into town to do my weekly Sainsbury’s shop and treat myself to some new lingerie from Ann Summers before getting dressed up to go to a charity speed dating night followed by Fever Monday!
Tuesday
With a heavy head, I once again have to drag myself out of bed for yet another 8:30 – thank god for the shuttle bus (if you live in the St David’s area, this is an absolute lifesaver if you don’t want to walk up the hills). Today is full of things from my Television module, starting with a lecture on Queer Theory and how to ‘queer’ a text. Then we watched the first three episodes of Queer as Folk (1999-2000), and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at Charlie Hunnam the same way again! After the screening, it was time for a well deserved break of curly fries at The Ram before a workshop on television scheduling. When I got home, I spent most of the afternoon on committee stuff for the Uni Boob Team promoting our varsity with other universities across the country. I then spent some time relaxing with my flatmates before an early night.
Wednesday
So today, I had a glorious lay in… until 9am when I was back on campus for my third screening session of the week. On the list today, we had; the first episode of Doctor Who (1963), Out on Tuesday (1990) and Man Alive: ‘Consenting Adults 2: The Women’ (1967). After we finished watching the programs, some of my friends on the course and I went down to get a Spoons brunch at the Impy for our weekly catchup! This is probably the highlight of my week – I absolutely love having dedicated time to have a down to earth chat about things and forget about work for a few hours. When I got home, it was back to work, and I started researching for my formative presentation on Sherlock Holmes adaptations next week. Then I had to get ready for my blind date for Razz Magazine’s SHAG week (sexual health and guidance). I wore my handmade trousers and a pastel green top to match. We ended up going to the Turks head for some drinks!
Thursday
I actually get a lay-in on Thursdays because my first seminar isn’t until 11:30! Today I was in the Bill Douglas Cinema Museum going over Hitchcock artefacts and early drafts of Rebecca. I love the museum and if you haven’t been before I’d definitely recommend it – it’s in the Old Library and completely free! Straight after this, I had my other seminar for Television, where we discussed how scheduling reinforces societal norms and how to ‘queer’ this week’s screenings. When I got home, it was time to give a Sexpression workshop as a part of Razz’s SHAG week on the different types of sex toys. Then I got into bed for a bit and watched the new Eleanor Neale video, which was on the true-crime case of Tracey Wigginton, who was also known as the lesbian vampire killer. After, I cooked myself some dinner and re-watched Tick, Tick…Boom (2021) for the millionth time before another early night ready for Friday.
Friday
This Friday was an absolutely jam-packed and wild day! I started the day by going to my Adaptations workshop. We discussed Rebecca’s fidelity (which is just the fancy way of saying how similar it is to the original text) and how we would adapt the text if we created our own Adaptation of the text. Then I went to DH2 with my friend Isabel to chat about life, the universe and everything! Then it was time to go home, quickly get some lunch and finish getting ready for the Uni Boob Team social with Pole Fitness and other amazing societies. I had to run all the way into town carrying a massive (and I mean massive) stuffed boob – I wish I had a picture! When I finally arrived at Pink Moon, it was time for a drink and to get bedazzling – we were decorating everything from t-shirts to bras and even a pair of boxers! About halfway through, we had a quiz with rounds based on the different societies, which was such a fantastic idea, and I even learned about pole dancing! Then I had to quickly dash to pre-drinks ready for a brilliant night of Friday TP with the girls on my course – it was an excellent way to end a very long and stressful week.
Saturday
Saturday is pretty much written off for me after the week’s antics, and I spent all morning (and most of the afternoon) in bed nursing a nasty hangover. When I finally got the courage to properly wake up, I had a long hot shower and slugged downstairs and made myself some chicken noodle soup. If you have this with some fresh bread and butter, it will actually cure your hangover- the stuff’s made of magic! Then I had to force myself to finish my assignments and get started on next weeks reading. In the evening, I started watching Pam and Tommy (2022) on Disney+, which I’ve meant to do since it came out, and I wish I’d started it sooner – Lily James was excellent as Pamela Anderson. I kept forgetting it was actually her!
Sunday
Sunday being the day of rest, is something I try to practice. I had a relaxing morning and got dressed, ready for my weekly Sunday Lunch with my grandparents on FaceTime. This week we were joined by my dad and sister, and whilst they enjoyed a lovely lamb roast, I had some microwaved macaroni cheese (Uni has taught me many life skills- cooking, however, was not one). These Sunday lunches have really helped me over the past two years (especially as a fresher) as it’s something we always used to do before I went off to university, and having kept that tradition really makes me feel closer to home. In the evening, I did some batch cooking ready for the next few days, so I didn’t have to worry about cooking after long days at uni and then it was back to bed, ready to start the next week!
Thank you so much for reading about a week in my life as a Film and Television student. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it.