Semester Two in Edinburgh is so much better than Semester One

It is a difficult time of year for all students when January hits and it's time to return to uni after the long and relaxing Christmas break. However, when broken down we realise that many more beautiful things lie ahead of us in Semester Two, compared to Semester One.

We're halfway through

Another year of essays and exams is almost over, and it's nearly time to waste away over that massive summer which now appears to be just around the corner. Bliss.

We get SO much time off

This isn't just about the summer holidays, but the number of weeks we have off throughout the semester as well, including a week in February, and a couple more in April. Compared to the one week we have off in Semester One, this is heavenly.

Student Finance hands out more money

Semester Two sees Student Finance giving out money not once, but twice in two hefty instalments and in quick succession. This leads to everyone being more sociable, saying goodbye to our Semester One selves which spent most nights in the cold flat, waiting for morning to come so we could head back to the warm library.

Beer gardens become a viable option once again

Everybody loves a beer garden, and if it were possible to withstand the cold and sit outside every time we went out then heaven knows we would. Once Semester Two has been broken into a little bit, this dream becomes a reality and the beer gardens become buzzing once again, for all to enjoy.

Oh boy, the Meadows!!

Once the frost has cleared and it's 10 degrees again, students will flock onto the Meadows, starting barbies and sipping on cold ones. Once this happens, this is when you know that summer has reached Edinburgh, and it's never felt better. If the Meadows are buzzing, then so is everyone else.

It gets warmer AND lighter

In Semester One, we see the days getting colder and the nights getting longer. There is nothing worse than being sat in the library trying to revise and write essays when the sun is setting at 3pm. Everybody is tired, cold and miserable, but not in Semester Two.

Semester Two welcomes warmer and longer days with open arms, making days in the library and mornings in the draughty flat more bearable. As soon as people know that summer is coming, everything is better, despite the fact there's still a tonne of work to be done.

The flat is now 'home'

Compared to the mice-invested shell worried parents dropped us all off at back in September, the place we now return to is now our home. The IKEA rugs are in place, along with the paper lamps, and we've grown quite found of the mice we see occasionally roaming around the kitchen.

Semester One reminded us what not to do this time around

Every one forgets how to 'do' uni have they've been away from it for a while, but as Semester Two dawns, most are raring to go, with their pencil cases at the ready, eager to get it right the second time around.