End of an era

After almost 24 straight hours of writing, I printed my thesis this morning and submitted it this afternoon. Five years of hard work in just over 180 pages, 40,000 un-spell-checked words. I've had several comments from people, including my supervisor, who were worried I would not make the deadline: I was still generating data ten days before submission; writing the first draft three days before; and I only finished the corrections, compiled it all together for the first time, and started to read it through 9 hours before printing.

Tomorrow, I pack up and leave Oxford. I've had itchy feet for a long while, but I realise that after all, I'm sad to go. I've lived here for ten years, all my adult life, and I suppose it would be strange if I didn't feel some connection.

After I went to exam schools, I bought an ice-cream and went to sit in Trinity gardens to eat it. I went through the back gate, which is always something I enjoy - the little door is half-hidden under a leafy tree next to the big iron gates, and feels like a door to a secret garden. The tourists all look on enviously as you unlock it and enter the inner sanctum. I'll miss my B1-4 key. The wild part of Trinity gardens, with the trees and long grasses, and thousands of flowers in spring and early summer, is my favourite part of Trinity, and I sat for a few minutes to enjoy the nostalgia.