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Articles by Izzy Benardout
Notebook: sertraline and icing-sugar
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been described as ‘nervy’ – whatever that means. It’s a frivolous adjective, really, and I take a level of comfort in its silliness. My weak constitution renders me vulnerable to leg jitters and a swirling stomach, the consequence of nerves permanently frayed like well-loved ribbons or the hems of well-worn jeans. To feel nervy was homeostasis – I was hooked on Curly Wurlys from the corner shop at an early age, providing cortisol that made my nerves glow amber.
Morning routines are out, dance routines are in!
Apparently, adding structure and routine to your life is a surefire way to increase productivity and overall mental wellbeing. Whether it’s a morning meditation, a skincare regimen, or the dreaded scorn of a revision timetable, creating a structure to meld your days around is supposedly better for you than waking up at 11am, eating cereal out of the box and not attending lectures for three weeks (who would have thought?!).
Head to head: Insta reels versus Tiktok
Izzy Benardout: “Tiktok has a gravitas” A new year. The ultimate caesura. An opportunity for change and growth. Yet, in a defiant act of free will, I am turning down this opportunity for reinvention in favour of the sweet comfort of staying the same. My TikTok habit – a codependent relationship based on niche informational videos, reams of blue light, and inexplicably catchy dances – has been one of the few constants of my adolescence and burgeoning young adulthood.
Hot or not: Tiktok, hanging out, flatcest, and rowing
Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our print newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges. We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding and we expect to have a tough few months and years ahead.
Head to head: how to spend first year
Regardless of how you spend first year, you'll still see some pretty sights. Who cares whether you see them at 5am from the club or at 9am going to lectures? Eliza Pepper with permission for Varsity Izzy Apparently, it takes 28 days to form a habit – so hopefully, as the first half of Michaelmas draws to a drizzly, dark close, you have already mastered the art of having fun in Cambridge.
Prep weeks: what are they good for?
Week 0 of Michaelmas is a truly mythical beast. Lacking the charm (and warmth) of May Week and haunted by the spectre of ‘pre-reading’, its existence is merely ontological – unless it’s emblazoned on an overpriced Revs ticket. Term is notoriously composed of eight, academically rigorous weeks, bookended by frivolous days where you feel like you should be doing work, but instead go charity shopping.
Celebrating faith away from home
Growing up Jewish has always rendered the last quarter of the year a busy one.
Maybe the MAB hasn’t been all that bad
Every five days or so, like a strange offering to some kind of Marking and Assessment deity, I log onto CamSIS just in case my exam results have been uploaded. Of course it’s futile, but I feel as if I have some kind of unwritten, unspoken obligation to do so. I know that the strike mandate only runs out on September 30th and have heeded my Director of Studies’ ambiguous and flippant notion of “the first half of Michaelmas”.
Notebook: A fresh(er’s) perspective on time, half-birthdays, and the end of a first year in Cambridge
It was the night before the move back to Cambridge, that I remembered. Surrounded by stray shoes and clothes that never quite made it to the wash (sorry, mum), I checked my phone – the classic procrastinatory glance. No, there wasn’t a notification, but I did notice the date, something I had not done in a while, as I’d treaded the clear waters of family, friends, and revision. It’s funny, really.
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