As I loaded up the boxes full of kitchen utensils, clothing and work, there was a different, more certain feeling about returning to Cambridge to start my second year. The certainty of having an established group of friends meant that the apprehension that I experienced going into first year was replaced with excitement. I returned to Selwyn, in time to meet my new college children; a Natural Science student and a fellow land economist.

Having felt somewhat distanced from my college parent, I aimed to play an active role in welcoming my children to Cambridge and helping them settle in. I came to realise that being a good college parent simply requires answering the occasional question and offering any advice on issues that you (most likely) faced yourself. In the first week of term a family ‘bop’ (in house college party) was held, an annual staple to Freshers’ week, giving an opportunity for first and second year students to meet. Unfortunately, interaction between years at such ‘bops’ tends to remain minimal. Despite not being able to attend, the consensus was extremely positive with everyone mingling and on good form.

Second year land economy is a certain step up from 1st year, not just in terms of the content getting harder, but secondly because of the addition of a fifth paper. Practically speaking this adds more contact hours, with additional lectures and supervisions. But due to the existence of supervisions it means that we must submit an extra piece of work every fortnight, increasing the term count from roughly 16 to 20 supervisions.