Which Christmas decoration is your degree?

So, we’ve finally reached December, and for many of us this is the best time of year. We’ve come out of the peak assignment period of November and Christmas is just around the corner. It’s time for cosy nights, Christmas carols, lights, and quality time with friends and family. And of course, no uni!

So, we decided to sit down and work out the Christmas decorations that perfectly encapsulate the essence of each degree subject. If I'm being honest, I don’t know whether that makes me sad or just lonely.

Christmas tree – Medicine & Nursing

Christmas just wouldn’t be the same without a tree sitting in your living room. Life would just be incomplete. It’s fundamental to Christmas. Where would the presents go? They would look so lifeless just lying in the corner of the room.

Every university has student medics and nurses, campus wouldn’t be the same without them. Hearing about how they start at 7am and finish as late as 8pm is heart-breaking in itself, making my 9ams seem like a lie-in. Even seeing them stress out on the fifth floor of Hartley Library is comforting. Southampton wouldn’t be the same without them.

Tinsel – Law

Now, in the beginning, Tinsel looks nice and everything. You can drape it everywhere – on the bannister, on the Christmas tree and even on the dinner table. In reality, it’s probably just as significant as a tree at Christmas. However, as time goes on, it starts to shed, losing it's fullness. Pieces fall off, leaving an irritating mess in its wake.

This is probably how many Law students feel about their degree. Applying to study law sounded great. A lot of them had high expectations to go on and become fancy lawyers. And in all honesty, I can’t blame them. However, by the end of first year, a lot of them hated the reading. The degree started to lose its shininess. Instead, many became stressed, stopping going out, and like medicine students, lived in the library. A very sad tale.

Wooden ornaments – Art or Music

These are the weird ornaments you receive from relatives abroad. They stick out amongst the shiny baubles and small angels that hang on the tree. You do the get the odd nice ones but most of the time they seem strange. They are definitely unusual. Plus, you never have a lot of them; there's only ever one or two.

These can only be the Music and Art students. They will claim to be special and different – their creativity allowing them to express themselves, making them, in their own words, unique. And if I’m being honest, in my years at uni, I can probably count how many Music and Art students I’ve met on one hand. Sometimes I wonder if they’re hiding from the rest of us. They’re as rare as the wooden ornaments.

Christmas crackers – The Sciences

Christmas wouldn’t be the same without seeing these weird cylindrical bundles on our table. The anticipation of finding a small pack of cards or a strange mechanism (that can apparently cut toe nails) inside these crackers is what adds to the Christmas spirit. It’s almost as good as the dinner.

Almost.

Science students are exactly same. You never know what interesting fact they’re going to come out with. Their courses also seem so very complicated with all those lab classes they have combined with the research they put in. They deserve the crown that comes out of those crackers. Please, by all means, wear those crowns everyday if you must.

Christmas wreaths – Engineering

There are so many different variations of this decorations that it is only appropriate that engineering students are compared to it. There's Civil, Mechanical, Biomedical and many more. Hats off to you guys because you all must be geniuses. Again, they are fundamental decorations to Christmas and only emphasises the significance of engineering students to university life.

Baubles – Politics

If I’m being honest, I find baubles irritating as hell. They’re a literal deception. They appear nice to begin with, all round and shiny. However, not only do they make my face look fat in the reflection, when they fall off the tree, it’s a nightmare trying to get them before they bounce and disappear behind the sofas. Personally, I don’t see the need for them.

Now, I’m not saying politics students aren’t needed. I mean, in all fairness the majority of them are really nice. However, i've never met a group of people that are so argumentative. I'm not sure whether it's just Southampton students or politics students nationwide. I just can’t understand why you feel the need to remind us all the time that you do politics. Now, I get law students do it as well, but the politics students take it to a whole new level. I can barely say "hi" without being reminded about what they study and how hard their degree is.

Moravian star – Languages

I find these decorations so beautiful. They’re shaped like the star of Bethlehem and can normally be found hanging on a Christmas tree. They can be sparkly or just shiny, either way, they add to the Christmas spirit. I honestly believe it’s a decoration that is constantly overlooked. Many of you have probably seen it but paid it no mind.

In my opinion, language students don’t actually get the credit they deserve. The little Spanish I learnt at AS level made me realise just how difficult learning a whole new language is. Not to mention, when language students become fluent, it sounds amazing. If I could, I would love to learn a new language, but in the meantime, I'm just going to gawp at those who do.

Christmas stockings – Maths and Economics

I mean, I guess Christmas stockings are very important at Christmas . They’ve been a tradition since the beginning of time and it’s one we never really pay attention to. If we didn't have stockings, what would hold the presents? There’s something so satisfying about seeing that glorified sock overflowing on Christmas Day.

I suppose, in this respect, Maths and Economics students can argue their degree is important. It’s fundamental to life and maths has been important for hundreds of years. These students tend to be more quiet about their workload, which I know they get a lot of. I admire them because they just get on with it.

Wrapping Paper – Accounting & Finance and Business

When I mentioned this article to a third year Accounting & Finance friend of mine, they said "We're the wrapping paper that you want to open nicely and save for later. We're M&S premium wrapping paper. We are in itself the full package. No industry can survive without us."

Now, I'm not sure if I agree with this statement. But, I struggled with this comparison so I guess it'll do.

Fairy lights – Humanities

I think we can all collectively agree that lights, regardless of whether they are hanging up inside, outside or on the tree, give the decorations an added level of "wow". Having all the main lights off with just the fairy lights glowing gives off many cosy vibes. It literally screams at me to grab a glass of wine and curl up on the sofa to watch a Christmas film.

The majority of the students who study humanities subjects always seem so relaxed and happy. I don’t think I’ve ever met one with a frown on their face. They’re always friendly and willing to help you out with whatever you need. They have the biggest hearts and all I have to say to them is continue being you. You’re literally the glowing lights of the university.

Christmas star/angel – English

This is by far the most important decoration. The tree just seems so incomplete without either one sitting on the top. It’s crucial to Christmas.

Which is why it only makes sense that these are the English students.

No reason why. We’re just simply the best. Sorry, not sorry.