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Celebrating a birthday in exam season

Summer birthdays are hands down the best, there’s literally no competition. You get the sunny the weather and the opportunity to celebrate almost any way you like. There’s only one problem; exams. The summer babies whose birthdays unfortunately fall between May and June will know all too well the struggle of celebrating in exam season. Whether you’re one of the unlucky few or have a friend in mind here’s a few things to consider.

Feeling like you have no one to celebrate with…

Throughout the year you’ve been to countless birthday drinks, fancy meals, maybe the odd house party or two to celebrate your friends birthdays. It’s been great, you wouldn’t have missed of them for the world. After all it’s a birthday! You can hardly say no to someone’s special day and of course you look forward to them celebrating yours. When May rolls in you start mentioning plans to your friends only to be let down. Everyone has deadlines and exams to be doing, going out just isn’t a good idea. You know people’s excuses are unavoidable, you have exams too but you can’t help but feel like no one wants to celebrate with you.

There’s a few ways around this. First is a belated birthday celebration! Wait till everyone has finished for summer that way you’ll all be able to enjoy it stress free. Another is to have a very relaxed drinks early evening, sell it as a ‘break from revision’. Chances are your friends are dying for an excuse to spend one or two hours away from the computer.

Feeling the stress of your own looming exams…

It’s one thing being worried other people are too stressed to celebrate with you but handling your own stress too!? It’s hard to look forward to your birthday when all you can think about is how long you have to cram those last bits of revision in. You don’t have time to shower let alone plan a gathering. You might even be so caught up in uni deadlines you forget your birthday is right round the corner – more stress. It’s important to remember that although, yes, exams are a priority so is balancing revision with a social life. Don’t feel the need to completely write off your birthday, just prepare to be a bit more flexible.

Some might think that having a birthday is motivating! It gives you an added element of structure to your calendar, something to work around or towards. The hard work you do now will pay off when you can enjoy your birthday stress free.

Having an exam on your birthday

So your exam timetable is released and there it is, what you feared most. Right there the word ‘exam’ sits marked bold on your birth date. This one’s tricky, how are you meant to enjoy your day sat in the exam hall? The answer; make the most of the little things. Once your exam is out of the way head down to mooch and get yourself a birthday bev with your course mates. Make it short and sweet, head home and pick up a caterpillar cake on your way to share with your housemates. Even if other people are busy you’re bound to be able to celebrate (even a little bit) with the people you live with! You could suggest cooking your favourite meal as a low cost alternative to going out. Whatever you do, set aside time for yourself.

So, spare a thought for all the exam babies out there. No matter how bogged down you are with revision, you can spare a minute to wish them a happy birthday to make them feel like they aren’t forgotten.