Hello there from the United Kingdom! My name is Grace Nelson, and I am happy to welcome you to my new column, “The Oxford Comma!” This column will follow my journey as a visiting student at the University of Oxford for the 2024–25 academic year, touching upon everything ranging from my English literature studies to future adventures across Europe.
Just in case you don’t already know, I feel it’s important to establish what an Oxford comma is (Daily editors, please bear with me). An Oxford comma can be found before ‘and’ or ‘or’ in a list format sentence. For example: Jumbo is friendly, majestic, and extraordinarily large.
Unless you are an Oxford comma fanatic, you probably haven’t noticed, but the Daily omits the Oxford comma (following the precedent set by the Associated Press Stylebook). I am an Oxford comma supporter myself, so I’ve always winced in pain when deleting them for the Daily. But now, I get to name my column after it, so I guess I’m arguably enacting my revenge.
But back to why you’re all here: the university, not the comma.
My journey to the U.K. was a bit of a thrill. Fun fact about me: Before this week, I had never left the East Coast… ever. I’m a Massachusetts native, born and raised, and I had never really left my bubble. In fact, the only state I had been in that wasn’t actually touching the Atlantic Coast was Vermont (pathetic, I know).
This journey was a bit like ripping off a Band-Aid. My first time leaving the East Coast, and I traveled over 3,000 miles away. Crazy!
Saying goodbye to my mom and my boyfriend at Logan Airport was painful, I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I was so nervous about everything: TSA, the flight, U.K. customs, finding my checked bags and even getting to the university itself (notice the lack of Oxford comma there — you’re welcome, Daily editors).
However, it was totally not as bad as I thought! British Airways, you served me well. I couldn’t really sleep on the flight — even though we departed at 10 p.m. — but I did watch “Challengers” (4/5 stars: I wanted less cheating and more Zendaya tennis).
Now, on to the arrival at my home for the next academic year. Coming to Oxford was like entering a fairy-tale realm. I do not want to bore you with dramatics, but wow. Everything is so old. The cobblestone roads, limestone buildings and gothic architecture all contribute to a cocktail of awe and anxiety in the pit of my stomach. It’s like getting knocked over by a wave in the ocean, but not entirely in a bad way.
As you can imagine, the deep-rooted traditions of Oxford are immediately apparent upon arrival. Undergraduate students are required to attend at least two formal dinners a week, complete with Latin graces and multiple courses. While the options for dining are not as versatile as my beloved Fresh at Carmichael, they certainly are high-end. For instance, last night’s dinner featured a chocolate and orange brownie with honeycomb ice cream, which I daresay competes with the Dewick brownie.
You’re probably wondering how my studies have been across the pond in comparison to Medford/Somerville, but I do not have too much insight into that matter yet. Academics have not really kicked in yet, but I did have the amazing opportunity to meet my tutors. The office where we met was so cozy, with comfy couches and bookshelves galore. I’m very excited for tutorials — to meet one-on-one with some of the best minds in academia. Of course, I am also a little anxious, but my tutors encourage making mistakes as a means of intellectual growth, so I need to give myself the grace to make errors.
Thank you for joining me on this journey! I do hope you’ll stay tuned as there’s so much more to come. Don’t forget: An Oxford comma is determined by the words that come after the punctuation mark.
