Last month, leaving cert students up and down the country optimistically filled out CAO forms and set in motion the story of their college life.
Making those plans was the prologue, now the main plot is ready to take shape.
With thanks to Iarnród Éireann, we’ve decided to run through the seven stages of the Irish college experience.
Bright eyed and bushy tailed
The innocence you’ll have on your first day of first year is something you’ll laugh at for years to come.
You’ll have plans to attend every lecture (even the ones where the notes will be up on Blackboard), only eat home-cooked meals and take notes to rival a Pulitzer winning journalist.
Reality striking
Two months later and you’re asking your housemate for notes on Dickens even though she studies biology and eating curried flavoured noodles of an unknown origin. Still, it was nice when it lasted.
Meeting a close group of friends
This group is almost never the same people you’re friends with during your first term. Those first term mates are usually the people you’ll avoid for the rest of your college existence.
Finding your feet in a society
Chances are, you’ll find yourself in some sort of society or club in college. This is fantastic, until politics come into play. “Who’s going to be society president? Who is going to run the meetings? Where will the night out be?”
Politics and college societies go hand in hand. Funnily enough, the only society we were in that didn’t get consumed by politics was Political Society. We just drank and passed each other brown envelopes.
Becoming a permanent fixture in the library
You didn’t think a whole subject could be learned in a week. Now you know it can’t be, but still, weren’t those all-nighters and 10 hour study sessions good fun? No?
Realising just how weird you are
Then realising how that is completely fine, because weirdos are way more interesting. Who wants to be normal anyway?
The realisation that it won’t last forever
There comes a point in every student’s journey where they realise they’re going to have to join the big bad world and leave college life… that’s the point where you say ‘screw it, I’m applying for a Masters.’
If you’re in the middle of your college story, now might be the time to return home and get a little TLC! Iarnród Éireann offer amazing value on student fares. You will also have plenty of space on board to do some study, chat with friends, walk around and even just catch up on some much needed sleep from the night before, so travel in comfort and style and take the train.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
