12 F E ATU R E S
SIN Vol. 22 Issue 03
First Year Diary Final Year Diary By Aine Fogarty Well, what a month October has been. I’m writing this from my living room at home, because we’ve been put in a six-week lockdown and I chose to give up my accommodation. The new lockdown wasn’t much of a shock to me and I doubt it was for you. The fact that labs and practicals are still going ahead shocks me. To think if I had chosen a course with practical parts to it, I would’ve had to stay on campus for 6 weeks and not return home, or chance using public transport shocks me. The fact that I can’t be refunded for those 6 weeks and had to empty my room and possibly return in February, with new roommates shocks me. If you can’t tell already, I’m not impressed with how this situation has been dealt with by the college! What has kept me relatively sane during this time is I recently joined twitter and discovered ‘NUIG Confessions’. It has kept me from having multiple breakdowns and I am forever grateful to all you people out there anonymously confessing your inner thoughts! Coming into this course I didn’t expect to be having near breakdowns so soon, but I was wrong. Assignments are
descending and tutorials are in full swing. My workload is piling up and the first two weeks of November are already filled with assignments due. Why do assignments all decide to be due in the same week? One thing we don’t have to do this year is figure out how our college work and college social life will balance out. This pandemic has made sure of that. Hallowe’en has been officially cancelled and even though I’m too old to trick or treat, I would’ve thrown quite a tantrum if I didn’t get my sweets when I was young. Since we can’t go out and have a spooky night with friends, I have some ideas for you! Plan a list of scary movies with your friends and have a marathon online. Since there’ll be little trick or treating, there’s loads of sweets in the shops that haven’t been bought. Binge on sugar while you carve a few pumpkins with your family or friends. Just because we can’t be together in person doesn’t mean we shouldn’t enjoy the spooky season. I know this lockdown has dampened our spirits more but just think of how close Christmas will be once these weeks of lockdown are over. That’s what I’m thinking of to stay positive and hopefully we’ll have some snow too.
Comhairle Chomhaltas na Mac Leinn
AN FÉIDIR LEATHSA BHEITH AG CEANN AN tSLUA?
by Tom Molloy Level 5 lockdown is finally amongst us, probably a couple of weeks later than it should be. Six weeks of restricted movement and limited contact with others. To be honest, I’m very happy with my lockdown situation. I’m spending it down in Limerick with the most important person in my life. Others are not so lucky so we must keep them in mind. If we all do our bit, we can have some semblance of a normal Christmas this year and perhaps even get the chance to travel abroad to see family members and friends. At least we still have sport. Some funny happenings in that universe recently. Mayo coming down to Tuam and winning for the first time since Poker Face was top of the charts, although to be fair Mayo play in Tuam these days about as often as Lady Gaga does. Aston Villa and Leeds occupy two of the four Champions League places over in England at the time of writing. Everyone is on the ‘90s nostalgia bandwagon now, even the Premier League apparently. I’m getting used to online learning now, although the temptation to participate in classes whilst staying in bed remains great. Still beats missing them
altogether I suppose. No incidents of note during my online classes over the last fortnight, although the same can’t be said for poor old Mark in Maynooth. Things may change by the time I write my next diary entry however, as essay time creeps closer by the day. I promised myself that I wouldn’t use this opportunity as a mouth-piece to vent about things that annoy me, because that would be incredibly immature, but there is one thing that has gotten on my nerves since lockdown started looming: the gyms. I find it incredible how a lot of gym-goers are calling for gyms to remain open in the middle of a oncein-a-century global health pandemic. We all like to imagine that our individual hobbies are more special than others’, and it’s true that our interests are important to our wellbeing, but insisting your hobby should be facilitated during these times is bordering on insane. You can lift a few weights at home and do some aerobic exercises within 5 km of your home if you need to. The gym selfies can wait until all this is over. Invest in a set of weights just like an avid movie-goer would invest in a Netflix subscription. So, as always, stay safe and look out for each other. Chat soon.
GET INVOLVED Ways to get involved with your SU this year Bealaí le páirt a ghlacadh i do Chomhaltas i mbliana
Take the Charity Challenge Glac páirt sa Dúshlán Carthanachta Join the Welfare Crew Glac páirt sa Chriú Leasa
Run for Election Seas sa Toghchán Contact studentsunion@nuigalway.ie for more info Déan teagmháil le studentsunion@nuigalway.ieeolas le tuilleadh Bí í d’Ionadaí Ranga! Le tuilleadh a fháil,eolais a fháil dean teagmháil le su.education@nuigalway.ie @nuigsu
NUIGalwayStudentsUnion www.su.nuigalway.ie
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Become a Class Rep Bí i d’Ionadaí Ranga
Join the Event Crew Glac páirt sa Chriú Siamsaíochta
Contact studentsunion@nuigalway.ie for more info Déan teagmháil le studentsunion@nuigalway.ie le tuilleadh eolais a fháil
@nuigsu
NUIGalwayStudentsUnion www.su.nuigalway.ie
