Student Diaries

Launch of New Style Magazine with NUIG Style Soc

By Neasa Gorrell

In this article, SIN talks to the Editors of the New Style Magazine that is set to launch online in December 2020 and hoping to be in print edition from early next semester - 2021.

The NUI Galway Style Society has been a successful organization for like-minded people from all walks of life, who have diverse sets of interests and experiences in various avenues, lifestyles, topics, and hobbies. Still, most importantly – they all have an eye for style.

With that said, we here at SIN would like to wish the Style Society the very best of luck in their new venture. Since its announcement, there has been much excitement about the new Style Magazine, so SIN spoke with the Editors on various topics to give us an idea of what sort of magazine it will be and what to expect inside each edition.

Inspiration and Vision for the Style Magazine The Editors felt that the community of students here at NUI Galway were full of fascinating, talented, diverse and innovative young people. Yet, they didn’t think students had enough outlets for their creative capabilities. With that in mind, they decided that creating a magazine through the Style Society would be a brilliant way to bring this creative community together in a judgement-free and open platform.

In the vision for the Style Magazine, the Editors would like the creative community to know that their opinions, styles, skills and ideas would always be taken on board. They aim to release an edition of the magazine every month and cover different themes in each edition.

What is Unique about Style Magazine? This magazine will cover honest topics that will come straight from the students that need to be heard and will aim to represent all members of the NUI Galway community, giving a voice to all groups and identities. It will be a magazine by the students for all the students, and hopes to create a “happy community where everyone involved can all become friends.”

What to expect in each edition – The Content in each edition, the Editors aim to include an Astrology section, An Agony Aunt Advice column, Mental Health Advice column, a Styling section that promotes body diversity, positivity and sustainability. You can also expect a Letter’s from the Editors section about their vision for each edition, a new theme in each edition, a Food Recipe section, a Playlist suggestion section, and a Creative Corner section with an in-house poet as well as poetry submissions. They also hope to have graphics and artworks submissions from students to display further the abundance of creative talents in the community here at NUI Galway.

First Year Diary Final Year Diary

By Aine Fogarty

Welcome back to my First-Year diary everyone! I hope you’re all doing well and surviving these midterms. It’s only a month until Christmas break so you’ve got this.

Speaking of midterms, I know this is a stressful time especially for first years since these are our first assignments we’re submitting. We’ve a lot piled on for these next few weeks and by the end of it we’ll be drained of all our energy. Thankfully we’ve the best time of the year to look forward to after all this stress.

It’s nearly the end of November and that means it’s Christmas time! Shop windows are already decorated and decorations have been in stock since October. Christmas music is starting to slowly make its way onto the radio and will soon be on a loop. Remakes will start to be released but nothing beats the originals. I seem to already have White Christmas stuck in my head but Girl in Red’s new song ‘two queens in a king size bed’ is high up on my list of Christmas tunes.

It’s time to unbox the Christmas tree and spend hours trying to untangle the lights. It’s no doubt that Christmas will be different this year but if you’re anything like me, you’ll make sure the Christmas din-

Gary Elbert

The concept of transformation fascinates me. The journey to enlightenment and transcendence is one very few seem to begin, never mind commit to or complete. Picture this scenario: You are a person in your mid-thirties contemplating a major life change. You’re leaving Mountjoy after a two year stretch or maybe you are a brave and courageous survivor of domestic abuse or childhood trauma looking to start afresh. Your brain is wired and conditioned by years of dysfunction, trauma, violence, cruelty, and abuse. You are now looking to change and transform, to grow and to transcend the misfortune of your early life.

Perhaps your situation is not so stark. Perhaps you are simply bored and uninspired You know life should be and could be more but when it’s 8pm you’re sinking into the couch flicking and scrolling the evening away. We have all been there. That sting of under achievement. The greyness of mediocrity.

You’re tired. Your life runs on a work -reward axis but spiritually you are impoverished. Older readers will recall the novel and movie “Fight Club”. The main character finds sustenance in accessing his primitive animalistic roots. After the daily ner stays the same. I have a stack of books ready to take all my attention over the break and thankfully I have all my shopping done which only leaves the dreadful process of wrapping. The Late Late Toy show and Black Friday are on the horizon and I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say about both in the next issue.

I hope everyone still staying down in Galway is being safe! We’ve all received the email about a few blocks needing to be tested and I hope you’re okay. I moved back home at the start of this level 5 lockdown and in many ways I miss being down in Galway but with the news of these outbreaks I know it was the best decision I could’ve made. We now know that semester 2 will be online, so I might not be returning to Galway until next year depending on the progress of the vaccine and the number of cases. I keep reminding myself that if I keep following the guidelines and social distancing, I am doing my part in fighting this virus. It’s a struggle some days and it’s sad to think of the first year college experience I missed out on but if all goes to plan maybe we can all have some semblance of normality for our second year.

Thank you all for reading my diary this week and once again I hope you’re all doing good and please stay safe!! descent into corporate drudgery he seeks his soul swinging haymakers in the basement of a grubby pub. Whatever life is meant to be in its optimal form it has got to mean something, it has got to feel awesome from time to time.

This recent Covid lockdown serves as a timely reminder of how fragile our lives are. Our narcissism, reflected in absurd political and religious dogma, is rendered meaningless in the forcefield of Mother Nature who operates upon a rulebook without rules, without principle, on the continuum of timelessness and chaos.

Mother Nature shows us that we are no more important than the spiders web in the corner of our room nor the heron patrolling the waterway. We have no more planetary significance than the rams of Connemara. Except we pose a deep threat to the continued existence of our planet. The argument has already been made. Maybe we deserve to be extinguished from Earth. The thought crossed my mind recently when reading about hundreds of parrots stuffed into coke bottles destined for illegal exporting.

If anything emerges in a post Covid world a lasting humility will be most welcome. In the age of Instagram and shameless boasting-of which I too have sometimes fallen into-I expect

by Tom Molloy

Welcome to the fifth edition of my final year diary. I hope your mid-terms went well and your brain isn’t half as fried as mine. I still haven’t come up with the general rule for resolving moral conflicts no matter how hard I’ve tried. Roll on Christmas exams or assignments or whatever they come up with.

Lockdown 2.0 is ticking into its final stages, although there seems to be no huge reduction in daily Covid-19 cases which is a worry for those hoping to see loved ones this Christmas. Keep washing the hands, wearing the masks and, for God’s sake, no house parties. Imagine the sheer embarrassment of giving some vulnerable person Covid-19 because some lad from Swinford coughed on you in Corrib. I’m all for enjoying people’s company but they’re most certainly not worth getting Covid-19 over.

Speaking of Covid-19, some good news from Pfizer and Moderna in relation to vaccines. It was almost like a “my dad is bigger than your dad” argument going on when they were announcing their effectiveness rates. Can’t wait for the Russians to announce their vaccine has a 200% effectiveness rate.

One of the many downsides to this constant studying is you feel like you’re missing out on more important things. How can I juggle online classes and

If anything emerges in a post Covid world a lasting humility will be most welcome.

the opposite. Once the vaccines are dished out there will be a fleeting humility before the race to pleasure and hedonism begins.

Can we as a species transform? Can we transcend our psychological fragility in a post Covid world?

Adversity can produce heroism. Adversity can tigger an awakened consciousness and an urgency. An urgency to live, to truly live. To overcome and transcend our petty ways, our gossiping, our tribalistic chimp nature while ranting and raving red faced in front of a computer screen, alone and spiritually impoverished.

The psychology of transformation involves the individual building a new life from scratch. The individual must discard deeply ingrained instincts and socially conditioned behaviours while forging a new path. The individual must also contend assignments with Bake Off, Netflix, re-watching The Office, playing boardgames, and drinking three bottles of ale per evening? Don’t worry though I still manage to fit it all in, but it’s a lot to expect. In all seriousness though, it helps immensely to have someone you care for with you through it all. I’m well aware how lucky I am in that sense, and I try my best to make sure she knows it.

If you read the last issue of my Final Year Diary, you’d know that I’ve been keeping an eye on the All-Ireland Football and Hurling Championships this year. Imagine, Tipperary in a football semi-final and getting knocked out of the hurling in the quarters. You love to see a good underdog story. Also, keep an eye on Liverpool in the soccer. Utterly depleted yet utterly dominant. Again, you love to see it.

It’s going to be harder than usual to get into the Christmas spirit this year, especially if you’re fairly sure you won’t have the full family around because of travel restrictions. I know talk is cheap but my advice is to make the best of it, enjoy the company of the people you will be spending Christmas with, keep in touch with the ones you won’t be, and keep in mind that things will be back to normal soon. Also, just because you won’t be seeing certain people at Christmas doesn’t mean you don’t have to buy them a present.

Final Year Diary: Transformation

All the best! with accusations of snobbery from former friends and acquaintances not on board with the new plan of renewal.

The individual must transcend him or herself.

That task cannot be underestimated.

And yet in these days of adolescent online political tribalism past mistakes are latched onto as proof of current defects. Tweets from a decade ago are presented as evidence of a permanent moral stain that no amount of good intentions can ever repair.

What the woke warriors are saying is.

If you have ever made a mistake, we will use it against you.

Unless you agree with our demented ideology.

If you ever wondered why the working class became political maybe it is not just because of the welfare state and anti -intellectual worldviews. Maybe they realise that in the new politics its mainly middleclass malcontents engaged in a power game, with socially liberal totalitarianism the end goal.

Ignore their narratives.

You can change. You can improve. You can overcome.

You can transcend,

Gary.