Arts & Lifestyle
28
COLLEGE TRIBUNE
03.03.2020
Volume 33 - Issue 08
Self Care: A Letter to My Younger Self Leah Commandeur Arts & Lifestyle Writer
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ear Leah, Hopefully you receive this letter at an important stage in your life, as it may hold some of the questions you have inside your head but refuse to allow the world to hear. I ask for you to listen to some words from the more worldly version of yourself, but don’t be fooled into believing I have all the answers to the great questions of life; I’m patiently awaiting my own letter from my ‘older’ self as I speak. The first piece of advice I wish for you to follow is to live in the moment. This phrase is overused to death and for a good reason. I
know you spend most of your time thinking about the future, both near and far, with a look of curiosity and wonder in your eyes, but don’t wish your youth away. Once you get a few years older (and wiser), days will feel like hours and you’ll be sitting there reflecting on those days when you viewed the world through rose-tinted glasses. Those days where no dream was too big or no idea too wild - those are the days you will remember for the rest of your life. Shoot for the stars and never look back. Please try not to allow overthinking to become a hobby. It is the killer of all things spontaneous, innocent and free. You will spend many nights tossing and turning in bed as you stare at the horrid pink walls in
your room, as anxiety eats away at your brain. Despite how powerful you think you are; you can’t reverse time. If it’s meant to happen, it will. I can promise you (hand on my heart!) that the issues which seem like they will end your world, will make you laugh in years to come. Try to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you think there is only darkness ahead, it is there, you just need to look close enough. A final word of advice I ask of you to listen to is to be proud of who you are. I feel like I shouldn’t have to say this but unfortunately, I know you need to hear it. There will be times when you are the only one in your group who doesn’t follow the latest trend (don’t pluck the death out of your eyebrows,
they will never be the same), or don’t get invited to the biggest party of the year. You shouldn’t change who you are just to make other people view you in the way you believe they should. These words hopefully give you the freedom you have been searching for. Sometimes all you need to know is that somebody believes in you and I am here to reassure you that you will make it. You will persevere through the tough times. Feel worthy in the rewarding moments and prove to yourself that you are stronger than you thought. With love, Your older self
“The Absolute State” Brings Real Irish Stories To Stage Alessia Mennitto - Reporter
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pproaching the creation of a verbatim theatre piece for the first time, UCD student Luke Shanahan brings “The Absolute State” on stage on Saturday 29th February, at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin. In line with the characteristics of this emerging genre, the play is built upon salient parts from a series of interviews that have been conducted among 45 young Irish people, aged between 18 and 22, during the summer of the past year. The scope of the play is to highlight the role of alcohol within the Irish youth captured through the neutral lenses of a non-drinking author. It is precisely this latter trait that sparked Shanahan’s curiosity
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Using real, lived experiences as the script gives the play a unique authenticity in addressing the role of alcohol within the Irish youth
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and led him to bring on stage Irish drinking culture as it is “a big thing in Ireland” among students, he commented. Indeed, the title “The Absolute State” is all but casual. It is built upon three layers of meaning with the first one referring to the common Irish phrase “the absolute state of ya”, used to indicate someone really drunk. The second level is a direct reference to the renowned brand Absolut Vodka. Finally, the third layer of meaning is given by a thoughtful association of the state as nation which sees Ireland as the nation with an absolute attitude towards drinking: either you drink, or you do not and that creates a label for students’ personalities. As a result, Shanahan puts on stage the construction of identity of young people through drinking and the personal repercussions it entails. Using real, lived experiences as the script gives the play a unique authenticity in
addressing this delicate topic. The guarantee of complete anonymity has for instance allowed interviewees to reveal intimate details of their adventures which everyone can relate to and empathise with. So the feeling that the show wants to convey is that of self-identification and comfort. The main
challenge has thus been to faithfully show these adventures as the author remarked he and the actors felt a great sense of “responsibility in terms of representing someone’s experiences”. Not only that, they had to be communicated in an engaging and straightforward manner to the audience in a
one-hour show though the overall recordings amounted to 30 hours. A substantial work has been done to develop this play that reflects the author’s passion in portraying such a felt issue among the Irish youth.
