What They Don't Tell You About... College

You know when you finally finish something that's been looming over you for ages, and you feel like all you want to do is exhale, eat 15 chocolate biscuits (just me?) and sleep for a week? That's pretty much my mood right now, except I've only had 3 biscuits. Today was my final Christmas exam, and I couldn't be more relieved. In fairness, I only had 2 exams which was very fair, but they were two tricky subjects - Microeconomics and Accounting - and both were about as fun as sitting on a hedgehog. 

Anyway, when I started college, for the first few weeks or so I had this niggling feeling of "Will I stick this? Am I socialising enough? Am I doing college right?" And this blog post is for anyone going through their first year of college thinking those exact same thoughts, or anyone who is interested in going to college, because I know there will be many people who feel this way.

There is no right way to do college. The media portrays college as this whole new dimension of life where you 'hook up' with 15 different people a week, get roaring drunk every night, partying 24/7, doing lines of cocaine off your lecturer's desk (pugs not drugs guys) and general mayhem. In reality, it's usually not like that. 

If you're sitting there wondering if you're doing college right, stop it now. It will only lead to worrying and you'll make yourself self conscious. You don't have to conform to the whole party lifestyle if that's not your thing. If you're like me and  have nights where you'd rather sit at home in your fluffy hedgehog pyjamas and your rabbit dressing gown with a hot chocolate watching YouTube videos, there's nothing wrong with that. Sometimes the hangovers just aren't worth it.

Seriously though, maybe I sound like an old wan, but for me I love going out in moderation. I wouldn't be able to go on the lash every single night but I still enjoy dressing up and going out and having fun.

Not drinking = no friends? Not true. Most colleges have loads of clubs and societies you can join, not to mention movie nights and table quizzes. There are plenty of things to do that don't have to involve getting drunk if you're not into that!

On the flipside, student pubs also often host student nights where they do various events such as quizzes, DJ competitions and even a Take Me Out style dating thing. Athlone IT even hosted a Halloween party in the college itself and it was actually great. The Hospitality students made nibbles and cocktails, people got dressed up and the building was decorated nicely. Keep an eye out for similar events in your college, you'd be surprised how well executed they are!

You will have days where you feel like you're drowning. Whether it be because of money, relationship issues or studies. I've had days where I sit at the table panicking about everything under the sun and wondering if it's worth it. It will be. When I'm able to shower my family and friends with lavish gifts and sun myself on a beach somewhere exotic, it will be worth it. I tell myself this whenever I get worried, go and give my boyfriend a big hug and then try and forget about it.

Sometimes you need to delegate your worries. Put the least important one in a box and sort out the urgent things. If you're drowning in studies, figure out which subject is wrecking your head the most and deal with that. Go to the library and work in peace for half an hour, or an hour, and then take a break. You'll see that things aren't as shite as they seem!

If you are really getting yourself into a tizzy and feel really stressed remember most colleges have free counselling services which are actually really good, and there's nothing to be ashamed about - lots of people are in the same boat.

Never underestimate the power of free food. Athlone IT Student Union often has baskets of free food from Tesco. Initially I felt like a right eejit going and taking free bread but now I couldn't care less. To quote Ellie Goulding, 'bitches gotta eat'. I've got some cracking bits of food from there before, and it's really nice to know you'll have a nice meal even if your bank account looks like it's about to close itself due to low funds. Also, you probably will have days where all you eat is crisps and noodles. It happens.

Also, if you volunteer to help out at Open Days, you might just get paid on your student card to do it. Free canteen food and chocolate bars? Yes please.

YouTube is the bomb for learning. It sounds bizarre but when I'm sitting there scratching my head about something, I shtick on a YouTube video and it explains it in 3 minutes better than an hour of reading an old revision book ever could. Bonus points if you don't get distracted and start watching makeup tutorials afterwards.

So there you have it. A brief insight into the true student life and all its ups and downs. Hopefully that was helpful for at least one person. And remember, enjoy yourself. After all, college is meant to be about ~self discovery and all that jazz. Now, I'm off to cry while looking at next semester's timetable. Bye!

Something To Smile About

I'm a natural born worrier. I worry about everything. The typical stuff like money, studying and health, and then the non-typical stuff like, oh, everything else. I worry about toys left behind on the pavement, I worry about children dropping their ice cream cones seconds after getting them, you name it I probably worry about it.

With all this worrying it can be hard to stop and think about all the nice things in the world. So, with that in mind, I've decided to do a weekly blog post about things that made me smile lately. Most of them are tiny little things, but it's good to appreciate all the small things (alright Blink-182). #mindfulness

1. This wall art in Athlone IT. In the graphic design campus the walls are decorated beautifully, it's so refreshing to see and it brightened up my day.

2. Midterm break. A loooong week off of chilling and sleeping. I've been so exhausted lately and it's nice to be able to have a proper sleep in my quiet bedroom at home.

3. Winning a Bellamianta tan and Sleek makeup from ChemCo chemist in Sligo. Yay!

4. Coming home to warmth, love and a tidy room. Having dinner with my family, a heart to heart with my mum and the fact my brother is staying with me and Laurence this weekend.

5. An evening walk along Strandhill beach and hot chocolates with my boyfriend. Spending time connecting with each other helps lessen the stress of adjusting to living together!

What made you smile this week? Let me know!

Recipe: Easiest French Toast Ever

Friday was a good day. Not only did midterm break start, I headed to AIT's Student Union and discovered a basket full of free food sitting on a table, free for any student to pick from it. It turns out Tesco partner with a scheme called FoodCloud where they donate all their short dated/out of date food to those in need, which is such a fantastic idea. In this day and age there's so much food wastage when it could go to the homeless or schemes like this. I picked up a loaf of tiger bread and 2 packets of sprouted seeds from the basket and gleefully brought them home.

The tiger bread was slightly stale on the outside but perfect on the inside, so I thought what better to use it for than some French toast? I had originally planned to make a healthy lunch but French toast always wins.

Without further adieu - and because I hate those recipe posts that spend 14 paragraphs talking about their neighbour's cousin's gerbil's flu due to the snow storm that's been happening recently (I made that up) - here's the recipe. So easy and perfect for brunch!

Ingredients

Plain flour

Milk of your choice (dairy free or normal milk)

Drop of vanilla essence

Sprinkle of cinnamon

Unflavoured oil for frying

Tiger bread or thick loaf

Method

1. Cut the bread into fairly thick (1 or 2 inches, oo-er) slices.

2. Preheat a frying pan with some oil - I used coconut as it provides a nice flavour.

3. Make your batter. To be honest I don't like measuring stuff so I just added about 100ml of milk to a bowl and added flour until it was like a thin pancake batter. I think I added about 4 tbsp of flour. I then added the cinnamon and vanilla and gave it a good whisk until smooth.

4. Coat your bread evenly in the batter and add to the hot pan.

5. Cook until golden brown on both sides. Serve with whatever takes your fancy!

Here's mine, topped with an Alpro Dessert Moments hazelnut & chocolate pudding, crushed almonds, peanut butter and vegan dark chocolate spread. Yum!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe post and try it out for yourself. Let me know if you'd like to see more recipe posts!

Ch-ch-changes

Yesterday was a big day for me. I moved out for the first time, and moved in with my boyfriend.

I said goodbye to my dad and my brother the night before, and my brother started playing that Beatles song 'She's Leaving Home' which nearly set off the waterworks, but I managed to reign it in. My mum and I set off in the morning for Athlone, with our little green Hyundai Getz almost as weighed down with boxes as I am after a Chinese takeaway. We laughed and chatted the whole way there, and stopped halfway through at McDonald's for obligatory hash browns and coffee. I was half excited and half filled with dread, because for all the excitement of unpacking with my mum I knew she'd soon have to go and we'd have to say our goodbyes.

My mum was such a fantastic help through the whole moving process, I dunno what we would've done without her. I'd have probably ended up moving in with just a toothbrush and a pillow! I managed to sneak nearly everything I wanted to bring in the car. It was like car Tetris trying to get everything to fit, but we did it (well, I say we, really it was my mum).

The next big hurdle was trying to get everything from two cars (ours and Laurence's) up 4 flights of stairs. Our apartment block doesn't have a lift so there was some serious manouevering required. Thankfully Laurence asked Shane, a friend of ours (who happens to be really strong) if he would mind helping us lift some boxes and he obliged. He was a fantastic help and we had all the boxes up within a couple of hours. He even unblocked the gutters for us! The lads sat down playing a video game - typical boy, the first thing Laurence unpacked was his PS4 - while we cleaned, unpacked and then went to Mr Price and Tesco to get a few last minute bits we didn't have.

I tried to hold it together while I said goodbye to mum, but it was incredibly hard. I didn't want to start crying because I knew I'd set her off crying and it'd make it even tougher! Laurence and I waved her goodbye and then went back up to say goodbye to Shane a.k.a kick him out. Laurence left me in the apartment for a few minutes while he waved Shane off. I decided to read my mum's blog post while I had a few moments to myself. Poor Laurence walked back into the apartment to find me crying my eyes out in front of a bowl of half-eaten cold spaghetti hoops. All the emotions I'd built up had finally culminated and the floodgates were open. We had a little cuddle as I sobbed onto his shoulder and got snot and makeup and tears all over his shirt (#sexy), and then he started crying because I was crying.

Last night was such a weird night. Our first night living together. We went to Lidl to get bin bags and kitchen roll (exciting) and then made our first dinner in the new house. I lit a scented candle and we enjoyed our food with a glass of wine, making a toast to a new chapter.

I was so emotionally exhausted I didn't want to do anything else so we just snuggled up on the sofa, watched half of a shite film on Netflix (it was called Before We Go - don't watch it - Chris Evans I'm ashamed of you), and got drunk off the gorgeous bottle of wine my mum gave us as part of a fab housewarming hamper.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit homesick and I miss my family like crazy already. It's like a piece of me has been taken out and I'm wandering around trying to feel normal again. I sat at the table this morning eating my breakfast on my own as Laurence is at work, and I felt very lonely.

I'll miss talking to my mum every night before she went to sleep, sitting on her bed and having a gossip or a bitching session or just a laugh. I'll miss her coming into my room to wake me up so we could go shopping. I'll miss cooking dinner for her and dancing in the kitchen. But I know it will get easier, because hopefully my family will come to stay - we have a spare room, ooh get us - and I can sit at the table at night with them having a cup of tea and a chitchat. I can go shopping in Athlone with my mum and give her a tour of the town. And I can cook her dinner yet again, except this time in a different kitchen with a much smaller fridge and a niggling worry about how much electricity the oven uses.

Despite everything, Laurence and I are so happy we're together and already we've made this apartment feel like a home. And despite all the boxes and bags around us and checking the Pinergy electricity meter every few minutes - I could get used to this.

Life In Cardboard Boxes

You'll have to excuse my absence lately (if anyone reads this, that is!)

As you may know, I got accepted into Athlone IT to study Office Management and I recently found out Laurence and I have been assigned to move into our apartment next Tuesday, which is exciting and scary and involves a lot of standing in front of my wardrobe wondering how many clothes I'll be able to shove into our wardrobe without Laurence giving out to me. Just joking, we'll have a wardrobe each so he can't say anything. Although I can't promise I won't use his wardrobe for my clothes too.

I've been going round the house scavenging for boxes. It's probably a bit early to be packing yet but I'm also one of those people who packs for a holiday 2 months in advance. I also went to the village shop earlier to try and ransack the shed out the back for some boxes but they'd been crushed to go into recycling. I was a bit gutted because I love me a good box hunt. #rockandroll

I managed to convince my brother to let me tip all his belongings out of some boxes in his room and set to raiding the kitchen cupboards. I was amazed at how much of the kitchen stuff was mine, mum said the cupboards have never looked so tidy! I now have 2 boxes full of food to bring up for college, I don't think we'll have to do a food shop for about 4 years now ;-)

All of my kitchen stuff is all packed up now. I went house shopping with my mum yesterday and it was great fun. I'm so lucky to have a mum who is also my best friend and who isn't afraid to tell me to stop being stingy and buy some pillows/a bin/other grown up house stuff I'd never even thought of buying before.

So after all that, I've managed to come up with a few tips for packing and shopping if it's your first time moving out. If this is helpful for even one person out there I've reached my goal!

Tip 1: Penneys, Dealz & charity shops are your new best friends.

I don't know where I'd be without the above shops - probably clutching my purse in a corner somewhere crying as moths fly out of it. You'll most likely find 99% of the things you need in those shops. Penneys is great for cute decorations, bedding and towels. Dealz is your man for kitchen utensils, boring things like bin bags/sandwich bags/kitchen spray and everything else in between. Charity shops usually have lots of dishes, bedding and towels (if you're not funny about buying stuff like that secondhand and are on a very tight budget), and other nice homey bits. I ain't about paying €16 for one bath towel.

My other top picks for cute homeware at the moment are Flying Tiger, Aldi and Lidl. The snazzy flamingo pieces above are all from Flying Tiger - aren't they cute?

Tip 2: Ask shops if they have any spare cardboard boxes.

I usually just ask my local corner shop but I'm sure SuperValu, Lidl, Aldi etc. don't have any use for the cardboard boxes when they're empty. They're usually quite sturdy too as they're made for carrying stock so there's no risk of your lovely new plates falling out the arse of them.

Tip 3: Kill two birds with one stone.

Not literally, I don't think dead birds make a good home decoration. What I mean by this is, if you have quite a lot of crockery and nothing to wrap it in (like me), line a suitcase or box with some of your clothes and then wrap the crockery up in the clothes. That way nothing will get smashed and you can fit more clothes in! Score.

Tip 4: Make a list of e v e r y t h i n g you need.

And I mean everything. Sandwich bags, bin bags, a toilet brush, the lot. We haven't been given an inventory for our apartment yet so we'll have to wait until we get up there to see what else we need to buy. Because I am a list fiend I've written out some stuff I'm pretty sure won't come with the house. I can't believe how much buying there is involved when you move out! I've never had to think about buying toilet rolls or Air Wick before. Exciting stuff.

Tip 5: Get help, if you can.

My mum is coming with me when I move up to help get settled in. She's also offered to give me a hand to clean the apartment too which is great, you never know with student accommodation what you'll find lurking in the cupboards! Our apartment complex doesn't have a lift so we'll have to lug everything up about 4 flights of stairs which is a bit of a pain. If I don't have mad biceps by the end of it I'll be very disappointed.

So there's just a few tips if you're currently getting ready to fly the nest. I start college next Thursday and I'm bricking it if I'm honest, but I'm also really excited for this next chapter in my life. If anyone else is starting AIT next week let me know!