In-Vision Video Art Festival: a Review

This Silly Little Lady went along to a night of creative short films, by the name of In-Vision. In-Vision is a Dublin video art festival, and the brainchild of an ever-enthusiastic Sinéad Keogh. It prides itself on being a non-profit grassroots festival run by artists for artists. The night consisted of screenings of 10 short films, some of which were introduced by their creators, followed by a panel discussion and brief Q&A session. Thoroughly enjoyable, In-Vision provided a rare opportunity to experience an eclectic variety of video art on the big screen, with each of the pieces varying greatly in style, era, and content.

First in the line-up was 'Limitless' by Aoife Dunne (2016). The piece is a fusion of retrofuturism, whacky Japanese influences (think Kyary Pamyu-Pamyu videos), colourful retro fashion, and a DDR-esque gaming experience. Dunne plunges you right into a digital world where you try and try again to reach the next level, in order to convey our relentless self-criticism and continuous re-invention of self. Bold and extremely fresh, I was left not quite sure what I'd witnessed but somehow glad that I had witnessed it anyway. Check out Dunne's quirky-as-you-can-get website for an insight into that feeling (www.aoifedunne.com).

Follow this link to see Limitless: https://vimeo.com/173543163

All was not so original as Dunne's work though, unfortunately. Into Gold (2018) by De.es had such promise being inspired by DreamTigers (Jorge Luis Borges) and its incredible descriptions of

a mirror as an 'impossible space of reflections' which 'prolongs the world' where 'everything happens and nothing is recorded'. However, the video consisted mostly of the much over-used imagery of a fairy-like woman (long hair, white dress - the works) wandering through a forest (because that's never been done before) carrying a mirror. 

Laura Spark's piece Cygnus (2016) proved to be atmospheric and evocative. Ciana Fitzgerald's video Reprimere (2016) didn't appear to have any connection to its intended design, the private versus the public self, and meandered so far from that stream of consciousness that it lost all meaning entirely. A piece called Shedding (2018) by Ricí NíChléirigh attempted to explore the human condition using yarn, but would the idea would have been better served as performance art - the medium didn't aid the impact in any way, rather hindering it instead.

Sorcha Kenny's piece Oh, My Roads and Their Cadence (2017) was thought-provoking, portraying a woman with her dog trekking from Dublin to her grandparents old home in Roscommon, as a form of therapy. The crunch of gravel, and the awkward greetings when passing a fellow traveller evoke powerful memories of life in the Irish countryside, and waves of nostalgia within this Cavan-raised girl (me). Oh, My Roads and Their Cadence suggests that Kenny has a promising future in film-making ahead of her. A very different piece by Kurb Junki (segments from a longer film) was made up of Hi8 recordings, whacky, comical editing, and a heck of a lot of skateboarding. Entertaining and very enjoyable, the piece might have been a bit to skate-heavy for non-skaters like me. 

Another noteworthy work was None of it Matters (1999) by Pauline Cummins. This work was made in response to live coverage of the bombing of Serbia in 1999, and to the growing phenomenon of shocking news being used as a form of entertainment. Cummins questions our increasing desensitisation to the suffering of others, using clips from movies (Tarantino was well in there), a voice recording which was originally performed live, and historic footage from WWII. One startling line from the audio recording stated: "Care? I'll show you care. I took the remote and I said let's stay in tonight and watch people die". Hard-hitting, this piece highlights the apathy of contemporary society, and drags us out of our uncaring mindsets for a few short moments. Disappointly, though, Cummins didn't appear very willing to participate in discussions, practically begging Keogh to stop asking her questions. 

Breda Lynch on the other hand, maker of The Kiss (2009), was all chat, providing insightful commentary and proving very knowledgable within her field. Lynch's piece explored censorship and queer visibility in a gothic style, with the most classic approach to experimental film of the night. 

The highlight of the night was undoubtedly Johannes Gerard's piece Dark (2017). Featuring a naked dancer improvising movements, alongside her 'dark self', set to an atmospheric soundscape, the work was entirely hypnotic. Gerard delves into the secrets, worries, and sorrows we carry around every day, invisible to those around us, whilst simultaneously exploring the impact of the concepts past, present, and future on our lives. Dark stood out above the crowd in a league of its own and entranced its viewers.

Keogh curated a fascinating and deeply satisfying evening of video art, which provided viewers with a rare and wonderful opportunity to fully experience what creative film has to offer. The festival was indubitably a success, and I eagerly await its second year - we can only hope it'll be longer, even more diverse, and as inspiring. 

The Road to Happiness the Dalai Lama Way - 5 Things I Learned from His Holiness

One of the main things the Dalai Lama emphasises from the very opening of The Art of Happiness is that the pursuit of happiness is natural, positive, and common to all humans, and that it is possible to attain the ever-illusive state we call happiness. So far so good. As books go, this one has challenged my thinking a great deal, throughout, making it a worthwhile read - however, in order for it to truly help you, you must think about what the Dalai Lama is saying, deeply. You have to pause and contemplate all through the book, and try to apply his tactics and reasoning to your everyday life instead of letting the concepts float over your head like a lonely balloon. For that reason, I wanted to write about what I personally learned from this book.
Perhaps you don't have the time to read the book, or you want a taster first, or perhaps you are being put off by the Buddhist theme, no matter - sink your teeth into this.

1. The Importance of Self-Education
Now we aren't talking about strict academia here. We're talking about reading books about other cultures to reduce racism, visiting impoverished areas to increase your compassion, reading texts and talking to people to help increase your empathy, learning how to meditate, thinking deeply and analysing why we are feeling angry or hateful and applying tactics to eliminate these feelings. The Dalai Lama repeats over and over again that the main enemies to our happiness are anger and hatred, and his solution is to combat these harmful states of mind with understanding. When you understand that anger and hate are negative not only to those around you but to yourself, and even your health, then you can truly start to reason with your emotions and challenge them.

2. Pleasure vs Happiness
One of the first things I found helpful and easy to apply to my own life was the Dalai Lama's decision-making question: Will it bring me pleasure, or happiness? In order for this to mean anything you have to first understand the distinct difference between the two. Happiness is what we all strive for, it's more than a momentary feeling, it's a state of being, a goal. We're talking long-term here. Pleasure, on the other hand, is momentary. It's extremely short-lived and often shallow. So for example, let's say you are eyeing up a piece of cake in a cafe. You want that piece, you know it'll taste so good. But should you get it? Well, would eating that slice give you pleasure, or help you in any way along the road to happiness? Pleasure of course. Adding it to our waistline won't get us that nice body we are working towards, nor will forking out the money for it add to our savings account. Now this is basic logic, but the reason it's so useful is that it's simple, and can be applied to anything from that slice of cake, to weighing up whether or not to marry someone, or take up that job offer. Just ask yourself: Will this bring me pleasure, or happiness?

3. Your Enemies are Valuable
This may seem hard to swallow at first but give it a chance. Generally we surround ourselves with friends and loved-ones that add to our happiness, and because we have a natural aversion to those who mistreat us, we don't have many people in our lives that we could call enemies. But we all have a few. Maybe it's a condescending boss, an annoying classmate, a bully, a relative that you can't seem to agree on anything with, or even a parent. These people are so often the cause of our anger and hatred, and perhaps even our envy. All negative emotions. However, these enemies can play a major role in your spiritual journey to happiness. Just think of all the opportunities these people provide us with to practice our patience and tolerance on! If you can learn to appreciate your enemy and show them compassion, you can be sure that you can do the same to an ally. Now it's difficult, I know, but that's why it's so important! Our enemies evoke so much negative feeling in us, imagine if we could eliminate that. If you think of it as practice towards your journey, that can help. Or you could think more closely about this enemy and realise that their sole purpose in life is not to annoy you. They have friends, family, their own troubles, and they in many ways are good people. Once you find some positive qualities in someone you just can't stand, you're a step in the right direction. I've even used this myself. This thought that my enemies are still humans, who also only want happiness, and are obviously very lost on their journey really softened my feelings of anger and hatred towards them. And even those little annoying things the ones you love do are good practice for developing patience! I think this is the most important thing I've learned from this book, it's invaluable.

4. Suffering is Universal and Unfair but we're not Helpless
The Dalai Lama spoke quite a bit about suffering and how it is a part of life that every human must endure but we can severely reduce our suffering by changing our negative perspective on it, and our self-destructive habits. For example, what most people have an issue with is how utterly unfair suffering is. It's sporadic, it's random, and we don't deserve it. But the thing is, there is no 'deserving' suffering. It's inbuilt in life. Look at death for instance. Every single person on earth will have to mourn someone they cared about, it's a universal fact. You may say things like 'why should I suffer but not him?' or 'why should I help him if it means I'll suffer instead?', which all boils down to: What makes him more important than me? And here's the answer: He is not more important than you, no. But he is also no less important than you either. This evens the playing field. We're both just humans. If we think useless thoughts like how unfair suffering is, or ruminate over events and stresses, it only increases our suffering tenfold. And this part of the suffering we can eliminate. If we look at suffering objectively, and take suffering as what it is, we can get out a lot less wounded.

5. Patience and Tolerance are Key
These two babies are not only the antidotes to hatred and anger, they are crucial to maintaining peace of mind and can heal events of the past that still haunt us. Being patient and tolerant, as opposed to confrontational is often seen as a weakness, in Western society. This is so wrong, and it's so easy to see why. If you are patient and tolerant, you are not only refusing to fuel any already heated situation, but you are actively preventing any disturbance to your own personal calm, and peace of mind - which, let me tell you, is not easy folks, and is the definition of self-disciplined. This is not the same as being too terrified to confront someone, or some situation - this is knowing you could confront it, but choosing not to. Patience and tolerance, according to His Holiness, also creates and nurtures forgiveness. As you become more and more patient and tolerant, you naturally are more forgiving. Patience, tolerance, and in turn forgiveness are key to helping you let go of any negative feelings you may have associated with past events, helping you to leave the past in the past and finally move on.

These are only a small portion of the things I've learned from this book, and I plan to add to this list in my next blog post. This is the first proper Buddhist/personal growth book I've read, so I'm very open to suggestions for more titles like this! Thoughts? Opinions? Comment below.

Peace, love, light <3

Unique Drawing Challenge May 2016

Drawing and reading are my two all time favourite hobbies, as anyone who has met me will know, but I have a terrible habit of neglecting art for long periods of time. Since the run up to the Leaving Cert, I have been rudely ignoring any drawing impulses, and I've decided to turn that around! By doing a drawing challenge for the month of May, that goes a little something like this:

1. Self-portrait
2. Favourite animal
3. Favourite food
4. Favourite character from a book or song (no help from movie adaptations)
5. A couple
6. An elderly person
7. A baby
8. Flowers
9. Something sentimental
10. Something sad
11. Design a tattoo
12. Something consisting of only 2 colours
13. Sexy/handsome man
14. Sexy/beautiful woman
15. An embrace
16. Something loud
17. Favourite author or artist
18. Obsession
19.Something you can't resist
20. An animal that freaks you out
21. A blast from the past
22. Something ridiculously colourful
23. Something Japanese
24. Love is love
25. Dancing
26. Draw from a photo you took
27. Something completely un-you
28. [Day off]
29. Musical instrument
30. Family portrait
31. Make a comic of your day


So far, we're on day 12 of my personalised drawing challenge, which means le boif and I have numbers 1 through 11 completed. Fancy a peek?

Self-portrait

Favourite animal: Octopus

The first few were pretty straight-forward, and not too strenuous, although I am a major newb/baby when it comes to Adobe Illustrator, so from day 1 I've been trying to learn the tricks of the trade. I've been testing out different styles, trying new techniques and basically trying to get the computer to do what I want it to. It takes time but honestly it's really fun.

Favourite food: Strawberries!

 The character from a book or a song was suuuuuch a difficult decision. As a major reader the obvious choice was a character from a book, but I just couldn't call any strong imagery to mind, so I had a think about the songs I knew that featured a main character. I've been a Johnny Cash fan since I was a baba; my dad used to play his songs around the house, and they would always make me cry. The song Big Iron came to mind, a song Cash only covered, and the Arizona Ranger, the extreme underdog of the tale, really stuck out in my mind, and it's such a fantastic story of a song that you just must listen to it. I cannot do it justice.

Character from song (Big Iron by Johnny Cash)

A couple: le boif and moi!

An elderly person

A baby

Flowers (sakura)

When it came to the flowers I always knew I'd draw cherry blossoms but I hadn't really decided on a medium. I didn't want to use *just* Illustrator for my drawings so I thought I'd give watercolour pencils a go - which makes up the branches, and then I found a stain in my sketchbook left by a Promarker (they have a habit of seeping through the page), that looked like a perfect petal. So I played about with all of this on the computer and came out with a very mixed media type of image. 

Something sentimental: my old ballet dress

When it came to something sentimental I was really at a loss. I don't have any 'ones that got away', I don't have any dead relatives or friends that I was close to, nothing really to go all mushy over. Rooting through my room, I eventually found my old ballet dress and ballet slippers, in perfect condition, from when I was just 4 years old. I used to love ballet back then and always got extra excited to go to class every week. Unforch the ballet school moved away just a year later, and I was left ballet-less, and have been ever since. Now I feel far too old to learn, and seeing my little outfit did make me tear up a little.

Something sad: a lost mitten

The bench and lost mitten drawing is probably my favourite so far, because I honestly don't think there's anything more sad than seeing a lost mitten, in the snow, no less. I love mittens. I just want all the mittens to find their owners.

A tattoo

So that brings us just about up to date on the challenge, and to the present moment, where I'm sitting trying to figure out what on earth to draw for today's challenge, something using 2 colours only. I'm also maaaayyyyybeeeee working towards an Etsy shop... And it maaayyyybeeee is live at www.etsy.com/ie/shop/korknykreations ........
If you want to keep up with my drawing challenge, my Instagram is @korkny and le boif's Instagram account is @surfbluestudios 

I'm open to requests, and I'm quite friendly so feel free to message on Instagram or comment on here! 

Snobby Little Me reads the Fault in Our Stars (Finally)

Artwork courtesy of le boif, check out his Instagram
@mrgeraghty to see more of his mad skillz

After a brand new copy of The Fault in Our Stars lay undisturbed on my bookshelf for the guts of, say, 2 years, I finally admitted to myself that I would never, voluntarily, pick it up merely to satisfy my curiosity as to what all the fuss was about. After all, YA (young adult) fiction is far from my comfort zone, and I'm ashamed to admit I always thought it below me - less stimulating, less challenging, compared to my beloved classics. Even apart from that, it's popular literature after all, about a teenager with Cancer who falls in love for goodness sake - seemingly so cliché. The usual PS: I Love you/The Notebook style 'tear-jerker'. Bleh.

Our paths were fated to cross eventually however, The other day, whilst going through the lengthy process of cleaning my room, the thought of listening to an audiobook occurred to me (as I haven't gotten quite so good at reading that I can do it without looking yet). However, I would never settle for just listening to a book I'm actually excited to read (because it feels impersonal and, frankly, like cheating), I decided to stick on a YouTube video of a lassie reading the first chapter of The Fault in Our Stars - just for curiosity's sake, and to make the time drag by a little faster.

I spent the first little while marvelling at what a fantastic idea it was, and how much of the story I was absorbing, unconsciously, without any effort whatsoever, while the boredom was stowed safely away. A few minutes in, I actually found myself smiling at a few of the witty remarks made by Hazel (the protagonist, and narrator). I slowly developed a slight interest in the characters, but mostly, a new-found, wholly unexpected respect for the author, John Green. It impressed me that he could write on behalf of the teenagers of today, without being condescending, tiptoeing around taboos, or being too annoyingly teenager cringe-y. But as my tidying task was nearing its end for the evening, and chapter 3 was brought to a close, I was quite happy to put an end to the whole thing, and dismiss it as quite an entertaining teenage book. As in, entertaining for, y'know, YA.

A Fault in Our Stars-esque pic of  what appears to be
 a cloud producing factory. 

That night I snobbily returned to my usual sort of book, but found my mood to clash drastically with it. I entered into diagnosis mode and prescribed myself a comfort book. On the journal to grab one of my Fifty Shades books (blatantly unashamed), I caught a glimpse of The Fault in Our Stars... I grabbed both and settled back into bed. Faced with my heavy decision, I decided that I had over-indulged my beloved Fifty a tad too much, what with the new Grey book, the movie, etc. So I gave The Fault in Our Stars a test-drive. And then I kept reading. And kept reading... Before I knew it I was reading late into the night (a thing my brain rarely lets me do with classics after midnight). It was entertaining, I won't deny. Entertaining enough to make the hours whir by and for a lie in to be needed to recover.

With a plot twist I saw miles ahead, a rather cute life goal, and some complex ideologies about death and the universe, I softened to the genre. They even stuck in a ceci n'est pas une pipe reference - major brownie points. Hazel is intelligent, if a little self-sacrificing for my liking; meanwhile Augustus is charming, open and very boyfriend-material-y. Hell, I even started rooting for the young lovers.

Did I shed any tears? Well, no. But I did well up at one point if that counts. Green called to mind the closeness you can have with one particular person (whether it's le boif, le girlf or le bff). A connection you share only with them. You tell them everything, they become an integral part of your life, and then - they're gone. And in their place - well, nothing. Your own private interactive diary, missing. The one person you share all your hopes, fears, and secrets with isn't around when you face your biggest plunge - to paraphrase Green - the scar they've left behind for you to bear.  The only person you want to talk to about how you feel can't indulge you. The thought of that raw loneliness in an encouragement to all the rest of us to cling to those we care about and relish what time we have with them.

So while I may not have broken down in tears whilst reading Green's best-seller, I did get something from it. Namely, I got that same childish glee, the reading frenzy feeling that I haven't felt in years. More importantly it was a little reminder to me to appreciate those closest to us. Because an infinity of time with the one you love is never enough, and one day that infinity will come to an end, and the two are forced to part.

I also learned a valuable lesson: don't judge a book by its genre.

One word review: surprising
Star rating: 3/5

Semester One = Done

As semester one draws to a close, I believe it's about time to reflect on my initial college experience. Over the past 3 months, I've witnessed the vast majority of the initially over-zealous, intensely studious folk around me crumble with exam stress and fret about whether they have chosen the right course, whilst binging on Reece's Pieces and ready meals. Oh and I'm one of those, by the way. College has hit hard, and we're all struggling to keep on its good side, but we stand united. There's nothing more comforting than hearing the words "I haven't started yet either" from a fellow student, or lying in bed missing your 10am, knowing your also-still-in-bed roommate is doing exactly the same. We thought this would be easy, now that the dreaded Leaving Cert has been conquered. It's the hardest thing you'll ever have to do, they say. College is a walk in the park after that nightmare, they tell us. Lies and deceit.

Let's take this one step at a time. Attendance for example. First few weeks - perfect, 'golden weeks' all round. After that, people start missing their 9ams because they were out the night before - I'm baffled and even appalled, I mean think of all the vital information they are missing out on!? Eventually a night out breaks my streak, and next lecture I realise I haven't missed anything much at all, no harm done. Then the essays and sleep deprivation kick in and we get a little lax on the 'golden week' idea. 12 weeks deep and there's only one person turning up our Irish language lab (not me), and the debate to go to a lecture or stay in bed or Christmas shop is a valid, heart-breaking one. Now those of you who don't go to college may judge us, but we know what we're doing. If a college student feels a wave over productivity coming on, and is so in the mood to make a start on that essay and get shit done - we know full well that this is a rare blessing, one which much be respected and rolled with, even if it means sacrificing some note-taking practice. And if it's one of those days when we really and truly can't drag our ass out of bed into the cold, ever-raining outside world without crying, we give ourselves that time to recuperate, mentally. In other words - we got this, we've been playing systems for years now, college is no different.

Except college is so different. Not even the course itself, but the very idea behind it. This is what we have chosen to do for the rest of our lives, like as a career... Or at least it's what we have committed to doing for 4 whole years of our valuable, unrefundable youth. So if we've made the wrong choice, we're to blame, and we're pretty much stuck here. Yes, yes, change of minds, I hear you say - but the deadlines for that kind of stuff is pretty early on and once they are gone, the deal is sealed, and short of dropping out and paying full fees to do something else (every mommy's dream, right?) we're sealed in tight. So we are all one by one coming to terms with the consequences of that decision, and eventually accepting and dealing with it, in as positive a light as we can muster.

Also, college is the place where straight A kids start to see the value in just passing - a concept which filled us with horror a few months back. One must bear in mind that it's a Trinity experience I am telling here, and that I spend my days surrounded by the contents of the extreme right of the bell-curve. You need to be smart to get in here - that's a given. But you need to work your little tucus off and possibly sell your soul to the devil to be one of the smartest of the smart kids (most of the time we can agree that having a vaguely active social (and/or sex) life is more important).

All of this, coupled with the actual experience of living away from home is pretty overwhelming, I'll admit. One never realises how costly it is to get around, or to feed oneself until they move out (parents, we now appreciate you raising us, but question why on earth you signed up to this in the first place #didyouchecktheexpirationdate?). Not to mention that the prospect of having to make dinner day in day out is frankly preposterous and I refuse to believe anyone actually goes through with it. Pasta is dinner - we have spoken. Don't underestimate its power to fill bellies in minutes.

With all of the above sounding quite on the ranting side of things, it's understandable to assume college is terrible and we all want to drop out, but that's not entirely true. These are the things we have all had to come to terms with, and grow accustomed to in the past few months. Valuable life lessons are being learned, yada, yada, yada, and we have our (almost) fair share of fun. And the most important thing of all: we get to claim the #studentlife as our own, an extension of ourselves, if you may, adding to our legacy.

Sláinte, Sickness and Student Affairs

Remember when I said I wasn't missing home? Well scrap that. And about that sore throat I referenced in my last post, well, it turns out that it's most probably tonsillitis. What wonderful news to hear three days before lectures start, right? So now I'm just one week into living in the big bad world of independence, and am faced with sorting out doctor's appointments and medication, frantically, on the last day before the weekend, in order to try to survive next week's lectures, which I've been looking forward to for months. Right now, I want to run home to mummy, let her work it all out, and mammy me by bringing me soup, and tea, and stroking my probably feverish head (what college student actually has a thermometer?).

But alas I sit in my empty apartment with no salt, no honey and no cuddles. My housemates are all either gone home for the weekend or out partying arís (mar is ghnáth), which means I'm admittedly a little on the lonely side (bad health does that to you), but at least I'm enjoying the most peace and quiet I've had in over a week. Main concern though: I really didn't buy enough ice-pops to quell my darn tonsils' tantrum.

In less self-pity wallowing news, I've now attended both of my course meetings, and I'm more than psyched to get down to it. The lecturers have explained explicitly that while yes, us art students may have a ridiculously low amount of lectures per week (nine, not even kidding), we are expected to put in a 40 hour week, what with reading, studying, writing etc. I've already gone on the search of English books - and I care not if you think it's a waste of money, the library only has a limited amount of copies, and do not want to feel under pressure to hand them back in, nor do I want to settle for retaining less information just to save a few bucks by getting a digital copy. Third year students are a fantastic resource, with many unwanted second-hand textbooks that they are willing to part with for a very reasonable price, but some books you just have to go all out and spend that large wad of money to attain them, sadly.

Agus mo chúrsa Ghaeilge? Buel, bhí an course meeting ar fad as Ghaeilge (just as I feared), ach thuig mé gach rud a dhúirt an léachtóir (pleasant surprise). But yes, tá sé fíor - tá gach duine (almost) atá ag déanamh an cúrsa sin after coming out of an Irish secondary school, has many Gaeltacht experiences under their belt, or at the very least has gone to a Gaelscoil primary school. But I could keep up thankfully, bhíomar ag caint as Ghaeilge ar feadh cúpla nóiméad tar éis the course meeting, and it was such a refreshing, but strange experience, to have that opportunity, and to feel safe enough to break in and out of Irish as I please gan bhreithiúnas (without judgement), with people who crave that opportunity too. I've been very concerned that I'd be completely out of my league, or that it would be just like the Irish oral practice we did in school, but now I've realised that mo chuid Ghaeilge isn't too rusty after all, and that the Irish Leaving Cert oral preparation was so restrictive and confined, not to mention leadránach and intimidating.

Until next time (probably not too far away if I keep this frequency up), I wish you (and me) dea-sláinte.

Can We Skip Freshers' Week Yet?

College is strange. But what's stranger is this modulating point between holidays and actual lectures. As a Trinity student (yes I got in - no I won't develop a D4 accent, don't worry), I'm obviously a bit of a nerd. I mean it's practically a prerequisite. So I'm in an awful state over here dying for lectures, essays, tutorials, studying - you name it, to take over my life. My waiting continues to complicate things further, whilst I spend my time living in Trinity Hall, the home of nearly all the non-Dublinese Trinity freshers, who are throwing their heart, soul (and livers) into clubbing, and 'prinking' (predrinking). To sum it up: it's loud, and nobody sleeps. Not even this little nerd - who tried to club, I swear, but after two nights, realised it had made her physically ill, and pretty miserable - can curl up in bed and read her latest Hardy book without having to reread each sentence at the very least ten times to combat nearby chattering/screaming.

Yes, I do have a roommate. I'll admit I liked the idea. Y'know, you see it all the time in American college movies, people rooming with one another, bonding, having not-so-secret signals to indicate that the other is 'getting lucky' (that tie though, sooo discrete lads). I wanted a roommate, so I got a roommate. What confounds me is what exactly I must have said in my application that inspired Halls to throw me and Roommate into each others lives. Roommate is lovely, I don't deny that. She's bubbly, kind, not too messy (so I don't have a nervous breakdown), not too tidy (so I don't feel like a slob) and we don't clash at all. But as far as people go, we couldn't be more unlike one another. Even on first glance you can tell we'd been put together by an outside source. She's tall, blonde, and beautiful in the celeb-hot style way - while I would probably fit better in the short, brunette, cute in the looks-like-she-is-still-in-primary-school category. Even our heritage stands on different sides of a fence. I've been raised in such a patriotic, Irish family, that I cannot possible allow myself to study English in uni without studying Irish as well - while Roommate is as Bheal Feirste. Not to mention  hobbies: clubbing vs reading, socialising vs writing, I think Trinity's computer got lazy. But Roommate and I are good, we get on, it's just really not what I had expected.

Everyone else in my apartment could also be placed on one of two poles. The three of us English lit scholars take up the quieter pole, while Roommate and the two others operate on a much more demonstrative level, which frankly exhausts me just to watch them - no idea how they do it. People talk a lot about Hall not feeling like home. Some think we have to adjust, others think it'll never be home. I'm of two-minds. While I have no routine as of yet (meal-wise, arising-wise, exercise-wise, or even reading-wise) here, which doesn't exactly provide a feelings of being adjusted and settled-in, I don't miss 'home'. I'm drained, from the extreme amount of socialising that goes hand in hand with freshers, and hand in hand with sharing an apartment, not to mention my throat is sore, from two nights of clubbing. So I'm not exactly comfortable. But I went back to Cavan today, for a couple of hours, had lunch with my mom, and chatted, and I felt even more out of place there than here. It's like I'm taking up residence in a town called Purgatory. Not fully immersed in college life, but so done with life at home.

Coming back to Dublin afterwards led me straight to my first ever Dublin city sunset. I have a terrible habit of missing the sunset by a few minutes, or getting too impatient to wait for it to start, so I needed this. It reminded me that home is much larger than we seem to classify it as generally. Sometimes all it takes is a peek out at a blushing horizon to bring you back to earth.