By Aileen O’Leary
When I look back on four years of college, I laugh a little, cry a little, but most of all I feel proud. I’m proud that I made it this far; despite the odds I made it to the end. As I am writing my last final year diary entry, I am also writing the last of my essays and assignments for college. By the time this goes to print I will have completed my last assignment; my last essay will be submitted to turnitin. I will no longer lose sleep over MLA or Harvard referencing systems or word-counts being over or under.
I will leave my last lecture knowing this is it; this is the last stretch in an incredible journey. NUI Galway has given me a lot, an education, great friends, some unforgettable memories, but it also took a lot to get here.
Getting through four year of college isn’t easy, ask any final year. There will be times when you want to pack it all in, when you feel homesick, heartbroken, like you can’t do it anymore. We have all been there, stressed out over exams, assignments, that presentation you don’t want to do (I forgot half my points during my first presentation in college, trust me I get it) or maybe you’re just having a bad day. Believe me when I say this, if I can get through all of it so can you.
I didn’t live out of the library; I missed a few lectures, but somehow I managed to pull all of it together in the end. Worrying about deadlines and exams will never help so just take a breath. Every year about 18,000 of us get through our exams and our deadlines in one piece, so your odds are pretty good. Even if you fail an exam it’s not the end of the world, you can repeat them and still go through to the next year. I’m not condoning putting off studying, repeats are expensive, and you don’t want to spend your summer studying, but they aren’t the end of the world.
If you asked me on day one where I would see myself four years later, I never would have imagined being where I am today. Writing this column has given me a chance to chronicle the end of an era, and I will always be grateful for the amazing team behind SIN for that. I especially want to thank our editor in chief Áine Kenny, deputy editor Martha Brennan, and of course my very patient and understanding features editor Olivia Hanna. Without these incredible journalists SIN wouldn’t be possible.
Also, to the amazing contributors I have had the privilege of sharing this space with, thank you! SIN has always been a part of my college experience that I will never forget, and for those out there who want to join next year, you should. There is an incredible team of journalists behind this publication and I am lucky to have been a part of this team during my years here at NUI Galway.
So, grab the tissues because this is it! The last of my final year diaries. To our readers, thank you for following my final year diaries this year! To my fellow final years, see you at graduation.
These have been my final year diaries, thanks for following them.
Aileen O’Leary,
Class of 2019.
