Thinking back to this time last year is a whirlwind for me, I had just turned twenty and I was preparing to move out of home for the first time. I thought from the very beginning I'd be moving to Limerick but when results day hit and I had the choice between a course in Limerick or a dream course in Carlow I went with my heart, bit the bullet and found a house in Carlow town.
My God it was the scariest feeling I've ever felt in my life. What was going to happen? Who was I going to live with? What if they're horrible? What if they're messy?What about Mursher?!!! (my dog) but never did something feel so right in all my life.
I can't describe what it is, the time was just right to leave home and as scary as it was I couldn't wait to begin my new adventure. The envy I have for new first years is crazy, it's as if you're out of your body looking in, everything is so different for the first time in your life you have to do your own shopping, you have to cook your own dinner...you don't cook you don't eat mammy isn't there with a cup of tea in hand and you have to mentally prepare yourself to go out every week it's tough but never in your life will you ever experience anything like it..seriously, live it up!!
College and my story with education is something I spoke a lot about on my blog literally my whole school story is on this blog including my college experience even though my time spent in college was short everything I've learned in those five months changed me so much as a person and what I learned then has helped me more than anything else I've ever learned in life.
I remember my very first day moving into Carraig Abhainn in Carlow, actually I'll never forget the day. Driving down the motorway tears just kept filling my eyes it was a mixture of nerves, excitement and sheer sadness but as I pulled into my new estate and saw some hunks I knew everything was gonna be okay. I met the landlord got my keys and began unpacking my boxes, I was sticking posters up left right and centre trying not to completely turn the house into a Munster zone...which didn't last long.
After finding out my two new housemates were in the same course as me I was over the moon until I found out they weren't moving down until the next day and I'd have to spend my first night of college on my own... oh the joys!!
I cried, I wanted to go home there was no way I could do this but I did and the next morning as I sat pretending to be studious in the kitchen with an apple I heard a suitcase roll up...well, shit.
I will never forget that feeling hearing the key in the door I could of passed out until I heard 'helllooo' and there she was my new housemate Jennie Byrne. It was the weirdest thing ever it was as if me and Jennie had been friends all our lives..no awkwardness, no strangeness we just sat there trying to get a mirror to work and pretending to our other housemate (who still hadn't arrived) that we hated each other it was the craziest feeling ever. Little did I know the adventures that would await us.
When Shannon finally arrived (my other housemate) we met her in college and I loved her straight away, I remember one of my first ever memories with Shannon was coming home from college, making dinner, turning the sofa around so we could look out the window and chatting about life and I knew straight away this girl was like a sister and a friend for life.
My first night out in Carlow actually happened a year ago yesterday when we headed to the foundry and I had the best night of my life, I was buzzing I couldn't believe I was in a proper night club that's sad isn't it?!! haha but living a small town with 'the disco' you can only imagine what it was like stepping into 'The Foundry' which soon went onto become my special place..I kid you not!!
That's one thing about college, going out. I think as a thing most people will experience one of two things either
A. You're not really pushed about going out.
B. You live for going out and I was definitely B, I loved going out to be honest it was probably one of the only things I liked about college by the end but it's something that affected me big time. I would go out, drink wayyy to much, go to wayyy too many after sessions and then die with a hangover the next day, it was predicted every single week and that's without a doubt the wrong way to be. I 100% think that college is the time for going wild having fun, living life to the max but if you just want to drink and go out every single day you're doing it wrong that's the number one advice I could give to anyone heading off to college.
Something which every college student in every college will come across is drugs, there's no getting away from it. Weed is something which almost everyone smokes and it's ridiculously accepted it's almost seen 'strange' if you don't smoke weed but with that comes a lot worse and where I lived was particularly bad for pills aka MDMA. This was everywhere on nights out and the easiest thing to get by the end it almost seemed normal but you just need to keep your head on, stand by your morals and don't be stupid becuase at the end of the day that's what drugs are...stupid!!
'Try everything whilst you're at college' YES DO.. but don't be an idiot and try drugs!! Honestly, be prepared enough to know that they're going to be everywhere, and you're going to be offered them A LOT but be smart enough to know the dangers and be brave enough to say NO!!
Okay, enough with the mammy lectures (See I told you turning 21 was doing funny things to me) but college life is the greatest experience you can ever have, you can go to bed after your lectures, eat cereal for dinner, and actually skip a class (which you shouldn't ever do... I never did ;)) for the sake of it and no one cares, never in your life will there be a time like college.
I dropped out of college in January and began working in the 'real world' and believe me when I say it's shit craic.. thinking back it makes me sick that I left college to life in this world BLEUGHHH!!! Live it up my friends, live it up.
On a final note about college life I'm gonna end with the people. The people you meet in college will always have a piece of your heart, they will I'm not even joking. Not every single one of them like believe me when I say there's some people I met in college that I'd happily see stand on lego but you meet the odd special person.
I met so many amazing people, the girls in my class Emma, Megan, Rachael, Eimear, Annie, Erica, Abby etc meant so much to me and we all became sisters. Tanya another PR girl will always hold my heart, I shared some of the best nights out in Carlow with her and she is without a doubt a friend for life. Then of course there's Mai K my college sister. I've never met a girl like her and I never will so you really will meet the most amazing people.
Your neighbours will become your best friends (well I loved mine) or they can become annoying idiots ( they were that too) but at the end of the day college is what you make it and if you, can I even say this again?! LIVE IT UP you'll never experience anything like it.
As much as this is the saddest post you'll ever find on my blog I can't be sad when dedicating a post to Molly, she'd have hated that she was the most human like dog I've ever came across in my life and she was the dog of all dogs, as weird as this may sound to you Mollys personality is the person I aspire to be. To be frank she didn't give a shit! Excuse my language but she didn't! 
