I actually wrote a post about my fears of going into first year and a diary of my first week in college. Of course, I was very excited about this new experience to come, but as a naturally very shy person I was freaking out at the thought of being around so many strangers. Going into a new course basically alone was a huge deal for me. Back home I had a few very close friends and heading into the unknown scared me.

Co. Limerick has been my home from September to December of 2014. I'm living there because I go to college in the University of Limerick.  The last few months have been an eye-opener and I think that more than ever that you shouldn’t believe everything you read or hear. Especially when it comes to the Irish media's portrayal of Limerick.

I will put up my hand and say that because of living in Leinster and only ever hearing about Limerick through the news in a negative light, I wasn't expecting much. I was expecting a derelict and decaying city. Of course, some parts of it are, but that's the case with many cities here in Ireland.
However, I was not expecting to see as much cultural heritage and art.

There are so many murals dotted around the city.

First of all, Limerick is home to many art galleries and museums. I have visited the Hunt Museum and Limerick City Gallery of Art and I was more than impressed. One thing, in particular, I like about the art gallery is that it’s never the same each time you visit, new artwork is added, new exhibitions come and go and this keeps the place fresh and exciting. I never knew that Limerick was home to so many talented artists. During my time in Limerick I've gone out in the city so many times that I've lost count, visiting places such as Dolan's Warehouse, Crush 87, Mollie's, Charlie Chaplin’s and I've found that Limerick's nightlife is drastically improving. I'm well used to Limerick at night, I go out at least once a week, in college it is a rite of passage almost! Dolan’s Warehouse is a great place for musicians and also a great place to hold events such as DIE. I love rummaging through O' Mahoney's bookshop to find a good magazine or book. Or taking a trip with my friends to Moody Cow for delicious milkshakes. We have our priorities! I'm preparing to go back for my second semester in UL and I couldn't be more excited. The last six weeks of Christmas holidays have been slow, boring and almost torturous in a way. I never thought I’d say it.


My favourite place to walk in the city is by the Docks, be it late at night where the lights of the city reflect on the water or during the day where you can see hundreds upon hundreds of different birds flying around. The air is really fresh around that area and on more than one occasion I’ve walked along the docks while the sun has been setting. Let me tell you that the sight of the honey coloured sun’s rays reflecting on the rippling water is a gorgeous sight. If you lean against the railings of the docks and look to your left you can where the river Shannon begins to widen and it’s breathtaking. To your right, you can see King John’s Castle. I’ve yet to visit it but it’s on my bucket list for this semester. On Saturday there are markets in the city and if you root around you can find little gems, you just have to know where to look.

You can also find so many sculpture pieces, especially along the Docks

The people of Limerick have been given a mostly negative image by the national media. I feel outraged when I hear this now because I've come across nothing but kindness in Limerick. I remember going into a butcher's in Limerick completely lost and the workers there went out of their way to make sure I could find and get to where I wanted to go. Not to mention the banter I've had with people on my treks through the city.

Take for example the campaign that a young Limerick school girl has started to “Light Up Limerick’s Bridges”. The aim is to put messages of hope and support on all three bridges in Limerick with the hope that it will give support and solace to anyone who is struggling or suicidal. It’s things like this that make me proud of Limerick. There's even a petition related to the cause being signed and it is gaining signatures daily.

No one can say that I'm being biased. I'm an outsider, I'm from the opposite side of the country. But I can still use the hashtag, #Limerickandproud because I'm living in Limerick, and I am proud of it. I want the city and county to continue improving. I'm still so surprised by how much I've taken to the place. I never thought I'd get used to it, but I have and I'm starting to get a proper feel of the place.

The negativity was largely unjustified.

Of course, there's room to improve and I think that Limerick Co Council and the people of Limerick are more than motivated and capable of coming up with new ways to improve and expand Limerick's attractions. I just think that the negativity it’s gotten in recent weeks is completely undeserved and almost crushes the positive change that has been occurring for a while. People took to Twitter and started tweeting their support of their city and also included lovely photos of the many positive things
around the city and county. I even had my own say on the matter. Through this campaign, I've discovered even more sights that I had not previously heard about. I thought I had explored all of Limerick during the last few months but it turns out that I haven't and I'm looking forward to discovering other aspects of the city. I’m looking forward to living here for the next three and half years.

Thanks for reading and I can't wait to get back to UL and see all my friends.

This particular mural was striking.

This cheeky little bird kept watching my friends and I and tilting its head to the side.

Just one of the beautiful views along the Docks.

The three Musketeers.

We happened upon this mural by chance!

As you can see, I love the Limerick Docks.

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There will always be a place for you back home no matter how long you’ve been away.

As you all may or not know I have been in college nine weeks now, I'm settled in amazingly and everything is good to be honest! I just was thinking about how my home here in Kilkenny is a place I rarely can be found anymore.

While you end up missing college, being at home for a while even if only for a day has its perks. The bus journey home seems infinitely long. You look out the window, see endless lights, houses and unfamiliar roads for what seems like forever. Then slowly but surely you start recognizing places, even if it’s a roundabout, or the giant Tesco in Clonmel. Pointless yet significant at the same time, I start to perk up a little bit at the sight of them.

I always get a surge of happiness when we drive past the sign at the edge of Carrick on Suir which says “Welcome to Kilkenny”. I’m back where I belong, the county of black and amber, home of hurling contrary to what my Tipperary mother thinks. I’m still not used to seeing the Limerick flag everywhere. Home is constant even though I’m not constantly there anymore.

It’s usually dark by the time I arrive home on the bus, tired even though I’ve just been sitting on a bus for two and a half hours. I’ve lost count of how many buses I’ve taken since the start of the semester, all the trips have blurred into one. My dad always says he feels lonely the moment my twin and I leave the car to get on to the bus and I understand where he’s coming from. I’m making memories they’ll never be part of when I’m in Limerick and they are creating their own back home.

When I walk into the kitchen mother is waiting with a nice warm dinner ready for me. It feels like I’ve never left, my bedroom is still the same, everything is familiar yet it’s alien at the same time. My youngest sister will slouch up the corridor and try to slag me off but it’s lighthearted and it’s what we do to greet each other. I’ve found that since I moved away that my relationship with her has gotten better, we’ve stopped fighting about the silly, trivial things that siblings usually fight about, we sit around listening to music, she pretends that she isn’t interested in the stories I have about college but she’ll ask me anyway.

I’m sitting down writing this right now and I know that this time tomorrow I will be packed and ready to go back to Limerick. I love going back to college but it’s still strange to me that I spend more time away from home than at home in one week. I love going back, but I also hate the bus journey back up during the night, when all the street lights blur together in your vision and your legs are stiff from sitting in one position. Music is my companion for those two and a half hours.

This is my life now and I’ve come to appreciate the little things about home a whole lot more.

The University of Limerick is now a home away from home. Honestly.
I never ever thought I’d think of UL like that going into it. Not in a million years. I thought it’d be counting down the days feverishly until Friday came. It turned out to be the complete opposite. If you read my previous blog posts you’ll know that I was eighty percent dreading going to college because I thought that I wouldn’t be able to talk to anyone. I was so wrong!

Right now as I type I miss college. I’m so relieved I’m heading back tomorrow. I miss my new friends, the three girls I’ve met are so so lovely and if I didn’t have them I’d be lost.  I know my way around the college now , another aspect of going to college I thought I wouldn’t grasp. I can get to wherever I want to go so easily, in the beginning I gave myself an hour to find where I was going for my labs and tutorials. Now I’m fine.

My housemates are all lovely. The fact that I can say that truthfully is amazing. Every single one of them are friendly, I’ve had no trouble with any of them. We all get on and I’m really happy with the way things turned out. I’m guessing I’ll be really sad when we all leave each other at the end of the year. I’m so grateful for them for being so welcoming. My shyness with them has completely vanished.

Something I’ve noticed about college is that the people are completely different to secondary school students. College students are a lot more friendly, they are more open. I like that because I feel comfortable enough that I can approach these people. I’m still really shy with people I don’t know though and I want to combat that because I feel like it’s getting in the way of friendships and other relationships. So step by step I’m going to try be little more adventurous, a little braver and to step even more out of my comfort zone. I say that now with butterflies in my stomach.
But I feel that if I don’t I’ll regret it.

I want to explore Limerick city more. I’ve been there three times now and each time has been different. More than once I have been in the city while it was raining. I hope to get a few photos and post them here so you can see the city too. My friend Pamela introduced us to these amazing milkshakes called Moody Cow and they are heaven. Every time we go to the city we go and get them. If you’re in Limerick city I recommend popping in there. It takes all of two to three minutes for the workers there to whip up these unreal milkshakes. Try the Oreo one, the Wispa one or the Twirl. There are SO many options. Do it, it’s worth it.

Lately I’ve been obsessed with freckles. Freckles of all things?! Nothing annoys me more when I see a girl covering her face up with foundation when she’s got beautiful freckles. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with freckles on guys too. There’s this person I’ve been seeing around lately and they've got the most beautiful freckles. They make a person's face really come to life.

Thanks for still reading even though I’m not very active, I checked my stats and was pleasantly surprised!

Have any of you started college this year, or a new school?
People have been so great to me, coming forward with so much support and advice. I'm so happy with my choice of college, course and my attitude to college is so positive. I'm really really happy.