Refreshment, anyone?

In just under two weeks I will be sitting my first end of semester exam. My first taste of a real college exam. Where have the past thirteen weeks gone?

Originally I had planned to write a post at Christmas entitled “What I’ve Learned So Far,” or something along those lines. A few nights ago however, my housemate suggested the title above instead. I knew exactly what she meant. Rather than simply listing off all of the things I’ve learned thus far, I’m going to write about how things have changed for me, personally since my big move to Limerick.

…

Bitch. That was my first impression of her. The “her” I am referring to is one of my housemates. The first of the females in my house that I was to meet. Her room is opposite mine and for the first few weeks, I wished it wasn’t. I was so sure that we wouldn’t get along and that I’d end up hating her within weeks. What a promising start, eh?

Well, I couldn’t have been more horribly wrong. This girl who I initially despised is the best and closest friend I have now. It just goes to show how wrong we can be about people when we judge based on first impressions. Having said that, she also thought I was a bitch, so I don’t feel that bad.

My judgement is usually spot on when it comes to sussing people out, but I can hold my hands high and admit I made a balls of this one. The connection that has formed between us is crazy. I’ve only ever had one other friendship that can compare to this one, and that friendship lasted 11 years. I’ve never even compared any friendship to the 11-year one so to even make that comparison says so much. I still can’t really believe how lucky I got to be put into a house with this girl. Out of the thousands of people I could be living across from, I’m living across from her. Hashtag winning.

Seriously though, if you lived with us you’d understand why I’m so dumbstruck by it all. It couldn’t be any more obvious that we get along like a house on fucking fire. It’s like we have the same mind, just split in two and in different bodies. We have identical sense of humours, meaning we spend most of our time laughing rather than studying. I’m smiling now because I can remember the first time I knew our personalities clicked. We were watching Forrest Gump at the part towards the end of the movie when Lt. Dan introduces his fiancée, Susan. I don’t know exactly what we said to each other, all I know is we laughed hysterically and uncontrollably for the rest of the movie. Not only are our sense of humours in sync, we literally say what each other are thinking ALL OF THE TIME. It’s no wonder we find it impossible to close our bedroom doors at night – we never, ever run out of things to talk about or laugh at. I truly mean it when I say I couldn’t have gotten any luckier if I tried.

My luck didn’t run out there, though. I have also been blessed with an incredible new group of friends. Between my house, house 38 and a few stragglers we found along the way, the banter is always in plentiful supply. A day hasn’t gone by where we haven’t had the usual visitors, or made the tedious twenty-metre trip to 38 ourselves.

When I was moving to Limerick the one thing I absolutely did not want was housemates that knew each other. You can imagine how horrified I was on the realisation that three of my housemates went to secondary school together, and another was from the same county as those three. I immediately assumed I would be isolated from their group because I was the outsider from Kerry. Of course there was the sixth housemate whom I had been banking on but by the end of week one he had bonded so well with the others that I began to think he, too, was in fact from Clare.

Yet again I was wrong about the whole thing. They are honestly the nicest, most genuine group of people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, not to mind living with. I know that invitations to visit them in Clare over Christmas are sincere and not only that, my desire to visit them is also sincere. These are people I truly believe (and hope) I will be friends with for the rest of my life. Fuck it, sure I’ve already asked one of them to be my maid of honour! Not everyone that lands into college in first year gets on with their housemates as well as I do, and I will never take that for granted.

Meeting so many new people has had a massive impact on the person I am now compared to the person I was four months ago. That may sound ridiculous because of how short of a space four months is, but it’s the absolute truth. I feel so fresh and renewed, but most of all I feel untainted. I came here with a blank sheet of paper. No marks from my past followed me here. College has really allowed me to fully close (and lock) the door I had spent six years walking through. I was finally able to ditch the oxygen tank I had been relying on in secondary school and learn to breathe fresh air. What a difference it has made.

Even just living away from home has done so much for me, personally. I know 110% I was not ready to leave home last year, so thank Jesus for that extra year in school. This year, however, was the right time for the change to happen. Everything has fallen into place so perfectly. In fact, I honestly couldn’t have even scripted this; it’s better than any storyline I could write. The transition from living in Killarney to living in Limerick has happened so naturally that it’s almost as if I’ve been waiting my whole life for this. For the life I’m currently living. The best life I’ve ever known. 

And that is something worth writing about.