Extroverted and introverted. Black and white. Night and day. Increasingly it would seem we are drawn to put ourselves in social boxes, and draw neat squares that tally our personalities perfectly. The Myers-Briggs test is often praised for its ability to do that very thing, as if a computer can understand us better than we
On every Thursday night in Maynooth, throngs of students pack the Roost, dancing and drinking until the wee hours of the morning. Many of these students are girls who dress up for the occasion in heels and dresses designed to show off their figures. What, you might well wonder, is so bad about that? The
If at any time in the last week you’ve found yourself wanting to throttle the 43rd person that day to offer you a lollipop, you’ve probably had first-hand experience with Maynooth student politics. A long and wearisome affair, campaigning goes on for approximately two weeks. These two weeks can be summed up as a fortnight
You’re doing your best to sleep right now, but somehow you never seem to be the right height for these head rests. You try to strain your neck upwards, but it doesn’t help, so you let your neck loll forward. The only problem is now the girl beside you is playing music so loudly you
Anyone watching First Dates Ireland can testify to the awkwardness of the search for love. The inexplicably popular programme follows two young hopefuls, searching for love in a restaurant full of blind dates. The programme might seem like a simple case of cringe viewing, but it also taps into a deeper obsession with romance in
We’ve all been there. You arrive for your first day of classes, bright eyed and bushy tailed, a fresh cup of coffee in hand. Spreading your neon stationary over the table, you sit up straight in your specifically chosen seat and wait for your fully rested brain to engage with all the new knowledge you’re
The Gym So, your New Year’s resolutions hit a little hiccup when you saw the price of membership at Ben Dunne. And yes, you may have treated yourself to more than one Mars Bar while studying for the post-Christmas exams. But this is going to be your year, with a free gym you can
With the train wreck that is 2016 coming to an end, it can be easy to lose motivation in college. As more of your favourite celebrities die off, and world politics descend to pre-war levels, everyone is feeling dispirited. You’re tired, the mice are moving into your house, and you’ve been fending for yourself for
Santa Clause is one of the most popular figures of our childhood. With Rudolph, his plucky outcast reindeer by his side, he flies through the night and visits every home, rich or poor with gifts aplenty. This year children all over Ireland will set out a plate of cookies, a carrot and a cheeky glass
Last Friday the Harry Potter movie that nobody asked for came out in cinemas nationwide. The film has drawn a lot of favourable reviews, mostly due to the performance of Eddie Redmayne as Newt Scamander. Already far more successful than the summer flop of The Cursed Child, this movie seems to be turning the world
Throughout our college years we read hundreds of books, poring over tomes in the library, scrolling frantically through Gutenberg.com. But how often do the books we read fall into a category that could easily be called much of a muchness? Throughout the arts and humanities there is an emphasis on reading over lectures, and often
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single county GAA player, with road frontage, must be in want of a girlfriend. However little known the feelings or views of such a county player may be on his first entering a parish, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the locals, that
Belle, from Beauty and the Beast Before the new live action remake comes out and Emma Watson raises the bar for all of us, enjoy Belle in her cartoon state. Although originally a fairy tale, Belle is more commonly known for the classic Disney adaptation. The film is instantly recognisable, and if the chance for
They may be dusty, obscure and somewhat out of time, but for some reason, classic literature is still considered one of the highest art forms. There may be a tendency to brand all of it as worthless, because it has been written by “dead white men”, yet these books have endured, and many of their
As I sat on the promenade of a small beach in Co. Clare last weekend, a tiny minivan roared unexpectedly onto the scene. ‘UL Wolves’ was painted in wobbly blue letters, and the whole thing had seen better days. The ramshackle vehicle was piled high with a rainbow of overflowing kayaks in all shapes and
While watching movies might not always be considered “study”, there’s no doubt that we all need to take a break from time to time. Some of these films provide the encouragement we all need to make it to that 9 am lecture. Some just remind you that we’re lucky to not be in the real
