Home Away From Home

First week of lectures done! If that statement seems a little premature, it's not - I have Fridays off. Lucky me, eh?

Already I'm beginning to feel at home here. Isn't that great? Don't get me wrong, I'm not Larkfield's number one fan or anything. What I mean is that I'm starting to feel like I belong at DCU. The vast majority of people I have encountered have been really nice and friendly. I've started to make friends with people on my course, not to mention a Journalism student as well. Hopefully this will continue with clubs and societies, though most of the people I've been hanging out with are joining the same ones as me anyway.

So, what's it like being a Multimedia student? Pretty good so far! I'm studying four modules this semester: Multimedia Studies, Photography and Design, Authoring and Introduction to Social Studies. I'll explain a bit about each of them. Multimedia Studies is a weekly lecture which I have on Monday afternoons at 4pm - and that's my one and only lecture that day! It's basically theory which covers loads of different areas relating to graphic and lens based media forms. It seems pretty interesting, though at the moment we've only briefly touched on it. Photography and Design speaks for itself. We're learning how to use professional cameras and software like PhotoShop, and as well as the practical element there's also a lecture covering things like the history and evaluation of photography. I'm not sure how good I'm going to be at that, but we'll see how it goes. I must admit I'm not looking forward to my photography projects and presentations. Social Studies is a lecture that we share with students on two other courses - Communication Studies and Contemporary Culture and Society. As its name suggests, it's to do with sociology and concepts such as Functionalism, Marxism, Feminism and Structuralism. It's pretty interesting stuff and reminds me of some elements of studying history at school, but I'm not sure it's going to be one of my favourite parts of the course. Finally, Authoring is a module in which we learn to combine different media forms (such as sound or video) to create animations, interactive programs and menus.

So far, the most interesting module to me is Authoring, which is ironic considering the second year Multimedia students who spoke to us last week led us to believe it was horrible. It does seem challenging, but that's what you would expect from a course like this. We're currently learning to use Flash, but unfortunately we haven't been able to use the software ourselves yet because in the Mac labs we were unable to log in. Our lecturer has been showing us how everything works, but I'm looking forward to actually being able to try it out myself.

Next week I'll be able to join clubs and socities. Exciting! First on my list is the Media Production Society (known as MPS) which consists of the radio and TV stations, DCUfm and DCUtv. I've always had a huge fascination with radio, especially since I did my work experience in a station in Waterford while I was at school, so I'm dying to get involved in that. In fact, yesterday I made my debut on the air! I went to a meeting with MPS in which we were shown around the radio and TV studios, and a few of us were interviewed about how we'd like to get involved. Pretty much everyone on my course, and indeed the other courses in the School of Communications, seems to be joining MPS. As they point out, if we want careers in the media (and obviously we do, otherwise we wouldn't be on these courses in the first place) getting involved with MPS is essential. I'm also planning on joining the Music Society, as I need an outlet for my guitar playing while at university! As for what else I'm going to join - who knows!

Oh, and the oven seems to be a little bit kinder to me now. Maybe MasterChef isn't such a bad idea after all...*

 So that's it for this week. Now just wait til the projects get going! I'll barely have time to breathe.

*Nah. Still a bad idea.

Orientation and the Oven Saga

Orientation for me is officially done and dusted. It's been quite an eventful week! I've started meeting people from my course, become acquainted with the layout of the campus and have even had a dramatic battle with the oven in my kitchen (okay, so maybe 'dramatic' is a bit strong, but it makes the whole saga sound that bit more interesting than it actually is).

First up, I had a session in the Helix on Wednesday morning. For those of you who aren't familiar with Dublin generally, the Helix is a well-known venue which often hosts gigs, plays, musicals etc. And it just happens to be part of the DCU campus, which is really cool. Anyway, there were well over a thousand of us packed into the hall and we were given a talk by the President of the university as well as other staff members, plus we were treated to performances from DCU's Drama and Dance societies.

Next we got to meet our lecturers and tutors. This was good as it gave us a chance to hear about our course and what we can expect. The timetable keeps changing though, so I don't yet know for definite how exactly the days will be structured. However, I do know that Multimedia doesn't have too many contact hours. We will of course be expected to put in a lot of extra research and study in our free hours though, and since we have continuous assessment rather than exams, we'll have a lot of important assignments to work on. It'll be hard work and challenging, but hopefully it'll be good fun too. If you enjoy what you're studying, it doesn't seem like work. But enough of my philosophical crap!

Before I go any further, I must mention that oven. It's volatile! It seems like a pretty old one, and it takes an age to pre-heat. My first attempt at culinary perfection (ahem) came on Monday when I decided to make pizza and waffles. Yep, very healthy... I'm not exactly going to win MasterChef anytime soon. I followed all the instructions properly and still the oven burned everything. Yes, the oven did it. Not me! It was still edible, but it meant that my relationship with the oven did not get off to the greatest of starts. I had more successful meals after that, but I still don't like it. But who knows? Maybe we can learn to get along. Stay tuned for part two of Sarah's Oven Saga.

Anyway, back to my original story! All the School of Communications students were gathered together - that's Multimedia, Communication Studies and Journalism - and then we were split into our indvidual course groups. We met our programme chair and one of our lecturers and then some second and third year students spoke to us about the course and answered people's questions.

Today was a much more interesting day. This morning started off with a talk on Expectations of University Life. We were given some very useful packs containing loads of information on anything we would ever need to know about DCU, plus a free student diary, which was handy because we were advised to get one for our course anyway. After that I headed over to collect my student ID card. I now have a very unflattering photo to carry around with me on my card for the next three years!

I then met up with one of my coursemates who I had been in contact with online for the past couple of weeks. We hung around in the bar of The Hub for a while before waiting for the campus tour, organised by the Students' Union, to start. In the meantime I got to meet a few more of my coursemates, and they were all lovely people. We had a good laugh. I got to know more people today than I did in the previous four days! The tour itself took a while longer than expected to start, but we all had a good time in the end. Even though they ran out of goodie bags to give us. Boo hiss!

All in all, today was pretty busy. I'm looking forward to the start of lectures now, and although it'll take me a while to completely settle in and feel at home on campus, I'm feeling pretty good about it all so far. Tomorrow I'm heading home for the weekend to see my family and my dog, who I miss like mad despite only being away from him for a few days. It's just not the same without him running around the place! I also plan to buy a microwave before I go back on Sunday night. I'm not saying it'll solve all my problems, but it'll be pretty handy!

Settling In

I'm sitting here in my new bedroom in Larkfield, looking out the window at lecture halls and people walking by for orientation. Mine doesn't start until Wednesday morning, which explains why I'm not out there at the moment. I'm currently experiencing mixed emotions. I can't wait to actually get stuck in to my course, but at the same time I'm trying to deal with the overwhelming apprehension at the prospect of living away from home - even though, technically speaking, as I'm in Dublin, I already am home.

The weekend was a blur of packing and last-minute shopping. To say I was nervous on the drive up yesterday afternoon would be a massive understatement. I was gripped with a brief but very real moment of terror the minute my parents left and I was on my own in a quiet apartment, but I've kind of adjusted now. First impressions? The campus is a nice size (although I'm counting on getting lost for a while) and very modern. I immediately fell in love with The Hub (that's the Students' Union building). The bar is lovely and it just looks like such a nice place.

As for Larkfield itself, it's not as bad as I was expecting it to be. The rooms aren't quite as enclosed as people would have you believe and it's clean and comfortable. I've seen far worse! My bed is comfortable, though I did wake up this morning with a pain in my leg, which I always seem to get whenever I sleep in a single bed! Spoiled or what!

My only complaint is the size of the kitchen. It's true, you can barely fit two people in there. I haven't tried cooking yet, but I hope it works out okay!

I haven't seen all that much of my flatmate, but she seems pretty nice. As far as friend-making goes, I've been unsuccessful so far. There was a rave for first years in the courtyard of Larkfield last night, but although I hung around there for a while and spoke to a few people briefly, I didn't exactly click with anyone. Plenty of time I suppose. I'm not a party animal anyway, so I expect that my friendships will come through my course as well as clubs and societies.

The good news is I'm meeting up with a couple of people from my course in The Hub at lunchtime on Wednesday, before we meet the rest of our group properly. That should be a good chance to get to know some people.

My orientation finishes up on Thursday evening at six, so I might go back home for the weekend before lectures start depending on if there's anything happening or not. I don't know how true it is, but I've heard that the campus is extremely quiet from Friday to Sunday evenings due to people going home for the weekends, not to mention the fact that the bar isn't open. I'll see how it goes.

More updates on university life as it progresses!

University Survival Kit

Last week my best friend gave me the most original birthday present ever - a university survival kit. It means that I will leave home next weekend fully equipped to deal with all that life throws at the unsuspecting first year student, from Fresher's Flu (it does exist apparently) to cravings for baked beans (or does that one apply only to me?) and all manner of crises in between. On that note, I have decided to share with you my list of the ten things I couldn't survive university without - not including the obvious things like money or bed linen.

1. Baked Beans - Well, I did mention this above. You can gather from the fact that a tin of beans was included in my university survival kit that they play a crucial role in my everyday life. It's also an indication of just how well my best friend knows me. When I found out that there are no microwaves supplied in Larkfield (I'll just have to go out and buy one) I momentarily panicked - what about my beans? Sorry, but I think they taste inferior when cooked in a pot. That's just me. Anyway, they are my comfort food. Where other people would turn to ice-cream for support, I would seek solace in a tin of beans. At a dinner table I'd be very easy to spot. I'd be the girl with an alarmingly large quantity of beans on her plate, and would then be seen asking for a second helping. I'm a lost cause.

2. Comedy DVDs - Now this is very, very important. I never used to think I would miss not having a television at all. But that was before I became addicted to afternoon re-runs of Yes Minister. Now there's going to be quite a big gap in that department, and my comedy DVDs are going to fill it. Classic British comedy is one of my nerdy fixations, so believe me when I say my apartment is going to be full of it. From Morecambe and Wise to Basil Fawlty and beyond, they'll all be there to stick on when I need a good laugh.

3. Music - This one should be pretty obvious. Everyone who knows me knows how important music is to me. I'd bring my entire CD collection along if I thought it could all fit, but shelf space looks rather limited, and I think my comedy box sets will take up enough room as it is. So I'll have to make do with my iPod, which contains most of it anyway. And god knows when I might need to put some headphones on!

4. Guitar - I haven't decided whether I'm going to bring my Les Paul or my Casino (any excuse to show off, eh?) but I can't bring them both, so it's one or the other. I also have no idea how I'm going to fit an amplifier into my shoebox-style apartment. One thing's for sure, I need a guitar to hand. I'm probably going to join the Music Soc, so it'll be nice to play with people. I also have a habit of dreaming about chord progressions or riffs at night, and frantically trying to remember them the next morning. So yeah. Guitar is pretty essential.

5. Photographs - I like to be surrounded by photographs even when I'm at home, so it'll be even more important when I'm not. I've got some nice photos of times with friends which I'm bringing with me. I've also got a couple of my dog, and they're coming with me too. You have no idea how much I'll miss my dog. I will of course be going home for a weekend here and there, but still. It's very odd not having a dog around the place every day if you're used to it.

6. Skype - Easily the best invention of the 21st century. Skype has been a life-saver to me on numerous occasions. It's a handy way to keep in touch with the parents and siblings and tell them the goings-on without having to ring them and use up credit. I know, I'm a tight-wad! Seriously though, a Skype call is ten times better than a phone call, as you can actually see the person you're talking to. It'll also be so useful for chatting to my friends from home while they're at university too.

7. Books - Honestly, right now I have no idea how much time I will have on my hands for reading purposes during the academic year. I mean, I have plenty of free hours, but I'll be busy with assignments and the like, not to mention clubs and societies. It's far easier to squeeze a DVD into a busy schedule than it is to read for leisure. But I'm hoping I'll be able to do it, as it's nice to transport yourself off to another world for a while.

8. Chocolate - The ultimate reward after a long day (okay, that's just a pathetic excuse to attempt to justify the fact that I eat too much chocolate). I don't know what else to say about it really. We all know how heavenly it is.

9. Football - I'm not talking about actually playing football, although I'm hoping this will be a big part of university life for me. I'm talking about watching it. Premer League, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League... it's so important for me to be able to watch Manchester United. I believe DCU has a United supporters society, so I'm definitely going in search of that.

10. YouTube - For everything else I can't watch due to the absence of a television!

Now, at some stage this week I actually have to start packing!

My Birthday and Other Thoughts

It was my birthday on Saturday. I'm now 20 years old, which means that I will have to start behaving like a proper adult. Easier said than done! Seriously though, people keep asking me whether I feel any older. I think it's a pretty silly question. How can I possibly feel any older than I did three days ago? I will admit, however, that when I actually stopped and gave it some serious consideration I felt a bit dizzy and had to sit down in the nearest chair! Ah well, I'll get used to it.

Anyway, I had a much better birthday than last year. Mainly because it was a weekend and everyone was at home this time. Last year both my parents were working and my sisters were at school, so it was a little on the dull side until my best friend rescued me and we met up in town. This time I had a nice day at home with a few presents and a chocolate brownie cake that my sister made for me. I absolutely love brownies so it was the logical solution!

Today I met up with a few of my friends in town. It was really good to catch up with them again, as it had been way too long since I'd last seen some of them. It was also nice to be able to contribute something to the conversations about university! Although I must admit some of the scientific terms went way over my head - two of my friends are science students and one is a medical student! I seem to know quite a high number of science students - second only to those training to be teachers! I wouldn't care to study it myself, as it seems pretty intense, not to mention the fact that I wasn't much good at the science subjects at school. But I admire their ability to do it, and they seem to love it too, in spite of how difficult it is.

Speaking of degrees... getting close now! Two weeks from now I will be living in my new apartment on campus, doing god knows what. My registration information came in the post last week, including my timetable for orientation. It doesn't start until the Wednesday, so I'll be spending the first two days trying to make some friends. A daunting prospect! I have to register for my course online this week and my email and portal services will be activated 24 hours after that. I'll be able to view my timetable for the semester then too, which I'm really excited about. Knowing my luck, though, there will be a few nine o'clock starts in there! I'm going to have the following modules during the first semester: Introduction to Social Studies, Photography and Design 1, Sound Production 1, Multimedia Studies, Authoring and Introduction to Communication Theory. It'll be hard work, of course, but fun stuff nonetheless.

Can't believe it's only two weeks away! Aaahhh!

P.S. - My culinary skills are improving! Last week I conquered a long-standing fear of cooking chicken for myself. It had to be done, since I just love chicken. I have always been terrified of giving myself food poisoning, as we all know how disastrous the consequences of eating undercooked chicken can be. But I'm pleased to say it turned out perfectly. I'll never be a gourmet chef, but it's a nice accomplishment!

Why Multimedia?

I've decided it's about time I explained a little about how I came to this point. Why did I choose to study Multimedia, and why did I choose DCU? I haven't really gone into the specifics yet, hence why I'm doing this post.

To answer the first part of that question, it's an area I've always had a huge interest in without ever quite being sure why. Maybe it's down to a love of computers and technology in general, or maybe it's that I've always had a creative streak. All I know is that I wanted to study something that would allow me to combine the two if I could. In that sense, Multimedia fit the bill perfectly.

When I was in Transition Year at school, I spent a week doing work experience in Beat 102-103, a radio station in Waterford. I absolutely loved it and learned so much. I got to use new software and do some basic editing, put together some sweeps (which ended up being broadcast) and sit in on broadcasts. I came away from the experience thinking, "I wouldn't mind doing this for a living" and ultimately it was an idea that I returned to when considering Multimedia.

Audio production is an area I can see myself specialising in for the reasons above, but what sold Multimedia to me was the fact that I also get to learn about so many other things. I don't know how good I'll be at things like video production, photography and animation, but they are certainly all things I am interested in and would find a lot of fun. I'll also get to learn about web design, which I'm fascinated by and have always wanted to pursue, even if only as a hobby. In short, it's the perfect course to suit my interests.

Which brings me to the second part of the question - why DCU? Well, as I've just mentioned, the course was everything I wanted. I looked at similar courses in other institutions, but nothing appealed to me as much as the one in DCU. With other places, there always seemed to be something that would hold me back. For example, a focus on maths. With DCU I was lucky enough to be able to meet the entry requirement for maths, which was a C3 in Ordinary Level. I was also relieved to find out that there is no maths involved in the course, which is just as well because maths was my weakest subject at school. I was utterly hopeless at it.

I always knew that I wanted to move back to Dublin some day. Within Ireland, I can't think of anywhere better to be a student (though as it's my hometown, I would say that). It's a great city and there's always something to do. But why did DCU appeal to me over the other Dublin universities? Apart from having the exact course I wanted, which the others did not, it just seemed to have more to offer me. I wouldn't want to knock the likes of UCD or Trinity College, as I have friends who are studying at both and I'm sure they'll all get great degrees there, but they just weren't for me. Trinity is so prestigious that I would feel extremely intimidated, while UCD has always struck me as a little too overcrowded. DCU, on the other hand, seems compact enough to feel like a community, while also being a top modern university. I have heard nothing but good things about it from people who have studied there. The support they provide to students is supposed to be excellent. It is ranked in the top four per cent of universities worldwide and has an excellent record in terms of employability of graduates. Basically, I have no doubt that I will get a great education there.

Living on Campus

Now that I've been accepted into DCU, yesterday I received an offer of on campus accommodation. There are two places that first years can live on campus - Larkfield Apartments and Hampstead Apartments. There are several differences between the two. Larkfield is inhabited completely by first year students, while in Hampstead first years live among second and third years. The bathrooms in Larkfield are shared while the bathrooms in Hampstead are ensuite. Hampstead has a living room area and Larkfield doesn't (but there are common rooms). The shared kitchen area in Hampstead is bigger that the one in Larkfield and includes a dining area, which Larkfield does not have. Finally, there are groups of five people per apartment in Hampstead, whereas in Larkfield there are two people per apartment.

Most of these differences don't bother me much, but I put Hampstead down on my application purely for the fact that I wanted an ensuite. Alas I ended up getting Larkfield. I've never been keen on the idea of a shared bathroom. Sharing a toilet doesn't worry me in the slightest, but sharing a shower does concern me a little bit. Not because of cleanliness or anything like that - I'm sure the person I'll be sharing with will be fine in that respect. It's just the idea of having to wait a long time to have a shower if it's in use, or keeping the other person waiting and having to hurry up. Still, at least I'll only be sharing with one other person. It would be far worse with a bigger group of people. Of course we're all used to sharing bathrooms at home, but that's with our families, so I at least hope that I'll have a nice flatmate who I can hopefully make friends with, because it would be far easier to share a bathroom with someone I'm comfortable around.

I've also been hearing more than a few horror stories from people who have lived in Larkfield. The main complaint is that the rooms are so small it's akin to living in a shoebox or a prison cell, but personally I don't really care that much about the size as long as it's clean and comfortable. It is university accommodation after all, so there's no such thing as luxury. Another complaint is about security, rules and ridiculous fines for anything and everything. I know that rules have to be enforced, but I've read through the contract and I must say some of the rules are pretty stupid. It looks as if they can fine you for the slightest thing, so I won't be giving them any excuse if I can help it. The third thing is the noise - now, there's always going to be noise and parties in any place that houses a couple of hundred students, but at the same time I hope I'll at least be able to sleep! I've also heard that it helps to be an extrovert, which I am not. I'm a person who likes a bit of alone time once in a while. That's not to say I'm antisocial - I love hanging out with friends and having fun - but I'm not the kind of person who loves partying and getting wasted. Still, there are plenty of clubs and societies, so I'm sure it won't be a problem finding other fun things to do.

It's not exactly encouraging to hear all these tales of how 'horrible' Larkfield supposedly is. Sure, it's probably far from the nicest place to live on campus, but I don't exactly have a lot of choice do I? At least I have somewhere to live. That's the most important thing. The rent for semester one has been paid today, so that's that. Anyway, there are some pros to living in Larkfield as well as cons. The fact that it's first years only would make it easier to make friends, I'd imagine, because everyone's in the same boat. Sharing facilities with your flatmate would mean that you'd have to get to know them, so that's another good excuse to make a friend. Plus, the shared facilities mean that Larkfield is a bit cheaper to live in than Hampstead, and everyone likes saving money right? Best of all, it's right at the centre of campus, next to the library and the Student Union and literally only a couple of minutes' walk from lectures.

And anyway, no matter what happens, at least I'm guaranteed an ensuite next year! ;)