Editorial: The Long and Winding Road

While you’d probably expect me to say that time really has flown, and that it ‘just seems like yesterday when we put out our Freshers Issue’, and most of the time you’d be right to presume that I’d be throwing out clichés left & right...but not today. No, my friends, this year has seemed long. This is the second to last issue of the UCC Express this year, and it may have been the longest year of my life. The last month, for example, seems to have been at least 4 decades long. Maybe time just seems slower when you don’t sleep…And I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s had a long, tiring few weeks. The SU Elections have just finished up (or, depending on what happens ten minutes after our print deadline, they’re still going...) and boy is that not a fun time. Regardless of how you feel about the individuals, their ability or their qualification, you have to admire the willingness to put oneself out there, especially for Martin, Art and Katie, who’ve had an extended stay in the public eye (which typically means more personal insults & bullying online) due to the appeal dealies; when I ran for SU many years ago (I was on it in Stanton’s year, I’m that old) I was unopposed, and I was a bag of nerves on the night, so i can only imagine what going through four counts is like. To the eventual president, to the other officers, I wish you the best.If you were to listen to any song while reading this next bit, you might as well make it that Baz Luhrmann spoken-word track that went to number one in Ireland, somehow. Look after your health, and it’ll look after you. Sleep regularly, even if you have an assignment due at 9 and you haven’t even started, you’ll do better work after a quick nap. Eat food - you’d be surprised how much people forget to eat when they’re in college. If you feel ill, go to a doctor; maybe it’s a cold or flu this time, but it mightn’t. You’re only young once, but it isn’t a license to go mad. Lastly, be kind to each other.Until next week, true believers.