![\"2B-Library-cracks-down-on-noisy-readers\"](\"http:\/\/www.anfocal.ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/2B-Library-cracks-down-on-noisy-readers-570x427.jpg\")
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By Evie Kearney<\/p>\n
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Somehow it is Week 9 and I\u2019m not entirely sure how this happened.<\/p>\n
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When I came to UL the First Seven Weeks initiative was there to help with every problem, big or small, and I remember thinking that surely I wouldn\u2019t need the help for seven whole weeks.<\/p>\n
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After the first seven weeks I should be completely aware of my surroundings and be a fountain of UL knowledge right? Wrong.<\/p>\n
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It\u2019s Week 9 and I still go into the main building with the fear that I\u2019ll never return.<\/p>\n
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That\u2019s not to say I\u2019m not in the swing of things, I know my timetable and I\u2019m fairly sure I\u2019m doing the right things for my modules (or at least I hope).<\/p>\n
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Studying at university is on a completely different level to studying for the Leaving Cert where I would sit down with a sheet after school, learn it by heart and write it from memory for an A1.<\/p>\n
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At university there is no \u2018after school\u2019. It\u2019s more of a \u2018between hours, before societies, during hangover\u2019 type thing. This means it\u2019s difficult to get into a routine and it is something that I have struggled with.<\/p>\n
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Studying had been a foreign word thus far but with assignments and assessments raining down on me I decided to give it a go, and it really wasn\u2019t all that bad\u2026until it was.<\/p>\n
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I underestimated how hard it would be to sit in one place for a few hours without being on Reddit or downloading Candy Crush (again). It\u2019s even worse when your Facebook is bombarded with event invites to table quizzes and themed nights out that seem unbearably tempting.<\/p>\n
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My favourite distraction is reading everything on Buzzfeed and convincing myself it\u2019s technically some sort of study because it\u2019s technically some sort of journalism.<\/p>\n
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It doesn\u2019t help that I find the library intimidating. I\u2019ve stepped in there twice this semester and found the fumbling for my student card and the search for a seat not worth the outcome of finding no seat and swiftly leaving again.<\/p>\n
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I suppose it could be a good study space, if you enjoy scavenger hunts and the sound of phones vibrating on wooden desks.<\/p>\n
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Aside from the academics, I\u2019ve fallen into college life with considerable ease. When people warned me that I would join ten societies and only keep up two they were wrong \u2013 I joined five and have kept up one.<\/p>\n
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I promise myself at the beginning of each week that this will be the week I start playing the badminton that I paid \u20ac10 for, but that\u2019s yet to come true.<\/p>\n
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I\u2019ve also accepted that being broke is part of college life but I thought I was relatively smart with money before I came here. Turns out it\u2019s easy to be smart with money when you\u2019re in school all day and come home to a dinner you didn\u2019t have to cook or buy yourself.<\/p>\n
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With Christmas just around the corner it would probably be wise to tone down my spending on random nights out and 4-in-1\u2019s and save up some cash for when I\u2019m stuck back in Tipperary for more than a month.<\/p>\n
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I\u2019m lucky (or unlucky, depending how you look at it) to be in a course that\u2019s mainly continuous assessment, meaning small bits are done here and there during the semester and I\u2019ll only have one exam at Christmastime.<\/p>\n
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On paper I have a lot of time to spare but in reality an hour off doesn\u2019t allow for much more than some lunch and a scroll through Yik Yak. I\u2019ve been keeping myself busy with everything but study and honestly that will be changing sometime soon.<\/p>\n
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Although my first year QCA will not count towards my overall degree, it\u2019s still pretty important to do well to get a good co-op placement and, obviously, I won\u2019t make it to the second year without passing the first.<\/p>\n
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The First Seven Weeks initiative is over and I think that means \u201cBut I\u2019m new!\u201d is no longer a viable excuse for my shortcomings. It\u2019s definitely time to get down to business so I can enjoy the long Christmas break without worrying about results, and head in to semester two with a positive attitude and at least a notion of this studying thing.<\/p>\n