Where does time go?

So it's already November and my first semester is well underway. What have I been up to? Well from settling into a new house, getting involved with NUIG's homework club and being auditor of the Journalism Society, as well as keeping on top of my essays and assignments, life has been pretty hectic.

Firstly, the house. I got so lucky- living with three brilliant housemates, in a comfortable four bedroom house, a twenty minute walk from college. Realistically, I couldn't ask for much more.

Academics. So far, so happy. I can't complain with the way things are going- Italian is definitely my stronger subject but if I push myself with English (and avail of the right advice and support of course) I hope I can get a really strong grade. I'm also writing for the SIN newspaper, which is a great outlet for my writerly urges.

Mental health. This has been keeping up really well. I'm trying to look out for triggers or signs that stress or anxiety is getting the better of me. I find anything related to the Journalism Soc really stressful because a lot of the responsibility rests on my shoulders, but then I remember how much I'm getting out of it and I try to take a break whenever things get too much. As for college work, obviously it comes with stress, but that's to be expected. If things get tough up to exams, I'll try to use my coping techniques.

Reading. Obviously, I'm reading books for English but I'm also trying to fit in a bit of time for personal reading too. An upcoming review will be for Lianne Moriarty's brilliant 'Big Little Lies' and I'm currently reading the (excellent, so far) 'Oh My God, What an Aisling' novel, which I'll post a review for.

Another thing that's keeping me busy is preparing for my JET application. (Again, this is something I want to dedicate a whole blog post to).

All in all, I'm pretty happy (albeit busy!) and feeling optimistic in general. Hopefully, I'll get around to writing more blog posts in the next couple of months.