Holly's note
From CTYIwiki
The shower washed CTYI off of my skin. My shower. My regular sized shower, with doors instead of a flimsy curtain. Not that one in DCU that now looks like someone was brutally murdered in it, thanks to our red body paint escapades.
When I woke up this morning, Susan wasn't at the door and Phiona wasn't brushing her teeth. I had hash browns for breakfast, just like I would if I was still there. But I was almost disappointed when they tasted good.
It's weird. But it's okay.
It's sad that my CTYI days are over, I can't lie and say it isn't bothering me. But I'm not exactly depressed. I'm grateful, and I think it's time to show it. It's time to thank you all.
I've done four courses in CTYI. It must be said that the content of each course, the instructors, the TAs, the field trips and most of all my classmates have been amazing to say the very least. Let's hear it for:
- Veterinary Science '07
- Writing For Life '08
- Criminology '09
- Social Psychology B '10
Ever since my first visit, CTYI has been my safe place. The place where when asked to describe me, people say things like 'confident', 'funny', 'truly kind' and on a more irritating note 'a cute motherly button'. It's a place where when two guys decide to insult me they come up with 'your breasts are too big', 'you look too good in my hat', 'you're too attractive', 'you're too cute' and 'your lisp is too sexy' (thank you Rodger and Adam!). It's a place where I feel popular and influential, because when I'm there that's exactly what I am. It's the place where I can truly be myself and know there are no reprecussions.
I think I summed up CTYI most well in class in Social Psych one day when we were all trying to prove we're anticonformists (thereby conforming in the process!). When I'm in school I conform because I have to. In CTYI I conform because I want to. Thanks to the class for applauding!!
Hell, thanks to all of you. Every single one of you. Whether you're someone I spoke to once in '07 or one of my closest friends from '10. Thanks to the classmates from all those courses, thanks to the girls I shared RA groups with, thanks to everyone I danced with at the discos, everyone I had a floorgy or corridorgy with, thanks to the staff, thanks to everyone I did activities with and everyone who made me smile, aka all of you!!
I feel I should thank some individuals too. Thank you to Katie, the first friend I made there. Thank you Christina, for your epic Vet Sci comradery. Thank you to Scotty, for a year of MSN and Skype everyday and your general friendship. Thank you Karla for being consistently there for me since our first encounter at a pizza party. Thank you Ryan for being and remaining a truly fantastic boyfriend. Thank you Pádraig for helping me keep the Cork flag flying, we're such rebels! Thank you Jesus for being my saviour. Thank you Ciara for being my young whore. Thank you Lizzie for being my darlin' Lizzifer and a damn good spoon. Thank you Mick Dwyer for stalking me and then becoming the most insulting yet wonderful garda prostitute the world has ever seen. Thank you Alley for happily becoming as close to me as my shadow in the space of about thirty seconds. Thank you Sam for being my agony aunt. Thank you Allan for being a loveable bastard who can read me as if I'm the world's least complicated book. Thank you Adam for being my laundry buddy FOR LIFE! Thank you Freddie for becoming a Power Ranger with me. Thank you Sonja, Davin and Rodger for allowing us to convert you to PowerRangerism. And last but certainly not least, thank you Phiona for being the most wonderful roommate i've ever had (skin on skin!). Oh, I've gotta thank Cian too, for giving me Big Booty Bitches on CD :P Majorly sound! So thank you all for playing the leading roles in my amazing CTYI experiences, or giving me a CD in Cian's case!
But if CTYI is that wonderful why am I still functioning now that my days there are over? It's a simple truth that Phiona helped me to realise. CTYI isn't really a place, it's a state of mind. When I'm feeling like crap, I can remind myself that there are people who'd kill to be hanging out with me right now, people who look at me and understand, people who're always gonna think of me as that bubbly Cork girl 'with a smile for everyone'. And there are a lot of them.
CTYI isn't over. It's in my mind, it's in my heart and it's in the eyes of every CTYIer who contributed to twelve amazing weeks in my life. Thank you all.
