I failed my NCT on Saturday. I won’t discuss that today, as that is an obvious moan. Instead, I will share my experience of returning to college on Friday.

I graduated from DCU in 2017. I don’t think I have been back on the grounds properly since. Given that Billie and I have been going on many adventures, I knew it was only a matter of time before he and I returned to the old stomping ground where we met.

We met in the city centre in the pissing rain. My Dad had a difficult time convincing me not to go. It’s only water. We took the bus to Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, another place I hadn’t visited before. Billie swears it’s bigger than Dundrum Shopping Centre. Having now gone to both, I would say Blanchardstown is more spacious. We went to Bunsen, a burger place I had gone to before. I was asked how I wanted my burger cooked. I said medium well because that’s how I like my steak. It turns out I don’t like my burgers that way. It was delicious, regardless.

After trying to see if the weather would ease up a bit, we headed for DCU. We entered on the Collins Avenue entrance side of the campus. That is where the giant DCU sculpture is. Seeing that was the first verge of tears I experienced on that day. Unfortunately, the weather didn’t get any better. We did our best, traipsing across the mall, now fitted with lovely outdoor furniture that wasn’t there in my day. I am not bitter, I swear. I am, however, bitter about the now-finished state-of-the-art Student Centre. Billie and I had to deal with the intense construction of the centre for half of our time in DCU. I will be honest when I saw I exclaimed, “Oh f*ck you and your nice student centre!” Again, not that bitter.

The one thing that thankfully stayed the same was the campus bar, The NuBar. We sat among all the students at least ten years younger than us and had a couple of pints. We had a drink neither of us was too familiar with, but it looked to be all the rage on the campus, X Lite. When Billie came back with them, we immediately noticed how ice-cold they were. I cracked mine open and got to work. Billie did the same, but there was a problem. His liquid was frozen solid. We were both dumbfounded. Billie persevered, though. After a couple of rounds, he could finally drink some of it, at least.

We saw some familiar faces among the staff in the on-campus shop and bar. It felt weird to think they stayed while we left six years ago. Life goes on, as they say. I would give anything to go back, though. College was, in retrospect, the best time of my life. I am thinking about going back in the near future. I will be older. I will be a bit wiser. But honestly, it only feels like yesterday that I was starting there two days after my 19th birthday, feeling like I accomplished something for once.

Thanks, DCU. Thank you for reading. Thank you for your time.