A Newbies Guide to the Gym

My New Years’ Resolution this year was to get fit. It’s not the most original Resolution but since I have already paid for gym membership I am going to have to use it sometime.

The gym is packed. You can clearly see the different cliques on the floor. There are the fit, business women who look like they come here every lunch break and maybe attend a Pilates class once or twice a week.

Then there’s the ‘Pros’- which are essentially just a group of chaps who like looking in the full-length mirror while lifting weights and talk about the ‘power rack’, whatever that is.

I go over to the group where I feel most at ease, the fellow Newbies. Easy to spot out because they’re looking at the gym equipment like it’s from Mars-which is exactly how I feel.

The actual workout gets off to a slow start. I spend most of my time trying to read the instructions on the damn machines and I can see a queue of irate regulars lining up behind me. I quickly jump off the machine and go to another one.

It’s an even harder contraption to manage- a leg press thingy and I manage to get tangled up in it somehow. If anyone is watching through security CCTV cameras I’d say they are having a good laugh.

After untangling myself from the machine I go over to the treadmill. Ah, this should be easy enough to use! I hopped on and ran enthusiastically for the first five minutes. I could feel the calories burning. Yes. I look down at the machine to see how much calories I’ve burned. 5. Jesus Christ I ate about 500 calories on the way over here.

 I look around what everyone else is doing and a moment of realisation hits me-I am paying a full gym membership to run. I hate running, I usually avoid it completely and now I’m paying for something that I can do anywhere, for free?

“Feck this”, I thought, “There’s a restaurant downstairs.”

The Truth about…College

College is a great place. You get to experience new things, meet new people and get a taste of freedom as you make your way into the world.

However sometimes college life is more hyped-up than what it actually is. Here are some common misconceptions about college.

1       You do not need to study:

For some reason we think the Leaving Cert is the end of all your studying and revising, it isn’t. Although you’ll be doing the subjects you pick in college, it doesn’t mean you won’t have to study for them. Once Christmas exams and the possibility of failure comes around you will definitely realise this.

2       You can go out every night of the week:

No, unless you are Bill Gates or Richard Branson. Students are known to go out but to do it 3 or 4 times a week is not feasible. When you have to make that choice between going out or buying groceries for the week, I’d stick with the groceries.

3      Lecturers aren’t like teachers:

I was actually worried that I would do no work and the lecturer wouldn’t care. However the lecturers actually do care (this can be a good thing too!) They are mostly very open and friendly and there is numerous support services in universities to help students who are experiencing a tough time.

4       Reading is not work:

In secondary school I never actually counted reading as work but as it turns out, a lot of the work in college is reading. I got a big shock with this when we were given an exam which mainly consisted of readings and not lecture slides.

Just covering all things... Journalism

Just covering all things… Journalism

I'M sure you are all aware of the tragic incident that happened on Tuesday 6 January when a car carrying five girls was involved in a collision with a van in Athy. Sadly, four of the girls died that night. The driver sustained serious injuries and is still in hospital.

But that’s not what I'm here to talk about. I am here to talk about the insulting and disrespectful coverage of the crash by the Irish Daily Mirror. The tabloid named the surviving girl as the “driver who survived shocking road smash which left four of her pals dead".

After going online with the incident a mere few hours after it had occurred, the journalists in question had the nerve to insinuate that the crash was caused by this young girl. Imagine her and her family’s position. She has just been through a hugely traumatic ordeal, she has lost four of her best friends and is surviving with serious injuries and these ‘journalists’ decide to name and shame her?!

This is disgusting, insensitive and extremely bad reporting which lacks any sense of compassion.  It is an appalling way to speak of anyone involved in such a devastating accident.

 A journalist’s role is not to add to the situation but to explain it. This inaccurate, untrue and sensationalist garbage needs to stop. This girl has been affected enough without the media adding more! I have only been studying journalism for three months and even I know that. Anyone would.

Much of the media’s coverage of this event has been disgraceful. Images of the crashed car on the internet made my stomach turn. Imagine how their families feel, and seeing all of these images on top of it?! It is appalling. We need to step up as writers and take a look at ourselves. News writing isn’t just about trying to get a ‘one-up’ with sensationalist headlines and inaccurate statements. A journalist’s role is simply to report the news, accurately and fairly.

If you would like to sign a petition against the reporting of the accident, follow this link: https://www.change.org/p/irish-daily-mirror-irish-daily-mirror-s-editor-in-chief-and-journalists-david-coleman-colin-brennan-and-gareth-mccreevy-are-to-publicly-apologise-to-the-kearney-family-for-insensitive-and-inappropriate-reporting-of-the-accident-their-daughter-was-inv?recruiter=33283623&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-no_msg&utm_content=rp_petition_fb_share_desc%3Acontrol