Student Bloggers

Living in Rathmines Square, it’s amazing how many things are within walking distance. If I want to get groceries, I walk across the street to Aldi. If I want to order takeaway (or take-out), I have several options for that as well. Bars, restaurants, music venues, even places where I can find a music session on a Friday night – I can walk to all of them. And obviously, Trinity itself is the place I most frequently walk to. This is part of the appeal of any city, and Dublin is no exception.

But walking also gives me an illusion of knowing Dublin, and I really don’t. I know the tiny portion of Dublin that I live in, along with the most areas between here and Trinity. This is just a fraction of the city of Dublin, not the mention the fact that I hardly ever cross the River Liffey and see any of Dublin City North. I have been thinking a lot about how to remedy this fact, and there are many ways, including bus tours, taking longer walks, or just visiting more places in Dublin (via the bus). But all of these methods require initiative. I am not going to see all of Dublin just by walking around.

I’m discovering that it’s much the same when building relationships with people. As time goes on, I’m becoming closer with the people I live with, but without initiative, I can’t get closer to anyone else. Last weekend, I traveled to Cork with TCD TradSoc, the Trinity Irish Traditional Musicians’ Society, and met some wonderful TCD students, some Irish, some not. Staying in a small hostel room and playing music together, it was a great way to become close, both literally and figuratively to a group of people for the weekend. It was a fun weekend, and the first time I had spent a considerable amount of time with other Trinity students. But after the trip, I’ve seen only a few of these people, and only in passing. If I want to maintain these relationships and even form friendships, I have to take initiative. I remember this being the case during freshman year, and after two and half years, I’m as conscious of it as ever. That doesn’t mean that it’s gotten any easier.

In its own way, even forming relationships within the program can be difficult. As I become more and more busy with college work, I rarely ever see Arcadia students in other apartments, even those who I really enjoyed spending time with those first few days of orientation. In an odd way, the lack of a large spatial barrier doesn’t make connections effortless; a twenty-minute walk (or even a 2-minute one and some text messages) still takes effort, and it also takes courage. To me, forming new relationships always feels risky and vulnerable. I tend to gravitate towards friendships that form organically, like the ones between me and my flatmates. But maybe physical closeness and convenience isn’t always the best way to form meaningful connections.

On Friday, I have tickets to a concert at a local venue. I am, of course, walking there; the concert is at Whelan’s, only twenty minutes away. Originally, I was thinking of going alone; after all, I’ve already been to several concerts by myself. But even though it feels like a risk, I’ve been thinking of inviting others. It may only be my flatmates joining me, or maybe no one at all if they aren’t free. But it’s a start. After all, closeness almost always means reaching out.