I am finally finished my Leaving Cert exams. Words cannot describe how happy I feel right now; I am elated. Ecstatic. Excited. I have always considered myself to be a fairly optimistic person; I always "look on the bright side of life" and I am  an all round happy guy; but in a lot of ways, the Leaving Cert took it's toll on me.

I think that in general, school caters to one type of person and they are the logical thinking, academic people. I think that I am more creative; I like drama and theatre, music, and writing. I knew that the education system and I would not necessarily be the best of friends, but now that it's over I am looking forward to just living for a while.

To be completely honest, the leaving cert was probably the  worst ten months of my life. I hope I don't sound too melodramatic, but it's honestly the truth. Don't get me wrong, there were plenty of good times too; the graduation ceremony, the mock interviews, the various college open days and even the excitement of setting up my CAO account for the first time.

But the awful days were too many, in my opinion, and the optimistic light that had once shone from me had started to distinguish slowly as the year dragged on.

I couldn't take the pressure of it; the exams, the decisions, the lack of time. It was all too much and when I got it wrong, I was made to feel like a failure. I'm writing this article to let people know that it's okay to feel this way; most people feel this way a lot of the time. It's not something to be ashamed of, and it's a normal part of human life.

My advice to future 6th years would be this; do not panic. The Leaving Cert will not define your life if you don't let it. The exams are very important but at the end of the day a piece of paper with a grade on it is not a reflection on your success as a person. Whether you end up getting a D3 on an ordinary level paper, or an A1 on a higher level paper, you are worth more than that.

This was something that took me a while to realise, and is something that the Irish education system has, in my opinion, failed to grasp. There are always 'back-doors' into everything, points race aside. As my stereotypical Irish mammy once said to me "The only results that matter is the results you get from the doctor." If that's the case, how lucky we all are.

A couple of months ago, I set sail on my adventure for summer-job hunting. It’s a tale of love, lust, action and overcoming adversity…. Okay maybe it isn’t as dramatic as that but it sure was nerve-rackingly scary. Like tens of thousands of hopeful and hard-working young people across Ireland I began my maiden voyage to find summer employment. It’s a long and gruelling story with a bucketful of heartache and a lifetimes worth of disappointment.

So to paint a picture of my beautiful parish in which I went job-hunting in, to put it simply it is an idyllic, scenic and semi tourist hot-spot with the culture and language in full bloom. It’s also one of the most densely populated rural areas in Europe so it’s actually quite busy and bustling in the summer. So I had four simple steps to get a Job because at the time I was under the illusion that getting a summer job was literally a walk in the park. How wrong was I.

Step 1: Write a CV (Curriculum Vitae)
At first glance I thought writing a CV was easy. It wasn’t. The first night I tried to write it, I ended up waking up at 7am face planted onto the keyboard of my laptop. Night one was very unproductive to say the least and I had an awful creak in my neck the whole day after it. I wouldn’t advise anyone else to sleep on their laptop. Not a good decision.

Night two was more fruitful with almost a full page complete, and I didn’t fall asleep on my laptop. By night three I was finished (hallelujah) all I had to do was finish off the little bit I had forgotten to do the night before and thanks to spunout I knew how to polish of my work and the layout. Step 1 COMPLETE.

Step 2: Plan which businesses to target
My mum had given me two guidelines for job-hunting: My job couldn’t be more than a 20 minute car journey from my house, the business had to be above board (Er.. no drug dealing for me then) These were the guidelines I would live and breathe by. I outlined 14 businesses in my area that had possible job prospects for me (or so I thought). These included supermarkets, cafes, newsagents, chemists and even an airport. I was set.

Step 3: Giving the CVs out
This was probably the most difficult step. I decided to use the “cold visiting” technique which is simply walking into a business uninvited and asking the manager for a job. In theory it sounds great but when it comes to executing it it is the most gut wrenching, confidence-testing thing I’ve done so far in my life. The sheer fear of rejection and embarrassment can be stomach-curdling, by the way this technique is not for everyone as I found out the hard way.

So I headed out to find myself a job and it was physically clear that I was nervous, my mum decided that she would go into the first place with me just to ease my nerves. Bad decision. We approached the registration desk and my mum explained I was looking for a job for the summer. The woman at the desk said “if your son is looking for a job then why are you speaking, he should be speaking. "You know what I do when parents, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts looking for jobs for their relatives, I just tear up the CV without even glancing at it”.

She then looked at me and said “Okay. Fire away, give me your best shot” I was so nervous. I was shaking like a tree in a hurricane that’s how nervous I was. I completely reiterated what my mum said at the start and she just stared at me as if saying “is that it?” She grabbed the CV out of my hand and said “You’re not even 18, how do you expect to get a job here”, and she handed me the CV back to me. Well excuse me while I pick up the broken shards of my confidence off the floor on my way out. I felt terrible. My confidence was completely knocked and smashed into a million pieces. It's people like that that ruin people’s confidence permanently. There was literally thousands of words (not all PG, mostly swear words) I wanted to say to her but I decided that I wouldn’t drop to her level.

So after an hour, two cups of tea, an ice cream and a whole lot of persuasion I decided to battle on. 1 down. 13 to go and by god them 13 flew in. I still had the nervousness before I went into the place but the more I did the more my confidence grew. One thing all the businesses I went to had in common was their reply. It was literally word for word the same; “Sorry but we’re not looking to take on anyone at the moment but we will put your CV on file” So after all my bravery, all I got was 13 “no, but we might contact you when we do need someone” replies for all my efforts. When you put it like that it hardly sounds like it would be worth your breath and bravery to do it but if you put it into perspective and add a dash of optimism and it really is 13 maybes (how exciting).

Step 4: Wait, be patient and have faith
I’ve been waiting for 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days, 16 hours, 43 minutes and 12, 13, 14, 15 seconds and counting. I received only one reply saying that they received my CV but aren’t employing anyone at the minute. At the minute the chances of me getting a job is like a vitamin c effervescent tablet in a glass of water, slowly fizzling out.

Why I want a job

• MONEY- the little bit of financial independence would be amazing. I wouldn't have the guilt of asking my parents for money anymore.
• Socialising- getting amongst different people from different backgrounds would be incredible. Also socialising is good for your mental health!
• Experience- having work experience now at an early age would worthwhile for helping me get a job in the future.
• Meeting people (famous people)- okay this one is probably a bit far fetched but you have more of a chance of bumping into a celebrity in a job than on Facebook and Twitter at home. Probably less of a chance of this in rural areas like mine but you never know maybe someday Daniel O' Donnell will walk in through the doors but that's the height of it.

We all want to live long, healthy lives. However, us Irish men may be slowly condemning ourselves to serious health issues and even an early grave due to not looking after our health. This stems from the fact that statistically we will live on average five years less than Irish women and may even spend up to the last 15 years of our lives very ill.

But where do these statistics come from? Well on September 2012 the Irish Independent published an article titled “what men need to do about their health’ commenting on a policy regarding men’s health by the Department of Health.

The National Men’s Health policy addresses the issues that affect the average Irish male and their attitude towards healthcare. Men are more likely to be affected by the biggest three killers, heart disease/stroke, cancer and respiratory disease.

We are also more affected by alcohol abuse, depression and suicide, which are six to seven times more prevalent in males. It was also found that in the poorest social-economic areas men are six times more likely to die from respiratory disease and actually up to 16 times more likely to die from alcohol abuse.

So why is this happening? Well basically I think it has to do with the male attitude. We in Ireland tend to dismiss a cough here or a pain there as a nuisance. These however, could be the warning signs of some underlying illness in which early detection is vitally important.

Men are especially guilty of this as we see being sick as weak saying ‘Ah sure it’s only a cough, it’s grand’, or ‘pfft sure the pain isn’t that bad. It is this ‘hard man’ image that is our major flaw.

By not discussing health topics as much as women we are allowing ourselves to fall ill even more. Irish men are especially guilty of this as we have sort of set up a structure in our society in which if you’re a real man nothing can touch you.

There are also many who would admit to pain or mental ill-health but are afraid of looking weak or losing respect from their peers. This ‘bottling up’ of emotions can lead to stress and even depression.

Maybe we are pre-disposed to be like this due to testosterone production in our body. We tend to take risks and get aggressive. Awareness of this problem seems to be limited however as many people including myself have not heard much encouragement to get checked out and the severe danger of ignoring signs of illness.

Money is also a major contributing factor, as going to a doctor to check a cough or pain may turn into nothing, but you still have to pay out €50 just for them to say you’re grand.

This attitude needs to change, and with the help of organisations like the Irish Men’s Shed Association and Men’s Health Forum spreading awareness about the importance of men taking care of themselves many lives could be saved.

I remember the anticipation welling up within me when I received my acceptance letter from my study abroad program in Ireland. A celebratory dance and a few glasses of wine later, I excitedly Googled pictures of the green Irish countryside and the long, winding streets of Dublin. I couldn’t believe my luck – I was going to be spending my summer in the “land of saints and scholars.” Unknowingly, I was already setting unrealistic sights on some sort of mythical fairy tale summer.

In the days before I was leaving, I hurriedly filled my suitcases to the brim with the packing guide’s recommendations of jackets, tennis shoes, t-shirts and scarves. I could talk of nothing else but my plants to take Europe by storm. Looking back on it, I think I was in such a frenzied pace of excitement that I forgot to consider all the people, places and things that I was leaving behind in America.

But as I walked through the security gate at the airport and turned around to wave goodbye to my mother, it hit me like a wave. I was leaving my home, my family, my dog, my friends, my favourite food, and everything that I had grown so accustomed to for the past twenty years.

Sure, I’m only gone for two months, but walking onto that plane sure felt like I was leaving my home for an eternity. I had never even considered that I would feel so panicked as the jet hurled through the sky, carrying me thousands and thousands of miles away from home.

Once I arrived in Dublin, though, the real culture shock began. How do I get money? What are all these coins? Why are these cars driving on the wrong side of the road? All these thoughts echoed incessantly inside my head throughout my first few days here.

Suddenly, my dream summer had taken a turn into a nightmare. And to cope with the seemingly huge space between myself and home, I was constantly Skyping, Face Timing and iMessaging my friends and family back home. I holed myself up in my room, never bothering to go outside and explore the city that I had so desperately wanted to come to in the first place.

Soon enough, my family back home realised they could no longer enable my homesickness. As hard as it was for them, they told me they would only be able to talk over the web twice a week. Soon enough and much to my dismay, my constant barrage of Skype messages were going unnoticed.

Now I was in a really terrible position. I felt completely out of place in this city and yet I had no one to talk to about it. With no other form of social networking to distract me, I forced myself to take a walk along the river to escape the misery of my room.

I walked up and down the bridges, strolled though the pebble streets of Temple Bar, and walked through the impressive gates of Trinity College. Slowly but surely, my homesickness was giving way to a new feeling – one of excitement. Yes, the excitement that had so filled my thoughts before I had left had finally returned! I was in a completely new world, and as cheesy as it sounds, there was something new and exciting to be found around every corner.

In only a little over a week, I feel as though I have been able to change my outlook on my experience here completely. One of the most important pieces of advice my mother gave me was to be thankful for the opportunity to come here. Yes, we’ve all heard that before. But for me, it really worked. I can’t count how many people who told me how lucky I was to be able to travel abroad, and realising that I am fortunate enough to be able to have this experience was a real game changer for me.

But still, everyone reacts to situations differently. Some people can easily handle change and other can’t. It doesn’t make you any lesser of a person if you can’t jump right into your abroad experience. It can take time for many to feel comfortable and adjusted, and that’s completely fine.

Simply put, for some, homesickness will be inevitable. You’re just going to miss home! Don’t be ashamed of that – be proud that you love where you come from so much.

But please don’t let homesickness ruin your time while you are traveling abroad. I promise you can beat it! Learn from my mistakes – explore your new environment, keep yourself busy and don’t constantly keep in contact with your life back home. It is wonderful to be able to talk to your family from time to time, but relying on that too much might prevent you from fully immersing yourself in your new home.

Like me, you may find that coming abroad doesn’t meet all your grand expectations right away. Don’t worry – nothing turns out exactly how we plan for it. But give yourself time and I’m confident you will find the experience you were looking for.

Lastly, remind yourself that you came abroad for a reason. Whether that may be to find yourself, to work at a cool new job, or to meet amazing new people, there is a reason traveling abroad is one of the most rewarding and valuable experiences a person can have.

And always remember, time will heal homesickness. Luckily, time is on your side.

Well, it’s the beginning of the summer holidays. In the last week of school I somehow ended up doing six tests in two days, as well as being involved in a lot of other activities and helping out with various events around the school. To sum up, there was a particular occasion when I am almost positive I was in two places at once. Something like Hermione Granger’s time-turner or The Doctor’s Tardis would have come in particularly handy, but there’s no point worrying about that now.

Thus my first task for the summer holidays was to relax. I had a similar experience at the end of third year when I finished my exams and literally spent time pacing up and down because I’d been so wound up for the previous months that I couldn’t sit still. So I’ve taken this first week of the holidays to loll around on the sofa watching “Countdown” or “The Weakest Link” and generally not being very productive. I think that’s something we all need from time to time, so if you’re spending  a few days like that, don’t panic. You deserve it. Enjoy the sun while it lasts and catch up on some quality time with your friends, family, pets and television.

However, spending three months like that... I don’t know if it’s the wisest choice. I recall kicking myself halfway through third year when the mocks were well underway: why hadn’t I revised in the summer after second year? I hadn’t even taken out my books. My schoolbag had stayed in the same place, full of the same screwed up bits of paper for twelve weeks. Now what was I to do?

Thankfully, I learned from my mistakes. Going into fifth year after TY, I was well aware that it was necessary to work hard and not just leave everything for sixth year. I’m pretty proud of myself for taking lots of time over notes and revision in the past year, but when it came to the summer tests there were still areas I wished I’d done better on. This was mainly because I am the “I can do that” girl, who volunteers for just about everything. School play, debates, poetry contests, blogging, helping out after school... yep, I can do that. Don’t get me wrong: I love it, that’s who I am... but it does leave me with a lot of work to catch up on.

If you’ve spent the past school year being a busy bee, or perhaps if you’ve just been a bit, shall we say, lax when it comes to studying, now is the time to remedy that. Personally, I’ve got some pretty big ambitions: if I’m to get into the university I want, I need to get approximately 5 As and 2 Bs in my Leaving Cert. This is a scary prospect, but I know that I’m capable of it if I work hard. I suppose the first step is to work out what you need to achieve.

So far I’ve looked at universities and know what grades I need, so I have a vague goal. Next, I intend to look at each individual subject and how I can improve upon it. I did this with Irish in particular throughout fifth year, and by taking it in small doses, improving a little at a time, I managed to go from a C- to a B+.

Think about what needs to be done and set yourself some realistic goals. I’ve made myself a little chart of how many hours studying I need to do. Now I just need to do it. Make sure you don’t set yourself up for defeat: just a little studying, half an hour at a time, can still make a world of difference. Don’t dive in at the deep end and get pulled down. It’ll only lead to you hating the subject. Just think of manageable ways you can do your best... your best, nobody else’s.

Perhaps there’s something you really struggled with last year. For me, it was maths and maybe a bit of biology. Now is the time to concentrate on that. There’s no homework, no deadlines, just you taking a relaxed approach at improving. I’m lucky enough to have an award-winning teacher for a dad, but if you haven’t got someone like that in the family, remember everyone else is on holiday, too. Is there someone in your class who’s good at what you find difficult? There’s no harm in asking them to give you a hand. You may not want to intrude, but trust me: give it a few weeks and they’ll be bored out of their tree, just waiting for something to do. I’ve found luring people in with baked goods generally helps.

Remember that sixth year is going to be a busy time, not just from the point of view of study. Any work you do now—whether it be an hour or a week—will help you along the way and stand you in good stead. Remember that studying doesn’t just mean staring at your books for an hour. Some things I like to do are watch french films and translate recipes. I’m even thinking of writing a song about Macbeth. Not sure how I’ll manage to make maths enjoyable yet... but where there’s a will, there’s a way. Find an interesting take on the subject and the rest should follow... above all, remember that every little helps!

Now, I’m off to remove all the sweet wrappers, and an old sandwich from my schoolbag... wish me luck!

I am a recent college graduate. After five years of excessive food and alcohol intake, ridiculous sleeping patterns and avoiding home like the plague, I have returned home. At times when I was in college, coming home conjured up images of comfort, clean clothes, beautiful meals on the table every evening and so on. I am comfortable. My clothes are clean. I have a delicious dinner every evening. I should be happy but I am not!

This is not just about the difficulties of moving back in with your parents and siblings (though this is a pain at times, I will admit). It is about leaving college and having no prospects. I have a degree and masters but now I am stuck in a job, which is meaningless to me.

I am luckier than others. I’ve had my summer job for the last five years and it is reliable and well paid. I have paid most of my way through college with this job and I am very grateful to my employers for it. As grateful as I am though, I want out. I am a qualified journalist now and I want to be working in that industry.

This is, to me, the most difficult thing about being at home again. In other years, I have complained and dragged my feet all summer, wishing the days to go by faster so that I would be moving away to college again, back to the ridiculous student lifestyle. This time, I do not have that to look forward to. I have uncertainty, no security and worst of all “The Fear”.

It is early days for me and even as I write this I am gripped with The Fear, which is undoubtedly pushing me through this article, but here are some tips for helping you through this time:

• Work for free: in every industry, experience is vitally important. I have never been a paid journalist but I have been working as one since 2008. You need to keep doing what you want to do, whenever you get the chance, to be employable when that dream job comes around.
• Be patient: it would be great if things worked out straightaway but this is unlikely. I am finished my master’s degree a week and have received no less than five job rejections. It stings but you need to get on with it!
• Earn money: easier said than done but try your best. I am approaching my mid-20s and do not want to rely on my parents’ purses anymore. I have a job so I am lucky but keep trying for ANY form of financial gain, for your parents’ sake as well as your own!
• Take up a hobby: get yourself out of the house as often as you can. You may be living at home but you’re not a child anymore. Being back at home can be demoralising, don’t let it take over your life.
• Be angry: it doesn’t matter where or how you are angry (within reason) but you need to vent. If you keep everything bottled up it’s detrimental to your mental health. I have taken it out on my family in the short few days I am home so I decided to take it out on SpunOut instead.

Above all, never give up hope. Something will work out eventually. So far, nothing has worked out for me and I have epic Fear but I am applying for about five jobs per day now and I am confident that one day my big break will come. And yours will too.

 This year there has never been more outdoor concerts and festivals happening around the country. Whether you’re thinking of hitting up Oxegen, Electric Picnic, Longitude, Indiependence or Sea Sessions, there is something to suit everyone’s budget and musical tastes. Whether you’re a camping or a day-goer, there are some very important things you need to consider.

Necessities:

• Baby wipes. There will be lots of mess, lots of stains and a lack of clean facilities so there is no excuse for not being prepared. It’s festival 101!
• Sunscreen. Yeah, yeah, we’re in Ireland, it’ll probably be a wash out but whether it’s rain or shine you are still going to be exposed to the sun rays and lobster/farmer tan is not a good festival look. Also include a fedora or quirky sunglasses to add extra protection and score extra brownie points for festival fashion.
• Dry shampoo. Ok, so this is pretty much just for the ladies but an essential nonetheless. It’ll be a saviour for the three day old, greasy locks.
• Condoms. Lads and lasses should come prepared in this regard. Tents may not be sexy but the great music and alcohol infused circumstances might just be mood setting for some so practice safe sex.
• Waterproof poncho. You'll need one and they'll try to charge you a small fortune on the site if you don't have your own.
• Black bags. Might seem strange but if things end up being a wash out, black bags will be handy for keeping your wellies/wet clothes separate from the rest of your tent’s contents over the weekend.
• Anti-bacterial hand gel. All of the germs.

Top tips:

• Leave the valuables at home. Nobody wants to spend the day constantly checking that you’re awesome camera is still in your bag or hoping that your iPod is still in your tent so only bring the bare essentials.
• Choose a meeting point. In the not-so-unlikely event that you get separated from your friends, have somewhere picked before hand to meet. Preferably somewhere identifiable and not the corner of the fast food stand…which fast food stand? They’ll all look the same when you get lost!
• Fully charged phone. Make sure you have a full battery in your phone for the day in case of emergencies and if you’re there for the weekend, find out where there are phone-charging facilities around the camp.
• Drink aware. Alcohol will more than likely be consumed but pace yourself. It’s going to be a long day/weekend so take breaks and drink plenty of water in between drinking, as you’ll easily become dehydrated. Besides, drinking too much will mean you’ll spend too much time queuing for the toilets and missing out on the music. Generally drunkenness will mean missing the music because you’re puking in a portaloo or lost looking for friends so keep your wits about you.

Camping?

• Before you leave home, check that you have all the bits and pieces you need for putting up your tent. You don’t want to arrive and realise you left the bag of pegs on the kitchen table.
• If you’re camping, it’s a good idea to get there early to get a good spot to pitch up your tent.
• Try to avoid camping near the toilets as after a day of thousands of users, they’ll start to stink and sleeping will be yuck.
• Keep the entrance to your tent easy to access. You could wake up in the morning with someone else’s tent blocking your way out so build a moat if needs be!
• Identify your tent. So you and about a hundred other people bought the cheap and cheerful tents from Lidl, which is great cause, you won’t mind the tent getting damaged but hey, what’s that? You can’t tell you tent from the sea of Lidls when you return that night so add a touch of something identifiable like a flag or patch of material or spray day-glow or something on the side so it’s easy to find.
• Generally try and pitch your tent near a landmark or something recognisable!

Got anything to add? Leave suggestions in the comments below.