University, for me even three years on, is still a new and exciting experience that has opened – and still is opening – doors of opportunity at every corner. When recounting my time spent here, the most pressing question on my mind is whether or not I grabbed every opportunity with both hands, and whether I tried different things and acquired further skills by doing so. Countless sleepless nights and occasional stressful days are less than desired reminders that I have made the most of my limited time here as a student. And there’s still an entire academic year to go.
Embracing the new environment, people and activities around you is an imperative – and almost completely imperative – part in making your experience here your own. In the next few weeks, you’ll notice flyers and posters everywhere enticing you to society or club events and there’ll be a consistent flow of happenings on and off campus to keep you busy (most of which will be free or very student friendly in terms of cost). The sheer pleasure of learning new things and meeting new people is central to your experience here, and where better to start but by doing new things in new, different places?
At this stage in the year, you’ve probably figured out a routine to make life that little more manageable. As with everything else in life, you need to know your limits. Don’t bite off more than you can chew but do try out things that interest you that you never had the time or chance to do before now.
The research you do here will, for the most part, be new to you and the possibility that you may be leaving university with a different career path in mind from when you began is an exciting one, helped along by the research and extracurricular things you spend your spare time doing. It’s a new and exciting time – embrace it.
So while everything in college is new and exciting, so too is the world of entertainment. You’ll find that this issue of Verge deals with aspects of culture that are new, or relatively new on the scene. See Julie Daunt’s opinion on the much-anticipated post-Potter J.K. Rowling book in the Arts and Literature section, and I’m happy to announce that it is safe to read if, like me, you haven’t quite made it through the entire book yet – there are no spoiler alerts here. Music maven, Mike McGrath-Bryan’s thoughts regarding Muse’s most recent risqué project features (quite logically) in the Music section. Recently released action/sci-fi/thriller film, Looper, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, is one of the big attractions in cinemas, and yes, you guessed it – we have a review of that, too, in our TV and Film section. In addition, keep your eyes peeled for special features acknowledging just a few of many of great programmes gracing our screens right now. For the gamers and soccer fanatics among us – FIFA 13 is here. See Kevin Casey’s review in the Gaming section for a thorough analysis, as well as your guide to gaming for the next few weeks. Finally, the Fashion section has got you covered if you want to reflect your embracement of change and all things new with the latest trends for these Autumn/Winter seasons.
For those of you searching for new and exciting things to get involved in, why not consider contributing an article to this very publication? If you feel you have an opinion on any aspect of entertainment – be it TV, film, music, literature, theatre, art, gaming or fashion – you can contact any of the editors at any stage during the year.