I got a degree but forgot to live the true college life

I generally regard regrets as a colossal waste of time. “What’s done is done,” as my Nana used to say. But just because you know something is a waste of your time and energy, unfortunately it isn’t always enough to stop you doing it.

Galway is the best city in the world for many things, and that’s my unbiased opinion as a Galwegian. One of the things it is definitely best for is being a student.

I was 17 when I started in NUIG, then UCG, and underage when I drank my first vodka in the college bar, which was then a small venue in the corner of the picturesque and historic quad.

Almost all of my friends went to college and almost all of them in Galway, as financially it made no sense to do otherwise in the 1980s.

For those who are lucky enough to go on to third level, it should be a life-forming experience. There are so many possibilities, so many new things on offer, so many new people to meet. As a young and not particularly outgoing 17-year-old, who had the security of starting college with many of my school friends, unfortunately I didn’t make use of those possibilities.

I never joined any of the clubs and societies and I spent most of my three years there with the people I knew from school. I never went on any of the college trips and I never really got properly involved in college life.

I simply went through each academic year waiting for the summers when I could go travelling.

I came out with an honours degree, but regret that I didn’t leave with so much more. Those who make the most of college life get something much more valuable than just a qualification, and that’s what college life should be about.

The value of a third-level education shouldn’t only be measured by your grades.