As the daughter of a career guidance counsellor, I had little choice but to consider my options earlier than most. Many wet family holidays with nothing to do but read, and an inspiring English teacher or two, had left me with a love of reading. So I never had any question in my mind as to what I wanted to study - the difficult question was where would I go? Trinity seemed like the obvious first choice, but I knew that the points were likely to soar again that year and I might not make the grade. UCD was less attractive, if only because it was a 15-minute walk from home.
A friend had gone to study in Dundee and someone suggested that I think about going abroad. I gathered a plethora of prospectuses and in the summer of my fifth year at school I visited Dundee and St Andrews, both on the east coast of Scotland. Most students will tell you that they chose St Andrews as soon as they saw it, and I was no different. The university has a lot going for it - the course allowed me to take other subjects in my first and second years and spread my degree over my final two years. The English department looks over the beach and the size of the town means that everything is within walking distance.
That decision made, the obstacle of the Leaving loomed on the horizon. Through UCAS I got an offer from St Andrews for BBBB (at Leaving Cert level). I decided that I needed another honours' subject as I was taking pass level maths and Irish, and I left Wesley College to go to The Institute of Education on Leeson Street. It was a much criticised move at the time, but it meant that I was able to focus on the exams. It proved worthwhile in the end as I finally got what I needed to go to Scotland.
In contrast to the elation over results, I vividly remember sitting on my suitcase at Edinburgh station in the freezing cold wondering what I'd done. But I genuinely don't remember ever looking back after that. I spent my first year in halls of residence. Every fresher is guaranteed a place and it's a great way to meet people. In my second and third years I lived with the friends that I'd made there.
I took social anthropology, classical studies and theology as my other module choices before I settled down to pure English last year. It is definitely a challenging degree with a relatively heavy workload, but enjoying it is half the battle. And because all the students live so close to each other, the social life is never-ending - always useful for winding down after a hard day in the library.
I will graduate next June, and for the first time in my life I will have nowhere to go the following autumn. A frightening prospect. I've always wanted to be a journalist, but I don't feel quite ready to face the adult world yet. Having said that, the prospect of living on student rations for another year isn't exactly appealing. I think, like many before me, I might just sling a rucksack on my back and explore the world. Who knows what stories I might collect.
