AS I type this, my fellow journalism student – the ‘yin’ to my ‘yang’ – is sitting across from me, concentrating on her work as if her life depended on it, whilst resisting with all her might to avoid joining in on the baking marathon that is taking place in the kitchen.
Trust me, it’s difficult to concentrate on anything in a flat with six bodies running around, all making dinner at the same time, all wanting a shower at the same time, all wanting to use the internet at the same time – I mean, there is only one shower and two toilets for goodness sake!
We all study – well, attempt to study – different things. Two journalism students, two psychology students, a sports science student having a break and a social work student on placement everyday. The flat is a hive of activity… most of the time it isn’t even the girls who are the issue. It’s the boys downstairs.
Since moving in, we have all got quite close to the three boys that live below us. They are all fun and games at the weekend, but when it’s four o’clock on a Tuesday morning and they have their DJ decks blaring… it’s a little harder to be civil when you have had two hours sleep before a ‘digital platforms’ class.
Next door to us live three Irish fourth-years doing their dissertations and placements and need complete silence after a certain time at night.
Imagine trying to put together an academic book review of the most boring book in the world when there is a day session taking place in the living room and a makeshift choir screaming the Irish national anthem. Or imagine trying to phone interview the press officer at VisitScotland for an article and it feels like a herd of elephants are practising their power slides in the hall.
I love student life, I love living with five girls. They are all so different and they all add to the living experience of students. Life is never boring at least and I will have loads of stories to tell when the time to graduate comes.
We all help each other out and give each other ideas when we are stuck and they always have a smile for when you are down. I wouldn’t change living here for the world. I wouldn’t even change the boys downstairs, or the girls’ boyfriends, or the late nights and the early mornings.
Even though most of them don’t have anything to do with the Media, they always read my blog on this site, they always read my articles either for uni or for placement, and I would do the same for them. I always get everything done and they help me when they can.
As rosy as all that is and as happy as we all are living harmoniously under one cramped roof … all the hot water is gone!!!!
Lisa-Nicole Mitchell is a third-year BA in Journalism student at Edinburgh Napier University.
