In a new weekly feature, recent Her.ie recruit Mary is sharing her journey through the very grown-up world of juggling a career with further education.

Looking back over her first semester and forward to a thesis, Mary is learning some lessons along the way about time management, the trials of being a born crammer, the importance of sharing the stressful moments... and the reason why "mature student" is probably an oxymoron.

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Holidays Are Coming...

I know I’m working full-time, but I feel like a kid in a candy shop this week as I have just realized that there is no college for the next two weeks. Thank you, thank you, thank you Easter. Regardless of the fact that I have a load of assignments to do, as usual, the simple fact that there are two full weeks of no classes makes me deliriously happy. Not that I hate college whatsoever, but just the thoughts of having every evening to myself for a full fortnight is a little bit more than exciting. I have plans to go for walks (cough), get down home mid-week and get to football training – championship is coming after all – while catching up with friends after work who I never really see as I’m usually weighed down with loads to do. And of course, I’ll fit in some work for college throughout that time too. Seriously though, I’ll get to read books (yay!), catch up on all the TV shows I’ve missed since September – yes, really – and probably pig out and turn into a giant walking bag of Minstrels. Then, approximately this day two weeks, I will sit here having an absolute sh*t attack that we are back to college and I’ve got nothing done and the cycle will begin again. The end is nigh guys, though, I can practically taste it.