Visions Of The Future

I recently attended the NUI Maynooth Clubs and Societies awards, recently being last Tuesday night. It was myt second year attending, and it is a guaranteed fantastic night out. This night proved just that. I could never put my finger on exactly what made this particular night so amazing, but something special lives in that night. Only this year I realised what that was.

I always assumed it was the friendly atmosphere, where everyone knew everyone else and if you didnt know them an introduction was all you needed and you had another friend. Then i thought maybe it was the smiles and happinedd that came along with winning a trophy for your club or society (even though you have to give it back at the end of the night), because nothing is better than working so hard at something and then to have that hard work recognised by those you consider superior to you. There was also the part aspect of things, with the awards followed by a night of the Macarena and Rock the Boat in the hotel's nightclub (not extremely suitable for us with restricting outfits and heels, but we do our best).

But it wasnt until the current president of the Students Union, Aengus O Maolain, took to the podium that I realised why this night was special. I guarantee you, it is not possible to find a better speaker than this guy, and he made everything so clear for me. He told us to look around, see the person sitting beside you, across for you, and realise that this person is the future. This person, who gives up their time and effort with nothing more than a sense of satisfaction of a job well done at the end of it all, this person is what the future needs. And as I did look around, I saw so many people with so much to give, and with such hope for what they can do in the future. To them, they have the ability to make the R word meaningless. They showed from their numerous standing ovations for those who won their trophies, even if that person had been in 'competition' with them, that they had the utmost respect for each other, and they were such a support for each other. There was no sense of rivalry or greed, just positivity and respect. It was overwhelming at times.

Looking at all of this, for the first time in about 2 years, I thought maybe Ireland will be ok and I wont have to leave to find some better life in some unkown country, because if people like those that surrounded me on Tuesday night have anything to do with it, we might have a bit more hope for our future than that brought by crossing your fingers.