I hope Vin Diesel’s face popped in your head after reading the title, and if that isn’t a hook for an article, what is? Now, setting aside my fear of sounding cliché, I truly feel like I’ve found my “home away from home” as a first year international student with the Trinity Indian Society (TIS). Moving halfway across the world for college is no easy task, especially when you’ve grown up accustomed to the more than abundant love and care Indian families shower you with (mostly in food). When I say I’ve met my closest friends here, I mean that. I’ve found the people I complain about missing the hot and aromatic food from home with, but completely abandon even the possibility of cooking some for ourselves and opting to starve instead. The moment I truly knew that the people I met from this society were my new family, was when I realised that we all cry a little after converting currencies while buying anything and everything in Dublin.
“College offers an incredible amount of options when it comes to joining societies, but joining TIS seemed like a very natural and instinctive move for me”
I wanted to preserve a connection with home amidst my quest for new and diverse connections. However, being a member of this society did much more than just that. I was put in an instant state of comfort at all of the events that were organised which served as a sanctuary from the chaos and big changes that came with moving countries. It’s safe to say that the friends I’ve made here are already ones I will treasure for life, and the sort of companionship that being part of this cultural society has brought about is something I’m beyond grateful for. TIS events filled my entire first semester calendar (they continue to) and attending them genuinely makes me feel like I was back home.
So far, I feel like this may sound like an advert to join the Indian society (truly think of joining though, we have the best music), so I’m going to gracefully segue into what is going to be a play by play of the events that I’ve attended so far, and then you can decide for yourself!
Let’s begin with the best, Bollywood nights: Steller music, a bit (a lot) of booze and unmatched energy transforms everyone at the event into the best dancers you have ever seen in your life. From belting out half formed lyrics of Hindi songs to not remembering how we ended up dancing for four hours straight, I’ve made the majority of my most memorable experiences here. Additionally, my Bollywood main character alter ego is given her rightful spotlight at these events, which I believe is on some level of a necessity for everyone to experience for themselves.
Next, the cricket world cup final event. Cricket is a highly celebrated sport in India! Onev of my favourite memories from back home is sitting in the afternoon with a spread of snacks and drinks with my parents. We would yell at professional sportsmen through the TV screen about how we could perform a particularly bad play of theirs better than they ever could. I can guarantee you that this is one of those universal experiences everyone somehow has, and the screening of the final brought out everyone’s inner “annoyed parent attitude”. We screamed in rage often, got up from our chairs for no apparent reason, hugged everyone when a good shot was played and most importantly, we made sure to not change our seating arrangement so as to not change the luck of the game (yes that’s a real thing). I felt right at home. Although we lost this match (I’ve still not recovered), at least we could mourn together.
“Finally, I shift your focus to an experience with only smiles, the Diwali party!”
This is undoubtedly one of the biggest events of the calendar year in India and celebrated in the most grandiose way possible with traditional clothes, food and without a doubt, lots of music and dance! The Indian Society organised an evening stacked with dance performances and as you can very well imagine, my friends and I were on that set list. We (like every other college student) missed a day of classes to practise for the event after procrastinating for an entire week…priorities right? At the end of the day, it was more than worth it. I remember being part of an innumerable amount of dance performances while growing up, and my absolute luck to have found an outlet for this passion of mine in this society at College is sometimes beyond my comprehension.
As I force all the friends I’ve made through TIS to read this, I’m confident that every single one of them shares the same sentiment and has truly had an overwhelmingly positive experience.
I know for a fact that by attending the events organised by this society, I will continue to meet new people, create those core college memories and add to my chosen family!
