After fighting with the Presence in the Observer’s office and a few weeks of sleep deprivation, these two teenage girls in their twenties have produced their first full issue.
So - we made it. After fighting with the Presence in the Observer’s office and a few weeks of sleep deprivation, these two teenage girls in their twenties have produced their first full issue. It’s both terrifying and a source of pride, but most importantly, it’s making us both more excited about what this academic year will have in store for us.
When we started at the Observer last year as two simple section editors, we were astonished by the amount of passion that goes behind producing this paper. A year later, on the higher end of the pyramid, not only do we appreciate the work we did last year more, but we finally understand the love you need to do this job. More importantly, we appreciate each and everyone of the people who came on board with us on this journey - whether as part of the team or as a contributor.
As for the UCD student population, we can assure you that we will do our best to deliver material of the highest quality possible - just bear with us; after all, we are still two teenage girls in their twenties.
This year we’re shaking things up a bit and getting silly, so don’t be surprised if you see new sections and a plethora of memes on our socials. Although we maintain our commitment to serious and informative journalism we also understand the pressure of having to be poised and adult-like all the time. That’s not all we’re about.The pandemic took so much from us and amongst those things was our collective confidence and drive to try new things we might not be immediately great at. As my predecessor stressed beforehand, there really is a confidence issue on this campus and whilst we’re under no impression that the Observer can solve it single handedly, we do hope we can help students make the best out of their time in college. We understand the college experience is precarious at best these days and we’d like to remind you that the Observer is here to lend you a voice should you ever need it. And we know you will.
Talk soon,
Tessa & Ilaria