Jonathan Currinn
For anyone who has been keeping an eye on the articles I’ve published on CelebMix; you will know that on 10 March 2017 I went to see Platnum and Sweet Female Attitude perform at Staffordshire University in Stoke-on-Trent. If you had read my previous blogs, you would know that this was the university to which I graduated from in 2015; returning almost 2 years later just showed how a place I once called home can quickly feel alien.
Uni is a place I missed. I miss the stress of hard work, I miss preparing predrinks, I miss throwing massive parties, I miss having all my friends in close walking distance. It will always be the best and most stressful three years of my life but I’d so do it all over again if I had the chance – or so I thought.
Returning for a couple of days and a night, I realised how much I have changed as a person. Not only that, but it made me feel old. I only knew a few people who was still Staffordshire University students; so, I felt uninvolved in conversations about people I didn’t know.
Regardless, a lot had changed. The university club, LRV (Leek Road Venue), was the must-attend weekly night out when I was a student; but, not only were there not a queue, but inside it was pretty empty. Platnum and Sweet Female Attitude were performing; usually, star acts performing meant a sold-out night, but that just wasn’t the case.
Read my review of the Platnum & Sweet Female Attitude gig here:
Such a great night on Friday with @OfficialPlatnum & @LeanneSweetFA at @StaffsUni @StaffsUnion LRV! https://t.co/uYNFtPFiEZ
— Jonathan Currinn (@CriticJonni) March 12, 2017
University just isn’t the same when you return a year or so later on. Kudos to my friends who invited me up, and the ones who came out clubbing just to see me. I felt very looked after, and it was nice to see them all again, even though they are extremely busy with dissertations and projects. I honestly do not miss the hefty load of work that I had during my third year, which I have previously mentioned in my January blog post.
Also, I got to watch the Cheerleaders practice at the Sir Stanley Matthews Sports Centre, on campus. The last time I went in the sports centre was in 2012 during the first week of freshers’ week, and not much had changed.
The campus, overall, was the same as it has always been, only with a few upgrades here and there. Apparently, the halls are fully refurbished, and there are a couple of new buildings. Compared to when I arrived in 2012, the university is looking impressive.
It was great to return, and see what had changed. It was great catching up with friends and it was great to drink the hulk cocktail from LRV – I have totally missed drinking that! But, it’s not what it used to be, the memories I have of university will always be that, just memories. Staffordshire University will always be dear to me due to the memories I made there; but, to me, it’s not what it used to be.
