It may now spring to my mind, what went so wrong? I am 19 years old, a second year student, shouldn't I be living the city life? Well here is my answer to that; no.
I love Aberystwyth! The people, the setting, the way in which you wander around the town and see loads of people you know; Aberystwyth is more than a town, it is a community. You realise this even more when you leave the troubled days of fresherdom and become a second year. In the one summer alone, I seemed to have aged by about 40 years. I find myself drinking ales, and looking down on all those silly freshers who wander round like they own the place. I feel less of a student now, and more of a resident. A great example of my ageing, is in the excitement of certain purchases. I am currently in my room, avoiding revision like the plague, in my new dressing gown and slippers listening to classical music. And the worst thing is, its all bloody brilliant! But anyway, moving swiftly back to what I started on about...
Aberystwyth, the seaside town that hasn't seen the sun since George W. Bush saw a book without pictures in it. Ok, that's a slight over exaggeration I shall admit, and it is a concept that is always misunderstood. It is not that Aberystwyth is always cold wet and windy, It's just that it does seem to do that non stop for half the year, and does it alot. However, get into the summer, and you've got sunny weather, BBQs on the beach, I've even heard the odd pair off flip flops go past! Its great, and that's what I tell my friends at Leicester, Sheffield and Worcester. Yes, they have their big fancy night clubs and all that, their mobile phone signal and shops and slightly more reliable public transport and single language, but ehy don't have a beach do they! I love it. But little tip for anyone who is going, be careful in the sea, its a little cold.
Besides, who wants loads of big fancy clubs? I like a good night out as much as most (I've not completely lost my youth), but what you gain in aber is the fact you WILL see people you know on a night out. We have two good nights out if you're into dancing and all that, Yoko's (now called 'Why Not'; what a great name that is [insert sarcasm]) and Pier Pressure, the aptly named club on the pier. Now, these are not amazing, but they fill up, because they are the only places. The atmosphere then becomes great, and you bump into people you know all the time. I visited a friend in worcester last semester, and went to a club called Tramps. It was empty, the music was rubbish, I was not impressed. You don't get that at Aber, it's always a great night. It's cheaper too, Yoko's is normally free, and Pier never costs more than a fiver to get in.
And we do have shops, just not loads of them, but we will have more after the controversial 'Masterplan', a council plan to get rid of some old shops and have a nice new shopping bit. And it is possible to get to and from Aber, but I'l admit Arriva Trains are not very good. But you get from A to B. And phone signal, you do get it. But with the Internet world of MSN and Facebook, who needs phones too much anyway. But with any of the major networks, you're not too bad off.
So there you go, my self pronounced love of Aberystwyth. It may not be busy city living, but I wouldn't rather be anywhere else.
