by Marta Ubeda, Director, and Laura Mora, Head of Communications
Welcome to our second edition! We are all a little bit under the weather, aren’t we? We are drowning on deadlines, is getting cold outside, and I have even started to hear some people joke (or maybe not?) about how a not-awesome decision was to come to the College… all great, isn’t it?
Let’s stop for a minute, please. Let me remind all and EVERY-SINGLE-ONE of you where you are and what you have achieved. You are in the College of Europe, one of the European high-education institutions with the fiercest competition in its admission process. And you got in. Yes, you did.
Therefore, we have a serious request for you all: press reset. Go for a run, play your favorite song at the maximum volume possible, meditate, have a good laugh, scream, or do whatever it is needed to get all the anxiety out. And then, just then, let the empowerment and the self-confident to start to flow again through your veins. Feel it.
Self-questioning is a healthy exercise, of course it is. Hesitations, doubts and insecurities, no matter in which sense, are going to be chasing us all of our lives. But that’s the trick. That is exactly the game that the universe is playing with us.
So, let it come, face it, and tackle it. Be resilient over and over again. Keep winning the game. In the end, if you are here, it is because you have been doing it once and again for long, isn’t it?
Because you can, because we all can, no matter how many darts the universe throws at you. Indeed, the more darts, the merrier. Because the more darts we are able to deal with, the greater we become. The more darts we receive, the greater things we discover, the greater life becomes. And the best part is that you are not alone. We are a family and the more, the merrier! Specially in hard times and when deadlines and exams are approaching.
We decided to focus this second edition of La Voix du Collège in the students’ associations.
But why?
Because, indeed, despite the deadlines, the workload, the cold, the homesickness, students’ associations are growing and thriving, and that is just simply amazing. In spite of all the unsettling feelings we may have at some point, we are saving a part of our precious time (and in the College, time is a serious thing), to put a little part of our hearts in projects we are passionate about. So that’s it. The more, the merrier. We want to hear about you, whether if it is individually or as part of a collective. We want to hear about your projects, about your interests, about your passions, and we want to reflect them as we have done with several associations and with several College students in this edition. Here is what you will find on it!
Marta Ubeda and Laura Mora, Editorial
Students associations
Kévin Martin, "European Defence and Security Network, Saison 2"
Kiese-Deborah Illmann, Gauthier Schefer, Clément Uwayo, "EU-African Affairs at the College of Europe"
Galatée Fouquet, Paulien Van de Velde, Lucas Michel, "United in Diversity: the Benelux Society as a Telling Example?"
Elena Turci, "The 1989 Generation Initiative: Taking Responsibility for Our Future"
Tiago Carolino, "Transgender Day of Remembrance"
Maria Elena Sandalli and Sara Conti, A sprinkle of Italianness
Kevin Kaiser, "Join the EFF - College of Europe team! Because this time it's not enough to hope for a better future"
Francesco de Marzo, "The Energy Group is back: get energised!"
Opinion
Arto Väisänen, "Scandinavian neutrality? A deeper look at an enduring assumption"
Leah McCloskey-Gholikhany, "Why must the (Iranian) people pay for high politics decisions?"
Sara Conti and Cécilia Vidotto, "Issues and challenges of the European defence: Informal discussion with Clare Moody, MEP and Vice-Chair of the Security and Defence Committee"
Esprit du Collège
Guillermo Guardado, "Très heureux de faire votre connaissance, Monsieur de Baenst"
Paolo Recaldini “A breath of fresh art”
Interview
Cécilia Vidotto interviewed H.E. Thomas Mayr-Harting
Creative writing
Brendan Rooney, "Purpose, Discovery, Ascension. Collection of 3 pieces"
The struggle at this point of the semester is real, we all feel it. But once more, please don’t forget that we are all absolutely capable of dealing with this, and with much more. As Micaela, the President of the College Alumni Association remarked in her interview published in our last edition, the College is much more than classes, endless days at the library or exams. Even if you have to deal with those, don’t forget why you are here, make the most of it, at your own rhythm, and enjoy every single day at the College.
So, let it be, and remember: the more, the merrier.
Marta Ubeda and Laura Mora
