March has quickly crept up on us in student land and there are essays to be completed and lots of reading and organisation to be done as three deadlines come hurtling towards us.

This week, I’ll be sitting at a screen, which is fast becoming my new natural environment. I half expect David Attenborough to peek through my door and talk in hushed tones of the species Stressis Studentus while I try to scramble thousands of words together into some semblance of coherence. It’s a process that doesn’t come easy to me after years as a journalist striving to be economical with words, yet create meaning and poignancy in the small space to be filled either in print or online.

Now I have to contend with theories and various perspectives and then I’m expected to have my own views as well and actually use them — a world away from the objective stance of the reporter.

It’s also St Patrick’s Day this week, on March 17, and I’ve promised myself that I can take a break from the books when our sister flies in for the weekend, so we can have a bit of fun and join in the celebrations. It’ll be my first time in years spending St Patrick’s Day in Ireland and I’m looking forward to it; the parade, the music, the activities and of course, enjoying a celebratory drink with friends and family.

We’re deciding whether to participate in the parade this year, although when I spoke to my niece about it she gave me a look of pity one can only see from a child disappointed in how far from cool her poor aunt has fallen: “I don’t want to be in the parade, can’t we just go and watch?” She’s not even a teenager yet. But perhaps she has a point. Maybe we’ll see more as bystanders and maintain our air of cool.

We can take the children to learn more about St Patrick and how he has become a symbol of Ireland and Irishness — although some may say it’s a bit of a leap for a snake-charmer from Britain. I mean, one could argue as to the imperialist nature of the foreign man coming to satiate the Irish savages with an alien religion of oppression. But it’s all fun and games these days.

A beacon for Irish people

St Patrick is the Patron Saint of Ireland, which is a pretty big deal in that part of the world. He is believed to be the founder of Christianity in the country and as such he is revered by the Catholic Church. March 17 is believed to be the date on which he died.

St Patrick has become a beacon for Irish people across the world to get together and celebrate the Irish culture. There will be parades and huge celebrations held across the world with the epicentre in Dublin, and there will be a green hue over the blue planet on that day. But it’s not just for the Irish, it’s for everyone to embrace their inner green, the passion, the dancing and the fun. It will also be lovely to be able to teach my nieces and nephew, who were born in Dubai, about their home and culture and what makes us all Irish.

So I hope you manage to get into the Irish spirit on this day and don a bit of green, whether it’s a tie, a hairband or even a pair of socks. You’ll be joining millions of people around the world to celebrate a tiny nation on the other side; the proud, loyal and friendly nation of Ireland. Happy St Patrick’s Day.

Christina Curran is a journalist currently studying a Masters in International Relations at Queen’s University, Belfast.