33 As a new university year is about to begin, and as Cardiff is getting ready to welcome a new cohort of eager-eyed freshers, independence seems a fitting theme for our first issue of the academic year. For many, university encapsulates the first taste of true freedom. Leaving home, managing student loans, making new friends, and trying new things all seem like extremely daunting prospects, but they are vital steps on the road to independence. I struggle to find the words to describe my first ever term at university. It was a complete blur of mixed emotions, to be honest. I do, however, remember feeling completely overwhelmed by the independence that I now faced. It felt strange that I had moved to a completely new city, and now had complete freedom and the ability to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. This prospect scared me for a while, but I quickly realised how beautiful independence can be. Independence can teach you new things about yourself, enabling you to be content in your own company and discover new hobbies, which is what led me to Quench. I have always had an interest in writing and journalism, but, without the opportunity to get involved with student media, I’m not sure that my passion would have ever been truly realised. I began as a contributing writer for Quench in my first year, and then took on the role of Features Co-Editor in my second year. Now, as my third year begins, I am thrilled to be working alongside the incredible Molly as Deputy Editor. One thing that I have always admired about Quench is the freedom that it affords its editorial team and contributing writers, so it has been refreshing to see how each section has interpreted the theme of independence, refining it and making it their own as this issue has come together. With the hard work of this amazing team, and the guidance and expertise of our wonderfully talented Editor-in-Chief, Alexa, I am so excited to see where we will take Quench as the academic year progresses.
Maddie Deputy Editor
Hello readers, and a very warm welcome to Quench! Thank you for taking the time to pick up our lovely publication, I do hope you enjoy reading it. As this is my first year working with Quench, and it may be some readers’ first time seeing our magazine, it only feels right to start with a bit of an introduction to both myself and this publication. My name is Molly, and I am one of the Deputy Editors here at Quench. I am just about to start my Master’s degree in Cultural and Creative Industries. I have spent the last three years in sunny Brighton at the University of Sussex getting my Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and Linguistics. I love reading, coffee, folk-rock music and anything green! This edition of Quench is a special one, being both the inaugural edition of the new academic year and my own debut to Quench, if you take a trip to the Travel section, you may find something I have written. Independence as the theme of our first edition epitomises the aura of autumn for me. The ‘back to school’ season sees us all packing up our belongings once again, moving into new accommodation and filling in a new academic planner. But it also signifies a new beginning, the next level of our education, new modules, new friends and overall development. We are all reminded once more of our own independence. This is a daunting notion, sometimes isolating, but hopefully, we can altogether find the beauty in our own independence, a message akin to some of the lovely articles here. To utilise my degree in Linguistics, the noun independence is synonymous with the idea of freedom, liberty and autonomy, coming from the early seventeenth century with the connotations of political non-affiliation- ‘one who acts according to his own will’. Fingers crossed, we can all learn to love our independence, and thrive with the knowledge that we have the freedom to live as we choose.
Molly Deputy Editor