What advice would you give to your 18 year-old self?

ROBYN

MCQUAID O’DWYER

Last year, Robyn wrote a piece for GCN that kick-started Trans Live Art Salon, Ireland’s first ever trans artist collective – a fact that makes us pretty proud! A theatre and performance maker, their work includes two shows for Dublin Fringe, Cuomo (2013) and (Not) Belonging, (2015). They write this month about the Fully-Automated Luxury Gender Oasis at Dublin Fringe, which is being staged by the Trans Live Art Salon

Robyn would tell their 18 year-old self, “Not talking is more anxiety-inducing than talking. Nurture your friendships. Trust your body Stay kind, stay outraged, read history. You are trans enough.”

STEPHEN MEYLER

Like a gradually maturing cheese, Stephen spends a lot of time in darkened rooms, wondering what that smell is. He ventured into the GCN offices in the mid ’90s and despite a number of solicitors’ letters, we haven’t been able to get rid of him since.

To keep a roof over his head, he edits things at RTÉ, and in his adopted urban village of Ringsend, he enjoys the bracing air from the local wastewater treatment/ incinerator complex. The advice Stephen would give to his 18 year-old self is: “Learn to stop worrying about trivial things and fully embrace the good fortune of being a young man in Ireland, just as it comes out of its dark ages.” Right on, brother.

AIFRIC NÍ CHRÍODÁIN

We first got to know Aifric, who wrote this month’s report on the HPV Vaccine, when she spent time as a beloved member of the Mother crew. She was studying French and Film Studies at Trinity at the time, and since graduating she’s has been based in New York, where she spends most of her time working in documentary production, eating dollar pizza slices, and explaining how to pronounce her name. If she could talk to her 18 year-old self today, she’d tell her that she doesn’t need to prove herself to anyone. She’ll find her tribe soon enough, around the same time she realises that buying three Jägerbombs for €10 is never a good idea.

RALPH HURELY O’DWYER

Ralph is a volunteer with ACT UP Dublin. Currently working as a doctor in St James’s Hospital, he has a keen interest in HIV medicine and LGBT+ health. One of the directors of ShoutOut, Ralph is passionate about the wellbeing of LGBT+ youth in Ireland, so we thought he was the right person to talk about what he calls the “dearth and quality” of sex education in Irish schools, something putting young people at risk of contracting HIV.

Ralph’s advice to his 18 year-old self? “You mightn’t think it now but things will be okay. Learn to trust more in others: you don’t have to solve everything yourself. Be unashamedly you! Being true to yourself will bring you more happiness than you could ever imagine.”