Looking Back

It seems fitting that I’m listening to an old Irish lament as I write this last post. So what exactly did I do during my junior spring semester? I flew away to a little island called Ireland, left my immediate family and best friends behind, and did a major test run of my independence away from home. On my way there, I told myself that I was going home, in a way. It became my new home for over four months, a home in which I instantly felt comfortable. My mind was opened, life lessons became clearer, and I grew as a person. Only then could I return home and face those little problems from which I may have originally run.

Little did I know just how tiny Ireland truly was. Growing up with Irish blessings all around my house and being raised in large extended families, being Irish was the only thing that I knew. I grew up believing that half the world was Irish, while the other half wished they were Irish. I had no idea that such a rich, cultural heritage could come from such a tiny island. As I’m writing this, I’m starting to realize how much I miss Ireland. I miss the Irish accent and having pubs blasting live music on every corner. I love re-living my experiences by flipping through my photo albums from all over Ireland to re-experience all of its beauty – the landscapes, the castles, the cliffs, the bridges, and more.

My overseas experience was probably similar to the experiences of my fellow study abroad students in that I was exposed to new cultures, multiple currencies, new languages, unique foods, different methods of transportation, etc. However, there were some unexpected lessons along the way. Ireland in general was so good to me; it allowed me to grow in countless ways. Because I was given a more relaxed learning environment, I learned how to be a better thinker in my classes. I made a realization: one of the best ways to learn is to simply shut up and listen intently. All too often, we see people who lack the ability to listen to another person because they are too busy planning what they want to say next. If they would stop thinking so much and simply listen, the learning process would become much easier. My motto of “shut up and listen” allowed me to develop a better understanding of what traveling truly entails. It’s not as glamorous as I thought it was. It involves waking up at 4am for those cheap 6am RyanAir flights. It involves walking all over a new city despite your levels of exhaustion from not sleeping the night before. Besides seeing as many sights within reason, traveling involves truly listening to the story of a particular city’s or country’s history.

On that note, I learned so much about Ireland’s history, a history that I was aware of while growing up but never took the time to actually learn the details. I learned about Ireland’s struggle for independence from the United Kingdom, and its path to become a free state in 1922 and eventually a republic in 1949. I learned about the Great Famine of 1845 that caused the Irish, even some of my own ancestors, to suffer. These struggles partially defined the Irish people and account for the strong and beautiful people that we see today.

In addition to the history lessons, I learned so much from everyone with whom I interacted with while being abroad. I learned how to live with six other girls under one roof (it wasn’t as scary as I thought, just extremely difficult to share that minuscule fridge). All six of them taught me something new about life. They shared their experiences with me and gave me new perspectives on how to approach different issues in life. These lessons helped me figure out my own perspectives, which allowed me to further mold into the person that I am. I also learned a lot from my Irish friends within my group projects and my fellow international friends.

Ireland felt so close to home for me because I had plenty of Chicagoland friends to keep me company. Three of my six roommates were from the Chicagoland area, which came as a very pleasant surprise to me; their accents brought out my old Midwestern accent that had diminished after living in DC for 2 years. I also grew close with a number of students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a school that I now find myself making plans to visit some weekend during my senior year. Not having a ton of friends from high school, it was incredibly refreshing to now have an instant network of friends I could hang out with at home. I even grew very close to an acquaintance from high school whom I didn’t know as well beforehand.

Surprisingly, I learned even more about myself than I thought was possible. Apparently I love trying new foods and am no longer the picky eater that I was five years ago. Being so far from home and away from my good friends, I learned how to manage my priorities much better. I also learned how to deal with people who were so different from me. While I may not agree with every person I meet, I have learned what it means to love and appreciate these differences between us. Then I see the phrase “Love the differences” expressed in multiple languages in an exhibit in the Louvre Museum in Paris; coming up with an idea during my own personal reflections and then seeing it displayed in a museum in Paris was pretty inspiring.

My appreciation for my two homes (both Chicago and Georgetown) was reaffirmed by my going away in the first place. I totally did not expect to become homesick towards the end, but I was grateful that I was ready to return home. Since landing on US soil, I still have this instinct to immediately take pictures of my food, even though I am only in America (which, in case you are wondering, has typically been lots of parmesan-crusted filet mignon and mushrooms, my newly discovered favorite food since going abroad). I spent two relaxing weeks at home, and I am currently in a plane en route to DC for the summer as I write this post. I am hoping I won’t suffer too much from the extreme climate change that I am about to experience. Packing for a hot summer in DC was way easier than packing for a semester in Ireland during its winter months. Working at a real job for the next nine weeks will also be an adjustment, but an interesting and exciting one at the same time.

Not hitting every major region in Ireland on this particular trip was a blessing in disguise – it gives me a more pressing reason to “return home” soon. I say thank you to Ireland, thank you to all who got me there, and thank you to everyone who taught me something. And thanks to those who read my posts! Sláinte!