Below you can find a brief video with a couple pictures and clips of experiences in Ireland! Enjoy! The pictures are from Cork, Killarney, and Dublin on St. Patrick's Day!
Spending the semester in the Rebel County of Ireland, living in the heart of Cork City, Ireland was the best experience of my life. I got to live out my dream of living in a completely different culture. Perhaps most exciting, I got to meet people from all over the EU, the States, and of course some local Irish students as well. I studied International Brand Strategy, Consumer Behavior, and Operations Management with students from all over the world. I felt the magic that is Ireland - each town and county holding its own particular charms but each place maintaining the same warmth that I associate with family and friends coming from strangers. I was surrounded by live music, traditional dancing, hospitality, and of course some famous misty rainy weather. However, it was much more than that.
I traveled all through the EU with my best friend, and I faced all of the challenges and road bumps you can imagine along the way. We managed to visit over nine countries through planning and keeping an open mind when it came to visiting new places. Many destinations were based on affordable flights from Dublin. My view of the world has forever been changed, I am completely humbled and excited to keep challenging myself to live outside my comfort zone.
Updates on my travels can be found on a joint blog I kept with another proud UHP member and UC student, Katherine Butler. Katherine and I spend much of the experience together, often seen as a unit to our friends from all over the world. What can I say? The Bearcat bond is real. The blog is as follows:
www.twocorkgirls.wix.com
As always, updates can be found on my diabetes central blog:
diaryofadiabadass.wordpress.com
Preparing for this semester abroad was a long process, and there were times I thought I wouldn't be able to pull it off. It was demanding work, but every bit was worth it. If you happen to be reading this as someone who is planning to go abroad - let me say this. Stick with it. Since I can remember, I have wanted to go live in a different country. Making the decision to pursue a study abroad program of this length was an easy decision. However, the amount of organization and planning that goes into collecting the necessary funds and filing all the right paperwork is no small feat. I would say that the first lesson I learned from this experience was during the planning process. It was the value of staying persistent and organized, and asking for help when necessary. As a type one diabetic completely dependent on my medicine to live, I had more than enough reason to stress before I left. It took calling my medical suppliers, meetings with doctors, consulting other diabetics, and some calculations and grunt work to ensure that all would workout. This said, up until I was boarding my international flight I was partially convinced I would never make it to Ireland. It was a wonderful lesson in working through self-doubt - and part of what made the semester such a dream come true.
I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for the help I received, I am so honored to be supported by so many different individuals and organizations. Looking back at my proposal for this experience, I set expectations based on what I was anticipating it was like to study abroad. The reality was a whole new world that no guide book on happiness, travel, or study could have really prepared me to take on. In fact, I think I enjoyed this experience the absolute most when I learned to let go of my expectations of it and chose to be in the moment. Now I know I'm sounding a little bit corny - but in the whirlwind of college life and always striving towards the next goal, sometimes the hardest thing to do is just step back and breathe.
I have learned humility from interacting with so many individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds as well as being submerged into one different than my own. I have attempted to learn Irish dancing (but I leave it to the pros - its better for everyone involved). I have learned the best way to get through airports and how to scout for student discounts, general deals, and the best free things cities have to offer. I have learned that I can move away and live somewhere else and be okay, happier even. I have learned how to adjust when things go haywire and enjoy the little speed bumps.
Traveling also made me very aware of the people I need to value in my life. I find so much joy in meeting new people, there is so much to be learned from each experience with someone new. However, while I was living in Cork I found that what was most important to me, even if I wasn't expressing it often, was the people that I considered to be good friends. One of the biggest challenges of being home is trying to maintain some connection with the people I met and care for, while also fitting back in with my friends from Clifton and my hometown. Being gone for so long varied my perspective on many different issues. Ultimately, this is for the better. However, no matter how far one goes or how much one might grow there is always value in time with a good friend. The scary thing is that as we all start to develop more on our own paths, its harder to maintain these friendships. One thing I know is that I want to be very up front about how much I appreciate my relationships with family and friends, even when things aren't perfect.
Overall, I feel like I have grown up tremendously from this experience. After seeing much more of the world, I feel like I am a different person. The world feels much bigger and much smaller at the same time, and I have a more strongly held belief that achieving my goals is possible when I set my mind and actions towards something.
Now that I am back in Cincinnati, I am not sure what is next. I know that I am nearing the end of my time in college, but I do not want to stop pursuing and having experiences such as studying abroad that so wholly challenge my comfort zone. I am hoping to work or live abroad again in the near future, fortune permitting. While I have always said travel is something I want to do, I can now definitely say it is something I fervently enjoy doing. It makes me feel alive and present like nothing else I’ve ever done. I would like to better my foreign language skills, particularly Spanish. I would also like to work in a place with a much different culture than the United States, at least for a period of time to expand and challenge what I know about the workplace experience.
I would also like to develop various skills in finance, organization, planning, and budgeting. I think these are skills that would aid me both professionally and personally and are areas that I could improve.
I am also hoping to delve more into my interest in journalism and story telling. I kept several records while I was abroad and it demonstrated how much I enjoy writing when I make the time for it.