Hey everyone!
I figured now was a good time to start this up again – I’m going back abroad! I
can’t even begin to tell you how exciting this experience is for me. I’ve been
working SO hard at my job and I don’t mean to sound full of myself but I think
I have definitely earned this. In
twenty-four hours I’ll be drinking a Guinness with my ancestors. Tomorrow, I go home.
This trip
is super important to me. I’m going to be connecting with my heritage, with my
roots, in a way that I’ve never done before, in a way that few people can truly
understand. I am one hundred percent Irish – not 50%, not 75%, not even 99%;
100%. You cut me and I bleed green (ha or Guinness!), and I know the words to at
least a dozen Dropkick Murphy’s songs. I have a cool Irish cap that I wear sometimes,
and if you still don’t believe me, let me just list the maiden names in my
family: Carmody, McGlinchey, O’Neill. Sure, I might not have red hair and
freckles, I might not speak with an Irish brogue, I might not celebrate my
heritage more than once a year, but I had a poetry class where we studied
Seamus Heaney and his poem about digging with a pen really speaks to the Irish
writer in me. I think I just connect with Ireland in a way that not many people
do, and this trip is going to cement that.
I wonder if
I’m going to run into any long-lost family members while I’m over there. It
would be so meaningful, it would really enrich the experience and make it even
more worthwhile than it already will be. We could talk about our shared
experiences, our common memories, about our ancestors who tilled the earth and
lived off the fat of the land. I used to work as a janitor during the summers
so I’m no stranger to hard work!
What I’m
really looking forward to is that period when I come back, when all I can do is
talk about how great the trip was. For weeks – even months – to come, all
you’ll hear from me is how awesome the Irish are and how great the pubs are and
how quaint the people are and how similar they really are to us when you get
right down to it. You won’t even have to ask. I’ll just tell you, because I
know you’ll want to hear all about it!
I’m also
just so thankful for the Internet and Instagram. When I was abroad last time,
Instagram wasn’t really a thing, but now I get to document my travels so that
everyone can see how great it all is. I’ll have #tbt’s for years to come! My
first picture will obvi be a beer and I’m thinking the caption will be
something super clever – so get ready to like it! Leave a comment if you want
me to tag you in all of my posts so that everyone knows that you’re friends with
someone who went to Ireland – because that is just so cool!
Well, I better
go pack (I won’t forget my SuperFan shirt – Go Eagles!). I’ll see you on the
other
side. Erin Go Bragh!
