Can you believe that I have been living in Ireland for 6 months?! It seems like just yesterday, I was packing my things and anxiously awaiting for my arrival in Ireland, and now I only have 3 months left in this beautiful country. Each month has been filled with different memories, events, and lessons. I can genuinely say that my journey as a Victory Scholar thus far has been extremely rewarding, challenging, and life changing all at the same time. I am constantly learning a new life lesson or something new about myself. I wanted to share one life lesson I have learned for each month I have been here, that’s 6 life lessons people! It is my hope that this blog will encourage us all to reflect on our own personal journeys every once in a while.
September- Take the risk or loose the chance.
Before arriving in Ireland, all of us Victory Scholars were asked to come up with a life “mantra,” or a quote that guided our lives in someway. For me this was no doubt, “take the risk or loose the chance.” Ever since I was a kid, I was a worrier. I worried about everything, even the littlest things, so much so I won the “worry wart” award at school. (Not exactly the award everyone strives for!) I continued to be a worry wart until I was 19 and decided to get on a plane to Australia and live there for two months. Much to my family and friend’s shock at my sudden boldness, ever since that trip, I have been traveling and taking risks. I have found that traveling has allowed me to feel free and worry less. Traveling and experiencing other cultures has opened my eyes to so many new things and given me unbelievable opportunities. None of these opportunities would have happened if I didn’t take some risks along the way. And trust me, yes, some risks didn’t work out, but the ones that did were incredible. So when I was given the incredible opportunity to come to Ireland for a year, I took a risk and flew 3,000 miles away from home not knowing anyone. After a few weeks into the program, I was so thankful and happy I took the risk to come to Ireland be apart of something so incredible.
October- Be yourself. Always.
Meeting new group of people can always be a little bit stressful, as you never know if you are going to get along with them, if they will like you, if you have similar values, etc. Growing up, my parents always told me to stay true to myself no matter what happened. This is something I am proud to say that I always have lived by. I don’t change who I am or what I believe for anyone. One area that has always been a struggle for people to understand is that I don’t like to drink alcohol. All throughout college, friends, teammates, and other students would literally be in shock that I don’t like to drink alcohol and I could say no to it. Sometimes, people would tell me that they felt like I was judging them or I was trying to be better than everyone or people felt I wasn’t cool so I wouldn’t get invited places. Let the record show I am definitely not judging, I simply just don’t like the taste!
So when I got to Ireland and met this completely new group of strangers- I knew I might be the odd one out who didn’t drink. I also always joke that I have never been “cool” in my life, I’ve always just done my own thing, so I figured people might not think I was “cool.” However, after meeting all of the scholars and my roommates I never once felt judged or left out of anything. It has been so amazing to meet 24 completely new people all with different personalities and life experiences. It was a clear reminder to me that no matter what happens in life, always be yourself, and people will respect you for that. In a world full of princesses, be the batman.
November- Strangers can become your best friends.
I moved to Letterkenny with two complete strangers, Chaz and Faith. All of us from New York, but never having met each other. All I could think at first was, “oh my god I hope we all get along!” However, it was clear by November we were all going to get along and it was going to be a great year. Each of us are so weird in our own way (you know I love you guys!) and it just works for us. Everywhere we go now, we get asked “so you all knew each other before this program?” to which we laugh and say “nope, just met a few months ago!” Although it’s only been a couple months, it seems like I have known these people for my whole life. We have shared so many memories from traveling Scotland, to exploring Donegal, to playing cards in the Shalom Kitchen, and so many more. I know that Chaz and Faith will always be lifelong friends and I am so thankful these strangers were placed in my life.
December- Never forget where you came from.
It is easy to post on social media all the amazing pictures of Ireland and make your friends jealous that you are traveling the world. It’s easy to seem like you are living the life and don’t miss home at all. However, by December I was really missing my family back in Red Hook. I am so close with my family, and I couldn’t imagine spending Christmas without them! Being back home in New York and getting to see all of my siblings together in one place for the first time in two years made my heart so happy. I love spending time with my family and being back in my small farm town always humbles me. It’s so easy to loose sight of where you come from when you are traveling the world, but there truly will never be any place better than home. And when you feel like your living your own life and you’ve gotten all you want in life, remember the place you grew up and the people that raised you. It will always be always be apart of you.
January- Imperfection is beauty.
This pertains to my most recent blog, Scars. This blog talks about my struggle with body image issues and in particular my struggles with adult acne, weight, and self confidence. January taught me that I am never going to be perfect no matter how badly I want it. It taught me that everyone has their own insecurities and battles they are fighting. It taught me that we are all flawed in some way, and have to accept what we cannot change. It taught me to let nothing define you. Being okay with imperfection is something I will be working on for many years to come, but baby steps are still progress.
February- Don’t let a day go by where you don’t laugh.
In particular this relates to the Irish people, my roommates, and the kids I work with. All of these people constantly remind me to laugh at least once a day and God, it is so good for the soul. The Irish people, love to craic (see what I did there?) jokes and keep things light. The kids I have the pleasure of working with are constantly full of smiles and laughing about life. Lastly, my roommates and I are always laughing and joking. Faith and I could laugh for hours about nothing but our own weirdness. Then there is Chaz who reminds me to laugh everyday. When I am getting hungry and angry, also known as hangry, Chaz will make me laugh so hard and he is regularly cracking witty jokes at me. Living in Ireland has truly taught me to laugh; laugh at yourself, laugh at the bad days you survived, laugh at anything, as long as your laughing. Life is way too short not to laugh.
