I know I’m about a month late on this blog but better late than never, right? Well here we go…
This holiday season was unlike any other I’ve ever experienced. It all started with a Thanksgiving get together in Belfast with the entire SCL family. This was the first time we had all been back together since induction week at the end of August. It was so nice to see everyone and hear all about their experiences so far. This year I had so much to be thankful for: my college team won a conference championship in February, I graduated, I was accepted into the Victory Scholar Program, and I was given the opportunity to move to Ireland to impact the lives of others through sport! This was also my first Thanksgiving away from home. So, this year I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew I was going to be homesick but SCL did an amazing job of making Thanksgiving feel like Thanksgiving back home.
After Thanksgiving, myself and the rest of the victory scholars went back to our respective schools for a short week as we needed to be back in Belfast for THE Basketball Hall of Fame Belfast Classic! This was an absolutely groundbreaking event and we were all very fortunate enough to be a part of it! My favorite part of the event was seeing the excitement and emotion on the kids’ faces as they walked into the arena. They were in complete awe as most of them experienced their first true taste of high-level basketball.
Following the Belfast Classic, I only had a couple more weeks left in the semester. I had a week of classes then had to grind through finals but ultimately made it out alive! After the semester was over my mom and sister came to Ireland for a quick vacation before we all went back home for Christmas. We stayed in Limerick for a night then hopped on a flight to London. After spending a few days in London, we flew to Dublin to stay in the city for a couple days before flying back home. A quick but unforgettable trip for sure!
In London, we got to see the London Eye, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Shard, and a few other cool tourist attractions. I actually climbed to the very top of St. Paul’s Cathedral, all 528 steps, to get an amazing view of the entire city! However, on the way back down my legs cramped up so bad that I almost felt the need to shout for help. If you ever need a good calf workout just visit St. Paul’s Cathedral, you’ll get your money’s worth for sure. We also went to a bar on the 31st floor of the Shard to get another amazing view of the city; we astutely took the elevator. The drinks were extremely overpriced, but that view was priceless…hahaha. All in all, it was a great trip to London!
To close out our vacation, we spent the last two days in Dublin. We didn’t get to experience as much as we wanted mainly because we were just exhausted from all the traveling. However, we did get to experience Trinity College, the Book of Kells, and the Temple Bar area! It was a quick stay but enjoyable to say the least.
We flew back home to celebrate Christmas with the rest of my family and extended family. It was so great to see everyone I haven’t seen in months. My girlfriend and I actually ended up going to a Philadelphia 76ers basketball game and a Philadelphia Eagles football game all in the same weekend! The Sixers and Birds both got two huge wins, so I guess you could say I’m some type of good luck charm. After Christmas was over, I flew back to Ireland to play in a National League game. This was my first game back since I separated my shoulder in late November. I was excited to be back to say the least! We ended up getting a big win against our cross-town rivals on a buzzer beater, pure excitement!
To top it all off, I had some of my good friends from high school come visit me in Ireland. I got to show them around Limerick, we went to the Cliffs of Moher (my third time, which is now starting to get a bit out of hand- sorry not sorry) and spent some time in Dublin as well.
To say I have been lucky this holiday season would be a complete understatement! I truly have so much to be thankful for; I have a loving and supportive family back home and I have been welcomed into another amazing family in SCL. Sport Changes Life provided me with a once in a lifetime opportunity to impact the lives of others through something I am passionate about and something I truly love. I could not have been more thankful this holiday season!