It is August 20th and I have just left home for Ireland. Currently, I have just said goodbye to my mom and I am about to hop on a plane and travel to Ireland. Personally, I love traveling and I love meeting new people, but at the moment I am very nervous. Normally, I love challenges and trying new things, but today it feels especially difficult to do this.
As I arrived at the airport, I immediately began looking around to see if any of the other scholars have arrived too. However, I do not see any in sight. So instead of waiting for the other scholars to arrive, I just decided to make my way to security. After getting through security, I saw a place to sit down at a brick oven restaurant and wait. I ate by myself for one hour and the reason why I did that was because I was nervous/scared.
I was nervous about the future and I was going to miss my friends and family from the states. Needless to say I was definitely in my own head. What got me out of my head was knowing why I came to Ireland and to this program in particular. I chose this program because it gave me the opportunity to change lives through sports.
Immediately, I gritted my teeth and went to the gate to see if some of the other scholars were there and they were. As much as I knew I would have loved to stand their on my own. I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone. This meant that I needed to go up to them and introduce myself. I walked over to them and shook hands with everyone and instantly I felt so much more at ease. The other scholars were so welcoming, kind, and friendly that it made me feel so much more relaxed. I immediately felt a sense of familiarity with them.
I am not gonna pretend as if I was still not nervous, but I knew that I had come here with a reason/purpose in mind. Therefore, it was easy to feel that connection when I was amongst the other scholars. I knew whey they were all here too, it was the opportunity to use sports to make a difference in people’s lives.
