My Last Week in Ireland

After a semester of new travels, challenges, and opportunities, this is my last week in Limerick, Ireland. Time has simultaneously flown and crawled. Looking back on when I first arrived in Ireland, it feels silly that I was so scared. Now, I am leaving Ireland with confidence. I have learned countless lessons, cultivated beautiful new relationships, seen wonderful sights, and grown into a new version of myself.

For the past month, all of my study abroad friends and I in Limerick and beyond have chatted about how shocking it is that we are going home so soon. From these conversations, I have found that everyone feels differently about going home. I have met people who are dreading returning and try to soak up every last second abroad. Others have had enough and are eager to set foot in familiar ground again. I fall into a third category: those who have had a great time and are sad to end this chapter, but also excited to go home.

Going abroad makes you appreciate home much more. I will miss Ireland dearly, but I am ready to see friends, family, and pets again. I crave the warm climate, driving my car anywhere I want, knowing the good spots to eat, and generally just feeling comfortable everywhere. I already have a whole plan for the night I get home to spend time with my family and boyfriend and eat some of my favorites: Raising Cane’s and Ben & Jerry’s.

While I am ready to experience the comfort of home, I have grown exponentially more comfortable in Ireland, around Europe, with travel, and more. This is because of all that I have learned from my time abroad. I am generally an anxious person, so I knew that studying abroad would be tough, but help me learn to work with my fears. One of the main areas I have gained knowledge in is travel. When I first flew to Ireland, I had no idea what I was doing. When I went on my first international trip, I made a lot of mistakes. Now, though, I can comfortably navigate most airports and foreign cities with a sense of calmness that once evaded me. I have learned the norms and am much more comfortable asking for help.

Another thing I have learned, and arguably one of the most important, is how to be more comfortable alone. Back home I valued my privacy, but definitely preferred being around others. Going abroad broke me out of this sometimes toxic mindset of nothing being worthwhile if I am alone. Now, while I still enjoy doing things with others, I also enjoy doing them with myself. Both of these lessons have changed me, not into a different person but into someone who is more comfortable with herself and confident in what she wants. I feel much more capable and secure in my presence anywhere.

During this last week, I have had three priorities: spend time with friends, enjoy what Ireland offers, and get ready to go home. I started the week by submitting my last three assignments for classes and hopping on a plane to Amsterdam with a friend I had not travelled with yet. This was a great, short, two night trip and my last one from Ireland. It was relaxing and gorgeous, the perfect ending. Then, I got home and went out to eat with friends, walked along my favorite trails, went on my last Ireland run, cleaned my dorm, packed up my life, and said my goodbyes. It has definitely been a busy week, but now I am almost home and immersed in mixed feelings of relief and grateful sadness.

A couple of friends and me at the Milk Market in Limerick.

The fireworks at the Riverfest in Limerick.

The things I will miss the most about Ireland are the nature, the friends I have made, and the travel opportunities. In my host country, I have averaged 15,000-20,000 steps a day just because I love walking around. I will miss the trails a two minute walk away from my dorm very much, and I hope to return to them someday. I will also miss all of the unique bonds I have made, but I hope to visit all of my friends at some point once I am back home. Finally, it is much easier to travel around Europe from Ireland than from the U.S., so I will miss flying around and exploring so easily.

A view from one of my favorite trails in Limerick.

My friend and me at Keukenhof in Amsterdam.

Though I will miss Ireland, I am beyond thrilled to spend the summer in Columbia working at USC. I have missed the university so much. College here is different, and it does not hold the same community as USC does. I am ready to see my friends, return to my beloved clubs, take classes with familiar curriculum, eat Cookout, go to football games, and more. I feel lucky to work in Columbia this summer to have an early return, but I am even more excited for the fall semester.

Studying abroad has been a life changing experience, but not in the way everyone says. I still can not wrap my head around the fact that I have spent the past four months in Ireland. It does not feel real, but it is. It has been life changing in a subtle way. I did not recognize how impactful the experience was until looking back. This opportunity fills my heart with so many emotions, and I feel so lucky for all that I have lived. I am sad to end this chapter, but excited for what comes next. I hope that you can one day feel the same way I do.