Are you excited?
The question asked by every encounter for the last month. The answer is YES.
In truth, there is more behind the one word answer that everyone receives; rather a novel could be written on the eagerness and thrill of packing up and moving to a foreign lifestyle for a year.
So, why am I trading in Crimson Tide game days for rainy Ireland days?
Personally, I think it is a no-brainer, but I realize that some may not understand wanting to “pack up my life for a year”- especially my parents. To me, I don’t see it as packing up my life but entering a different stage in my life filled with potential new opportunities and experiences to learn from. Not to mention the hundred of dollars being saved, thanks to Alabama’s scholarship and the cheaper European tuition.
As I look out my window of center city Dublin writing- of course, avoiding the desperate attention my oversized suitcases needs- I can’t think of anywhere else I want or should be.
In life, we simply become accustomed with our day to day routine and potentially miss out on life changing opportunities. Ireland is one of my life-changing experiences. I will no longer be surrounded by my friends in Alabama or be enjoying my weekly coffee runs to Heritage House.
Rather, I will be making new friends from all over the world who grew up completely different from me and I will enjoy a pastry at a new coffee shop (hopefully in France or Italy, COVID permitting). The point being- the unfamiliarity my life will be enduring over the course of the next year and the lack of constant knowing of what my day will bring- brings an indescribable feeling that I have simplified to the answer: Yes, I am excited. .
