I didn't consider studying abroad until my sophomore year of college, but I hope you all look forward and consider it at the beginning of your college career. It truly has shaped the way that I see the world and how I interact with others. I am typically more shy when I first meet people, but this experience has pushed me out of that comfort zone, allowing me to meet so many different people. I have learned so much about many different cultures, both from travelling to those areas, but also from speaking to those around me in Belfast and while travelling.
I have made some incredible memories in the last five months that I will never forget, and I am so happy to have shared them with you all. I am sad that our time is coming to an end, but I hope you remember the knowledge, pictures, and video calls! It was such a lovely journey, and even as my time here comes to an end (I leave June 3rd) I start to become sad. I need to say goodbyes, start packing, finish my last final, and get ready to go back to my life back home. I believe arriving and leaving are the most difficult parts of this experience, because first getting here to an unknown city is a little scary. Once I became comfortable with the city and made some friends, I have been fine. Though this makes leaving even harder, making friends from here and even some from America, I still am going to be quite a distance away from them until I am able to visit again. This has been my life for the past five months, and I have loved it, but I am also ready to come back home. I may shed a few tears during my goodbyes and when we take off in the plane, but I know this won't be my last time visiting. I could never leave my beloved Ireland, my second home, for too long.
