This is only the beginning.

Hello! It is officially 15 days until I board a plane and cross the North Atlantic ocean to study abroad in Ireland. I have decided to start a blog! This way I can share my thoughts, stories, and reflections throughout the entirety of the trip, including the preparation.

When I first heard about the study abroad program at St. Norbert (when I transferred my Sophomore year), I laughed and thought, "Me? A homebody? I would never ever go 35000 miles away for 5 months! Away from my family? Away from my home? Out of my comfort zone? Never."  Sure enough, a year later, I found myself at a panel of students who studied abroad in Ireland.

A week after the panel, I walked into a study abroad adviser's office with the biggest smile on my face. "I would like to study abroad." She asked where, and for some reason it was without a doubt, "Ireland". To be honest, I did not even really take any other place into consideration. I just knew that Ireland was the place for me to go. We talked about different programs in Ireland. After a few weeks of contemplation between Cork, Ireland and Maynooth, Ireland, I decided on Maynooth. Many many many students who study abroad in Ireland go to Cork, Ireland. I decided I wanted to travel the path where not many traveled (no pun intended) therefore, I chose Maynooth (one of the reasons I chose this school). The National University of Ireland Maynooth is a smaller school with only 8500 students (just right for me!). Maynooth is a  little town about 15 miles outside of Dublin. Perfect location! The more I heard about Maynooth, the more I felt it was just right for me. I will be able to tell you more about Maynooth when I arrive.

For the past several months, most conversation starters and the topic of conversations with relatives and friends has been about my going to Ireland. A few questions have been: "Are you excited?", "What are you studying?", "It's going to be an amazing experience for you!", "Are you living with Irish students?", "If you meet an Irish boy over there, can I be invited to your wedding?" I would like to take the time to answer some questions.

Are you excited? - My answer to this question varied. It hasn't really hit me that I'm going to Ireland... until now. I knew that once the 2 week mark hit, I would come to realizations that I'm leaving the country, about to meet new people, about to change, etc. To answer the question now, I am VERY excited! That is the understatement of the century right there. I think my nerves may be overpowering my excitement as I sit here typing and my palms begin to get sweaty, just thinking about everything that is ahead of me.  My excitement levels will change throughout the course of this experience.

How long will you be there? - I leave January 21st and will come back to the states on June 3rd. So about 4.5 months.

Why did you choose Ireland? - There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to go to Ireland when I decided to study abroad. I think part of it has to do with the fact that I am 50% Irish and I thought it would be interesting to learn more about what that 50% means. 

What are you studying? - My major is Education, but in Maynooth, I am taking several classes to finish up my generals. I will not be taking any education classes.... which is going to a change since this last semester I took only Education classes. A nice change it will be, I'm sure. I sign up for classes during my Orientation week while I'm in Ireland (within the first 2 weeks). So I will not know for sure what I'm studying, until then.

What are you most nervous for/about? - The first week. Boarding the plane by myself, getting off the plane, finding my bags, finding the people to help me get to my school, finding my apartment, finding my classes, finding food, figuring out how the money works, etc. I am nervous for all of the above (and more), but I know I will grow from it, and I can't wait for when I can look back on that first week and laugh at how nervous I was and how far I have come.

Where are you living? - I will be living in a flat with many other flat mates (not sure how many until I get there). There is a possibility I will be living with Irish students. Also, I get my own bedroom AND bathroom! 

Feel free to ask any more questions! I am happy to answer!

To learn more about Maynooth and the University of Ireland, Maynooth, you can click here. 

A question I ask myself: How does one mentally prepare to leave their comfort zone for 4.5 months? I don't really think there is a concrete answer for that. I have been praying, and praying, and praying some more. I have found songs and quotes that help build me up and help raise my excitement levels.

One of my favorite quotes that I found was "Move and be moved." I found it on pinterest one day. The way I read it: move to another place and let yourself change, let yourself grow.

One of my favorite songs is "Roots Before Branches" by Room for Two. (Yes, it was played a couple seasons ago on the season finale with Rachel Berry singing it, but I found that out AFTER I deemed it a theme song of my life.) One line caught my attention, "faith to take chances". I believe my faith is going to become a lot stronger throughout this experience and I have to trust that God is with me, so I should be able to take those chances!

I'm currently sitting at the dining room table with a cup of tea next to me, my mom in the kitchen asking me about ingredients we do or do not have and opening up the fridge saying, "Ugh. Who stacks these bottles in here so cockeyed?" and my thinking to myself "That was me, but I won't say anything." It's these little things that I will miss: my mom asking me "can I give you a list?" of jobs or groceries to get (cinderelly cinderelly), the sound of my dad getting home from the farm, my younger sister asking to wear my clothes and then complaining about me wearing her clothes, my older brother (Jacob) overruling the TV with sports when we just want to watch something other than sports(!), my mom and dad asking to watch the weather in the middle of a tv show, then falling asleep on the couch and taking at least 3 times of saying: "Mom and dad! You will be more comfortable if you sleep in your bed!", Benji - My POS car that gets me from point A to point B, and much more.

I'm not trying to be dramatic like I am leaving forever, but I do believe that going to Ireland will help me to appreciate these little things a little more. A goal I have these next two weeks is to appreciate the little things just a little more than I usually do (and do those jobs that my mom gives me, without complaining).