Blogging is a new experience for me, but I feel I must somehow keep a log of things going on, and what better way than to do something like this.
Let me introduce myself a little bit, and try to explain what you'll find here.
I'm a pre-med biology student in the US that has already been to Ireland once, back in August 2011. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had, and as the plane left the Dublin strip to return to America, I vowed I would someday return.
It's odd, but since that trip, my heart has been torn. I had spent the first 17 years of my life in one place, rarely leaving my family farm to even see other parts of my home state, let alone another country. But when I was in Ireland... I felt at home. There was a stronger sense of belonging than I've ever felt here. Family and other ties call me to stay put, but my heart whispers to go back, even for just a while longer.
I'm known for my obsession about Ireland on campus, it's true. Most just shake their heads and try to ignore my ramblings, but then there's Cheyenne.
Chy and I are almost like sisters. She lives two doors down the hall from me, grew up on a family farm less than an hour away from mine, is in the pre-med biology program (even though she wants to be a vet), and hasn't ever traveled extensively. When she heard me prattle on about Ireland one day, she crossed her arms and said, "Then why don't we go the summer after graduation?"
It might seem stupid, but I'd never quite thought of it that way. Going back was a dream, something always out of reach. It wasn't a short term thing. I figured I'd be out of med school before I'd even get the chance to plan a trip in honest. But talking about leaving in just three short years...
That was two weeks ago. We talked wildly about it that night, threw around things we wanted to see, and left it at that.
But tonight, Chy brought it up again. This time, in front of my mother.
Mother said yes. Go, run away to Ireland together. As long as we didn't go pubbing endlessly, she was ok with our plans.
Summer 2016. That's our goal and plan. By summer 2016, Chy and I will be in Ireland, together. Her boyfriend might come along with us (he feels two girls by themselves in a foreign country is a bad idea), but it will still be an adventure, for sure.
Tomorrow we start creating an actual plan, something more concrete than just talking about places. Our quest begins with the hunt for a large map tomorrow.
This is it.
