Welcome to the Dublin Diaries! I am studying at Trinity College Dublin this year, working towards an MSc. in Marketing.
As a proud Irish Clevelander, I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with you; I hope you will enjoy reading about my new life abroad.
As you are reading this, I am just a week away from embarking on my journey to Ireland. My excitement is indescribable, and it is crazy to think about how much my life will change in the next month. I am ready to embrace everything this experience has to offer.
To be given this opportunity has been a dream ever since I first visited Ireland at 16 years old. I fell in love with everything about Ireland — its people, culture, beauty and more. Ireland has enchanted me for years and it is exciting to finally be able to call it home.
While I am sad to say farewell to my family, friends and the community I have built here in Ohio, I am lucky that they are supporting me in pursuing my dream. It’s not “goodbye” after all, it’s “see you later.”
As the time gets closer, I find my mind is all over the place with preparing for the move. I have all of my documentations taken care of, but I guess I’m just worried I’ll forget something or not have what I need. My mom is just as worried about it, but she is quick to remind me that I am not going to a remote desert Island and I will have everything I need at my fingertips in Dublin.
While I do have a mental checklist of what to bring, packing will be my biggest challenge. When I moved to Athens for undergrad at Ohio University, I packed my whole closet and more. It will be weird to have my whole life packed away in a suitcase, carry-on and backpack, but I know I can do it. If not, Ireland has amazing clothes (Hello, River Island!) and who can refuse the class deals at Penney’s?
I never want to forget my gratitude for the chance to do this. Being a first-generation college graduate and the granddaughter of Irish immigrants, I know I am privileged to be able to study abroad. I hope to keep my humility throughout all of this and pray that I never lose sight of the people who got me to this point.
I am blessed to have been raised in such a proud Irish American household. It is wonderful to be able to learn about where my family came from and have embraced Irish culture throughout my life. My mom instilled a passion for all things Irish in me from birth, so it is exciting to finally be able to witness all of these amazing things we both love firsthand and experience it on a long-term stay.
Say a prayer for my mom, the next couple months will be tough and she’s already shed a few tears.
Slán go fóill,
Margaret Mary
*Margaret Mary is an incoming postgraduate student studying marketing at Trinity College Dublin. She recently graduated from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University and is from Cleveland, Ohio. To keep up with her adventures abroad, follow @margamary on Instagram.
