Part of me never thought I would miss home this much. It’s strange to admit the presence of a previously unknown and unusually strong attachment to places I call home.
After such strides to prove my own independence to myself, it almost feels like defeat.
So, as I drudge through a strangely difficult month on the Emerald Isle, I count up everything I miss about my little corners of the South.
- The sunshine. After months of reassuring those who asked that ‘No really, I love rain!’, I have given in and will admit that these grey months have affected me more than I ever realized. All the more reason to count down the days until I can once again soak up every drop of sun! And a lesson to be learned here – be more in tune with how different weather affects you, and then make an effort not to move to a place that has the potential to put a damper on your mood.
- Biking. Sure, I could’ve summoned up my courage and learned to navigate these new roads, but, alas, I was too afraid. People driving on the left side (and twice the speed limit, at that) still confuse me, and I’m amazed I haven’t been run over yet just walking to class. Add perpetually slick roads, and you create a disaster waiting to happen for infamously clumsy me.
- That twang. I find myself slipping into a strange mix of what I would call a pretty far-gone Texan accent along with lots of quirky Irish slang. Being in Ireland has brought the Texan out in me, a piece of me I never thought existed in such prominence. I wake up sweating in the middle of the night and nearly start crying because I had a dream about breakfast tacos that I just can’t have. (Ok, not really.)
- My campus. A beautiful place where I could bring a blanket and a sandwich just about anywhere and call it a picnic. Oh, and the hammocks. I know, such a cliche college tradition, but I think I know what I’ll be asking for this year as my birthday approaches. UCC and OU are both beautiful in their own ways, but I find myself longing for familiar little nooks and crannies I frequented last year.
- My people. I’ve said it before and will no doubt again, but there are a lot of faces I will be quite happy to see again mere months from now. Letter-writing and Skype help, but I’m very much a huggy person. That said, I try to avoid thinking about how I’ll feel when it finally sinks in that there are faces here in Ireland that I won’t be seeing (mere months from now).
Now, the ‘big news’: I’ll be flying home the Saturday after finals (May 7th), packing everything up and heading up to Oklahoma the next weekend. Less than a week at home freaks me out, but I will be taking summer classes! Which sounds like about the worst thing ever, but it’s all to get back on track with my new degree.
And after thinking about all the friends I can adventure with, all the sunshine I’ll be taking in, and all the new stuff I’ll be learning (in quite a condensed fashion), I’m actually pretty darn excited. Call me crazy, but somehow I can’t wait to see Norman once again, even if it is to inhale 10 credit hours’ worth of knowledge in just under three months.
Looking forward to enjoying Ireland while I’m still here, but I’m no longer afraid of the future, either.
Ellie
PS. To get ready for summer (yes, I know it’s two months away), here’s a great playlist I just discovered. This, plus Nick Hornby’s Funny Girl, equals a pretty great Sunday afternoon.