The Final Week
My sister Gretchen has a famous phrase that goes like this: "Each goodbye is an opportunity for another hello". During my last week at Maynooth, I spent my time hanging out with my friends, playing soccer and having picnics on the grass (pictured left), and called my sister a few times just because we both finally had the time to chat endlessly.
So, during one of our conversations, I was talking about how annoying it is that I have to say goodbye to my friends! Again! I have had to say too many goodbyes, and they never get easier! Why did I have to get close to these girls a month before I was due to leave!! When will I have the money to go see Kaya in Slovenia, Sara in Finland, or Sareena in Canada? And what about Janine and Jaclyn? Although they are both in the U.S., its not like I go to New York regularly!! At this point in the phone call, I was either crying or close to tears, and my big sister repeated her famous wise words that I have heard many times:
Each goodbye is an opportunity for another hello!
Then she reminded me how awesome it is to have met people that make it hard to say goodbye to them. My time abroad was so much richer because I was able to share my new experiences with such wonderful people! Hmm. I guess I didn't think about it this way... dang it. She was right again.
Remember back in February when I was sitting in my room, so bored, with very few friends that were not from Regis? I hoped and prayed that I would meet people that were as adventurous as I was, and I found them! Yes, it happened later than I thought, but making friends takes time! And these girls that I met made my last month of school so much fun! Even though the process took WAY longer than expected, I wouldn't trade our time together for anything! So even though it is so sad that we have to say goodbye, I got all of their Skype names, so I am fully prepared to annoy them all summer.
Even though we were all sad about leaving, we made the best of our last days together. I made sure to plan an adventure for every day, and one of my favorite days was a day trip to the coast with Janine, Bri, and Kaya.
We took the train to Bray, and spent the afternoon on the beach and kayaking on the Irish Sea. It took us about 500 years to get there, but with good company, time flies. Janine and I danced and sang around the empty train (getting just a few strange looks from our fellow passengers) and hung off of the poles that are supposed to be for supporting humans as they try not to fall on the person sitting next to them.
Before kayaking, we nourished our bodies with the healthy snacks of chocolate chip cookies, generic Pringles, and chocolate and sat on the beach that was made of hundreds of rocks. Super comfy...
We had an awesome guide during our yaking adventure, and he let us play lots of games and capsize each other! Not to worry friends. We had wet suits on, so we were sorta warm...
These girls make everything fun. Even though the water was freezing, and the day was long, we were laughing all day, and never ran out of things to talk about. It was as if I had known them forever! I think that is why it was so hard to say goodbye. It was like saying goodbye to life-long friends (even though we knew each other for less than 4 months!!).
Even with final exams and traveling, we made sure to spend as much time as possible together. I had multiple "last suppers" with my friends. We ate lots of Digestives and drank so much tea in our last week, because where on earth will we find those when we get home? Nowhere!! So my blood is now at least 30% Barry's Gold Blend Tea, and my organs have all turned into Digestives because of my excessive intake of these magical graham cracker cookie things. We took our last group photo and no one told me to be normal, so I accidentally ruined the photo. Whoops.
I felt so conflicted during these last few days! My parents and aunt and uncle were coming to visit me and we were excited to travel throughout Ireland, but I did not want to say goodbye to my new friends!! I cried more than I thought I would. With only 5 months, it is difficult to make meaningful friendships, but somehow, I did, and I am so grateful!
To the gals that made my last few months so meaningful, I am so grateful! I will never forget the awesome adventures we embarked on, the late night walks to stargaze, and the ordinary things like shared meals and picnics on the quad. I miss you all already, but I know that we had to say goodbye so that we could look forward to another hello. Thank you for all the memories, and I know that there are many more to come :)
