What Life is About

Yet again, I've let myself go two weeks without posting anything new. A lot has happened in the past two weeks, so this may take a couple posts, but for now, I'll start with my trip to the Cliffs of Moher.

On Monday, March 4th, I woke up bright and early to board a bus and begin an adventure ending at the famous Cliffs of Moher. I've had several friends go on this trip before, and it came with rave reviews, so I can easily say that I was excited to see Ireland's most breathtaking natural landmark. And let me tell you, they were not kidding. Standing at the Cliff of Moher (aka the cliff of insanity for any fellow Princess Bride fans), looking out at the ocean, I couldn't help but feel little. Here I was, one person out of the hundred there, looking at the end of the world. It was really incredible. I'm not sure if the fog was preferable to a clear day, but it added to the endlessness of the cliffs. Hidden under a bank of clouds, the end of the rock formation seemed completely intangible. I imagine that it would be like standing at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, surrounded by the endlessness nature created. To some this may seem intimidating, terrifying even, but for me, on that Monday afternoon, it felt like an opportunity. Like infinite possibilities.

Maybe I felt that way because our bus driver had prepped us with such an optimistic personality. Before we even left Galway, I could tell it was going to be an interesting adventure because our bus driver was so excited to share Irish history, political tensions, and even personal anecdotes. When we first set off, he instructed the bus that we must "think positively to move these clouds." As I said, it was a pretty foggy day, so throughout the entire bus ride, our driver kept telling us that we had to stop thinking about water - "best not to say the r-word" - and start thinking of sunshine. He continued sharing this optimism by saying things like, "You think it's cold? Nah, it's just fresh. It's a nice, fresh morning." What struck me the most, I think, was that throughout the journey, he had to have said, "That's what life's about: enjoying yourself," at least six times.

What a novelty. Life is about enjoying yourself. That's such an Irish mentality. "Sure," he continued, "Irish is in a pretty bad place financially, but I think it'll get better and Ireland will come out of this in the next year or two better than ever before." It seems to me that in the US, people use the recession as an excuse. He's fallen on hard times since the recession. He used to be a very hard worker, but since the recession there just isn't work. We are the 99%. Don't get me wrong, as a college student, facing tens of thousands of dollars of student loans, I know the feeling of being the little guy. I know the feeling of bitterness at the fat cats on wall street getting bailouts, while I am faced with a future of financial struggle. But I think that the difference between the US and Ireland is that here in Ireland, kids work. Everyone works. Maybe our bus driver used to have a career in marketing, and now has to drive a bus. But you know what, he drives that bus like it's his favorite thing in the world.

Of course I'm worried about what I will do to bring in an actual pay check, but at the end of the day, I know that I will work. If I have to be a waitress or a barista or a nanny for a while, at least I'll be working. Because life is about enjoying yourself. So I won't stress myself into an early grave by worrying about that which I cannot control. I will do what I need to do to be successful in my own eyes. I feel confident saying that I will figure out a way to support myself, so that I can enjoy myself. I'd say I've done a pretty good job of that up to this point. I mean, I figured out how to get to Ireland. I've budgeted my money here so I can afford a trip to Spain, Morocco, France, Amsterdam, Poland, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. (Yes, this is actually happening!!!!!!)

Right now, I am happy saying that I am simply enjoying myself.