Traveling.

That one simple word brings about so many different memories for everyone. When I was younger, I lived in Germany for four years because my father was in the Army.  During that time, traveling for family meant driving a couple hours to another country and spend the weekend there. Since moving back to the U.S., traveling has slowly changed.

The realistic version of traveling for my family now is driving a few hours to a nearby state on the East Coast and spending the weekend there or driving a couple hours to New Jersey to visit family. For my parents, that is fine. They have traveled in the past and now they enjoy just staying home and relaxing. For me, everything has changed.

At Longwood University, I was accepted into the Cormier Honors College. This program requires me to attend at least one study abroad throughout my time in college. Finding somewhere to go to was difficult There are so many programs, each offered during different times of the year, and each in various places across the globe.

After much deliberation I decided that I would do an independent program with the Institute for Study Abroad-Butler University. I wanted to be with people I have never met before, so I decided this was the best program for me.

Choosing what country I would go to was probably the easiest part of this process. I have lived in Germany, visited Italy, Spain, Enlgand, and France, so the next country on my list was Ireland.

Next week I will be traveling to Ireland on my own for one month. I will be studying in Galway at the National University of Ireland. During my study abroad, I will be focusing on Irish literature and Irish music and dance.

I never thought I would be flying to a foreign country by myself, but on Sunday, June 18th, I will be boarding a flight headed to Ireland!