I just found this note, now a year old, and thought I would share it with the world. It’s interesting that 12 months ago two of my goals were to ‘live in Australia’ and ‘teach English in Korea’. Another was to learn another language… Done and Done!
I’ve being doing a lot of thinking lately about the future. And as the saying goes, “You can’t know where you are going until you know where you’ve been”. This got me thinking about the past, about highlights of my college years which have recently come to an end, of days in school but most of all of the people closest to me…my friends.
The soppy person that I am, I have been listening to “Friends Forever” Graduation song by Viatmin C. It’s weird to think it was OVER 5 years ago that I was listening to this same song upon leaving school…a place that still and always will have a lil place in my heart. 🙂 In less than 3 weeks I shall be graduating from college and although it should be one of the proudest and happiset days of my life I can’t hep but think of all the amazing people I will be saying goodbye to. All the cool journo kids and my buddies from European Business, all the people I met from all walks of life through various clubs, societies, and even the good ol SU and bar! Of course contact shall be kept with all those closest to me but it is an inevitable reality that for every 5 friends I keep in contact with there will be 20 that I will probably loose touch with forever…people who, in the ever so slightest way, made an impact on my life, made me smile and changed me for the better!
When in 5th year of school I made a bet with one of my then close friends (Suzanne Murphy) that we would both be famous by the time we were 25. Not in a huge hollywood way, but well known within Ireland at least…and preferably rich…of course! With less than 2 years to go that goal has long gone out the window. It’s funny how your life goals change.
I noticed an interesting status on another friends facebook page recently inquiring about what she should do with her life and also commenting on how awful careers guidance councillors are. I believe mine, Mr Buckley, advised me to be a fisherman. Wasn’t QUITE the career path I had in mind…
Jeni , another close friend, seems to remind me of how quickly we are all “growing up”. How life moves by so fast, people close to us seem to be settling down, getting married and having babies. Not me…of no…I don’t plan on growing up for quite a while thank you very much. My parents think I have the “Travel Bug”…no offence mum and dad, but a “bug” doesn’t normally last over 10 years…that would be some nasty case of the flu. Nah me and travel go together like bread and butter…it’s not just a phase, it’s a way of life!
Now that I am finally graduating, Degree in Journalism thank you very much, I have no clue with what I’m to do with my life. Most people in my class are (similar to most people I went to school with) settling down. They are fighting this blasted recession and getting themselves proper jobs and setting up lives for themselves. Not me though…I want to get out of Ireland as soon as I possibly can…I want to live in Australia, I want to go teach English in China or Korea for a few years…heck I don’t actually care what I do or where I go as long as it’s one hell of an adventure.
When I was 8 my parents brought me on holidays to the Bahamas…absolute paradise you can imagine, yet all I can really remember is 2 things. Befriending an American girl my age called Aerial (yup like the mermaid…that’s probably why I liked her) and a t-shirt my mum bought me. It was blue and had this big flamboyant muti-coloured fish on it and above the fish it said, “When you are you, you are Unique!” It was the most God awful t-shirt, about 2 sizes too big and not “trendy” at all…but to this day I still live by that quote and it has stood by me throughout life- stay true to yourself and you shall shine!
As much as I love my random travels and adventures I have this little voice at the back of my head, bugging me daily, trying to get me to do something constructive. I look at my like minded friends (mainly who I have met through the wonderful world of couchsurfing- our love of travel brought us together!) of the same age and see them starting to structure their lives, (I’m thinking of you right now Ali, Aine and Sara!), and wonder should I be doing the same.
I am a HUGE fan of the ‘Art of Non conformity’ website and would love to live my life in that way…for a while anyway! 😉 For now I think I will set a few more goals…I’m sure in another 5 years I will look back and they will have changed again…but sure so be it…Ce sera sera, whatever will be will be!
Most of all though, I want life to be an amazing adventure…and I want to find someone special to share the this amazing adventure with.
Journalist On The Run 
“When you are you, you are Unique!”
I like it, i didn’t know your were a journalist?
I was wondering how you managed to hit the ground running with all the writing, it took ma a while!
Love it!!!
Yup sure am…well that’s what I did my degree in…but right now, obviously I’m a teacher. Sort of. haha.