The Beginning of the End

Time for another turning point, Catherine.

I'm now finished with my classes as a junior undergraduate student- the next one I take, I'll be a senior. (It's a summer class- but still!) Today started my first day of spring break, although for all intents and purposes it's really the beginning of summer: one final paper left, and under 50 days remaining on this side of the Atlantic ocean. Tomorrow morning my family lands in Ireland, and Saturday I'll meet up with them at the iconic Bunratty castle for a feast and just the overall euphoric festivities of being reunited with the people I love most in this world.

My home email inbox is starting to swell again with messages I need to address, just as my NUI email is becoming quickly filled with confirmations for travel plans and boarding passes to print. After this upcoming Easter week with my family, I'm off for 9 days to Austria and a few potential side trips, then back in Galway for a spurt of maybe the Aran Islands or Thoor Ballylee, quick finishing my last paper, and then shooting up to Real Hogwarts, Edinburgh, Loch Ness, Belfast and Giants Causeway. When that's all said and done, I'll have just under two weeks remaining in study abroad. Knowing I have a full month and a half ahead of me sounds so much shorter when I break it down like that, and I'm beginning to get fairly anxious about it, even while still absolutely looking forward to picking back up my chaotic and comfortable life at home.

Since I've posted last, I've been preoccupied mostly with accomplishing my final papers. I read two books that I should have ages ago (Dracula and Jekyll & Hyde), supremely stressed about finding an affordable and convenient place to stay the one random day I'm in Dublin before Austria (this has yet to be accomplished), and intense planned for the Scotland/Northern Ireland week. I went to both of my lectures on the final day of classes, even though I didn't really need any of the information they were giving since my papers were done, but I wanted to be there for the last class- in a silly sentimental way. I had one last Wednesday college bar lunch with my friends from Marquette, chowed down on those wonderful 3 euro 'hot chicken rolls' with my smuggled fruit, and today got lost on campus one last time trying to find the philosophy department office to turn in my final paper. It turned out the office was closed, so I slid it under the door and am now praying that it reaches the appropriate person in time.

Though I'm really quite proud at the progress I've been making along Project 75000 so far, it's been slowing down ever since I've similarly slowed down with my academic paper-writing, stopped going to Writers Soc meetings and having their wonderful exercises, and been blogging a bit less as well. (No, that's not why I'm updating today at all, don't be silly...) But today in the library I dug out my old 30,000 word novel beginning from middle school, reread the whole thing, and decided not to abandon it after all. It's kind of like I've been learning in my Celtic Languages class about language death as opposed to language decline. Even if no one is speaking or thinking about a language, if some written or oral recording exists, it hasn't truly died: sort of like a softly flickering candle that has yet to burn out. My book can be brought back to life, and I need to do something to fill all the extra time I'll have now that classes are done, right? I still have a ways to go, and the place I'm living right now is possibly the most inspiring one I could hope for.

Many more adventures to come in the following weeks, I promise! Thanks for sticking through all the thought-adventures (or at least I'm going to pretend you have). This might be the beginning of the end, but I'm certainly far from done yet. Wanderlust continues to reign, until further notice.

Also- a huge good luck to the La Salle Explorers tonight! I might not make it up to refresh Google for the entire game, but I'll probably dream about the results. You've made Philly proud.