Re-reading my prior blog posts in preparation for this one, one key detail stuck out to me: they’ve almost all, in some way or another, been focused on this idea of endings. The irony would be of course that this, the final blog post, would be the one to sum up my time in Ireland and give some sweeping declaration of who I was, who I am now, and who I will continue to be – but, if I’m being entirely honest, they’re all sort of done that. I’ve been told by numerous professors over the years that I have a bit of a habit of being… overly verbose, shall we say. So I’ve decided instead of making this a final, concluding blog post with all of the gravitas such a work collects to make this my “casual” one – basically what the others ostensibly should have looked like. Nothing like a little subversion to close out the year. Step away ye seeking profundity and a nicely wrapped ribbon, as all you shall find in the ensuing paragraphs are a list of some of my favorite moments through the year.
The time Isabella and I said we would take a 10-minute break from the reading room and ended up talking on the steps for well over three hours as we watched the sun set over the Campanile. Made us both feel like we were back in college for the first time in years.
The fact that I cooked one (1) meal in our small but well-loved shared kitchen over the course of an entire year and the one time I did everyone was so nice about it. How I have survived 28 years with truly no cooking ability continues to marvel and amaze. I loved our Sunday night dinners though, even if I didn’t do a good job contributing to them. Long live Club Clinic.
When Owen and I did like 4 loops of Trinity while I was fully in my pajamas, and he asked me to go outside to get food with him and I just looked at my sweatpants and said no. That and our exposure therapy to Dark Horse and Billy Eilish.
Anna and I buying Asahi that we never drank that proceeded to sit in the fridge for months/talking about YA novels for the better part of an hour and a half on the way to Belfast.
When Ciara and I wrote a full song called “Soup on my Jeans” instead of paying attention in advanced quantitative methods and then she tried rapping it at a club that weekend and everyone loved it. And then we got McDonalds at Grafton and watched a girl next to us fall asleep at her table.
When Emma, Lily, Hampton, Rachel and I had a sleepover in Rathfarnham and watched hotel for dogs even though no one actually wanted to. And then everyone else fell asleep but I stayed awake and finished it out of principle (2/5 stars).
When I practically bullied Isabel into becoming a doctor, but I only did it because of how much I love her and how amazing of a physician she’s going to be. That and reminiscing about our favorite place in the world – Bryn Mawr College.
St. Patty’s Day where I wore a neon green helmet out so that I wouldn’t accidentally get another concussion (it worked).
When Camilia and I went to the Book of Kells experience and both hated the beach ball globe they had installed with a fiery passion. Got a great sweater though.
The night we went out for dinner in Belfast with the entire group and all got deeply, deeply silly. Watch out for glass in your food, kids. Also music concert in Vienna, which was deeply moving.
Pub quiz at McSorley’s every Thursday. We even came in 5th once!
I have a tremendous number of other memories I could include but if I did so this list would genuinely become endless. And, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have a little refrain at the end where I tried to pontificate on some piece of greater self-understanding or insight. So, without further ado – I am both sad and ready for this year to be over. I am sad because I never expected to love the people I met in Ireland the way I did (and do), whether it was my course mates or my fellow Mitchells. You all have become integral and invaluable to me and the best way to show that is simply to state in plainly. But also ready because it’s time to become a doctor – yet, I do think that Ireland has prepared me well for this next step. Whether it was navigating the unknown, learning to trust others more, or simply learning when to breath and let go, I’m taking more away from this year than I even know how to express (well, succinctly at least). What a wild, whimsical, worrisome, wonderful year – I’m grateful for every second of it. May this sincerely not be the last blog post to grace the Mitchell WordPress site. See ya next time!