Category Archives: Uncategorized

As classes end and summer nears, I have had to face the harsh reality that my Mitchell year will soon come to an end. With this as motivation, I have spent the past few months hastily accomplishing everything I said … Continue reading →

“So, how are you finding it?” My Irish friend squealed in reference to my first few days at UCC. “Well, at first I was using google maps….” I rambled on despite her puzzled look, “but now I don’t really need … Continue reading →

It was the first week of 2018 and I found myself stumbling to the window of an emergency department in Cork. In a disoriented manner that definitely warrants mockery with his friends over drinks, I half-explained/half-sobbed my symptoms to the … Continue reading →

“We’ve covered the stage in flowers and lights,” the emcee says, “because we want our poets to feel appreciated in this space. The way you’d decorate your house before the arrival of a cherished guest.” I’m at a Poetry Marathon … Continue reading →

I have often told an anecdote about the first time I heard the words ‘conflict resolution.’ I was in the process of separating from the military after nearly six years, attending a transition course that would fall woefully short of … Continue reading →

It is not lost on me that my 8-month experience in Dublin has largely been shaped by being the only African-American Mitchell Scholar this year and in my course at Trinity. That compounded with the majority white population in Ireland … Continue reading →

While March saw Ireland looking with wonder at the largest snow storm in decades, April and May have seen Galway flaunting daffodils and tiny white flowers and producing shades of airy greens as sunlight scatters through the trees that would … Continue reading →

I had to take a medical leave from University College Cork for the fall semester, and so by the time I returned to Ireland in January, I was anxious to make up for lost time. One of my top priorities … Continue reading →

“You talk funny,” the four-year-old standing in front of me noted in his thick Cork accent, a spirited grin spreading across his face. His dad apologized as I threw my head back laughing. In late January, I eagerly accepted a … Continue reading →

For as long as I can remember, one of the best spaces to become present to the people and places around me has been during a car ride. Whether it was the usual summer family road trip, long drives on … Continue reading →

When we visited Corrymeela in Northern Ireland for our mid-year Mitchell retreat, I was unprepared for the deeply philosophical conversation that ensued – much like I felt prior to our initial retreat in Limerick. Padraig, a community leader, orchestrated the … Continue reading →