11 Years

It's been 11 years since my life changed. Well, that might be a wee bit o'dramatic, but I do commemorate this anniversary every year.

On September 25, 1998, I boarded a plane for Ireland. Actually, that was the first plane I ever boarded in my life (and it was a puddle-jumped with propellers from SB to Cleveland). As I sat in that seat and pondered the roaring whirl of the propellers, I wondered how people could possibly stand to travel that way often. It distracted me from, y'know, leaving my family, friends, and home for the first time. Then on the second flight, from Cleveland to Newark, I had my first jet plane ride. That was better. Until my sinuses threatened to explode from the cold remnants I took with me on the journey.

By the time our "real" flight left Newark for Dublin, I was an experienced jet-setter....I now knew that most planes don't use propellers, always travel with decongestant if you have any inkling of sinus problems, and that the little packs of peanuts they give you really don't count as a meal. I remember being so proud of myself when I remembered a change of clothes in my carry-on luggage. Since you're officially changing days, most folks traveling abroad change clothes. It's weird, but in addition to helping you feel cleaner, you get into the mindset that it's another day. After having changed my t-shirt, I glanced in the mirror at my minimal make-up, red eyes, and tousled hair and thought I traveled pretty darn well. Take that, Julia Roberts!

[I saw pictures from that trip and burned them all. In a big fire. Vanity rules!]

Once we landed in Dublin, the extreme exhaustion of psychological removal from our families, the emotional stress of beginning in a foreign land, and physical stress of spending 7 hours in coach, hit us all. Our program director took us on a tour of Dublin on the way out to the west suburbs (where we lived) and I remember nothing from the trip. I do remember the realization that this was it, I was on my own, and it was up to me to succeed as a student and have a good time in the process. In short, I put myself out there, internationally.

So that's why I still remember my September 25th anniversary. I really did change my life that day in deciding to board that first prop plane and head for the Emerald Isle. The year I spent in Ireland began with homesickness, then it stretched me as I made new friends from many countries and conquered new academic pursuits. Eventually, I began to accept the experience and Irish nuances. Each time I try something new or uproot my life and move to a new city for a job (ahem!), I'm reminded of my tremendous experience in Ireland.