So this it it...

My final day in Ireland. wow. It feels like just yesterday I was walking into Plassey Village House 6, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my 7 other housemates...and now here we are, banded together cleaning the house, listening to random mash-ups on mine and Rebecky's computer.

Time really does fly. These four months have been some of the most exciting, difficult, trying, wonderful months of my life. I've made fantastic friends and met some interesting people along the way. Will I ever get back here? I hope so, someday. I hope to see my friends and housemates once again, whether that be a roadtrip in the states or another European adventure.

What have I learned since I've been here? Well, I'd like to think I've grown in some profound way, but in truth I think all of the little lessons I've learned have truly made the difference. Life really does begin at the end of your comfort zone. I found that out when I plunged down a dark, forested mountain-side, when I took a Guinness glass from Stables (without permission of course...), when I willingly flipped my own kayak over in the Shannon River, etc. etc. Life happens. Sometimes things don't work out the way you planned; there is always an enjoyable moment, however, if you just look hard enough. My trip to Rome wasn't exactly what I thought it would be (I spent three-quarters of it alone, lost, and without an ounce of Italian language skills), but I feel like I conquered Rome and experienced its beauty in a way that I never would have had things gone according to plan.

I'm sad to be leaving this experience. I really, really am. I'm not ready to leave. But, I know it is time to get back to my life in the States, and one thing that I've learned here is to not let life pass you by. There will be more adventures awaiting me in Memphis, and I'm excited about that. Just because Memphis is no Ireland doesn't mean there isn't beauty and wonder and excitement to be found there.

Thank you Plassey Village, for your many memories of drunken Irishman, 4am fights, and general noisiness. Thank you House 6 for being ridiculously fantastic, and housing 8 wonderful people. Mo, we made it! It was a lot, but we got through it :)

I wish I could end with some sort of wise saying or thoughtful conclusion, but the truth is I am starving and a final housemate lunch is in order. Thus, I leave with what is most fitting: an Irish blessing...

May you be forty years in heaven before the devil knows you're dead.

:)

Lindsey