Chase Your Dreams

       The following advice should not come as a surprise, as I would both hope and assume many have heard this phrase throughout their childhood and adolescence, but I must say it nonetheless.

       Chase your dreams. Chase them down like a lion hunting for his lunch.

       Sometime in the spring of 2009, a trailer for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released, featuring, in its opening scene, two characters standing atop an immense rock in the middle of the water and looking up towards cliffs that can only be described as dumbfounding. Despite the waves crashing against the rock with colossal power, the beauty of the scene could not be diminished. I learned later on that the scene was filmed at the Cliffs of Moher, a tourist hotspot and visual magnificence located on the western coast of Ireland overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. I knew from that moment that somehow, someday, I would have to go there. And finally, that day arrived.

       I took a day tour from Dublin to go see the cliffs, admiring the Irish landscape along the way. My fears began to set in when our bus driver alerted us of hurricane winds moving along Ireland’s coast and that the cliffs may be closed off to visitors. Due to the already intense winds at the cliffs, the hurricane could make it very dangerous for people to see. Luckily, the winds subsided slightly and we were allowed access.

       The Cliffs of Moher stand, at their highest point, at 702 feet. I knew this fact going in, but nothing can compare to their size when you are standing right on top. They are gargantuan, enormous, and magnificent in every respect. Visitors are allowed to walk all along the tops of the cliffs, allowing people to look out into the Atlantic, feel the spray of the water hit against their face, and smile at the absolute perfect beauty in front of them. I cannot express the amount of positive emotions I felt while I was there; it is another one of those moments that reminds each one of us how large the world actually is and how much there is to see out there.

       Seeing the Cliffs of Moher was a long-sought dream of mine and I completed it. Dreams are meant to keep us going, to keep us reaching for things throughout life, allowing our ambitious nature to reign and seek out new and exciting experiences. With dreams on our side, nothing can stop us.

       For anyone that would like to see photos of the two day tours I did while in Ireland, please see the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202277686648760.1073741831.1388736035&type=1&l=3311e9d0bc

Interact With The Strangers

       We interact with people on a daily basis. Family, friends, classmates, colleagues, even the cashier at the grocery store around the corner. Whether it is for a long span of time or even the briefest of seconds, these many people occupy a unique moment in our lives. And that can make all the difference.

        Two weeks ago, I traveled by myself to Dublin for five days, seeing many wondrous sights and meeting some great people. I stayed in a hostel not too far out of the city center in a 12-person room. Little did I know when planning the trip, but that weekend was actually a bank holiday weekend, which meant that my hostel was full almost every night. Over the course of my stay, I met various people staying in my room, from teachers to students to families, all enjoying the magnificence of Dublin in various ways.

       On my first night, I met two girls who were studying abroad in Finland for the semester. We talked about the different things we each had planned to see while in Ireland, glorifying over our mutual love for the Cliffs of Moher and learning about the many odd and different museums in Dublin, such as the Leprechaun Museum. It was particularly enjoyable to have them to talk to on my first night; I began to feel welcomed and excited for what Dublin offered.

       Throughout the next few nights, the people in my room cycled in and out, leading me to meet a new group every single night and then to never see them again. On one night, I met a pair of post-graduate English teachers studying in England and we shared our common interests in being English majors. They talked about the haunted bus tour they went on that day and I discussed my day in County Wicklow and Kilkenny. Another night, I met a French family taking a short vacation by passing through various cities in Ireland and the United Kingdom. Finally, on my last night, I welcomed in a group of Brazilian and Mexican friends studying in Paris and told them all about where I had been and where they needed to go in Dublin before they left.

       I remember when I was a little kid and I was learning about fate and destiny and all that. I imagined that each person’s life was a piece of string, or this one straight line. As we met people, our lines crossed and intertwined, creating a beautiful pattern of endlessly intersecting lines for each new person we met. The longer we knew someone, the longer their line stayed alongside ours; yet even for those people with whom we only interacted once, their line still passed along us.

       I may never these people I met in Dublin again, but they were there, their lines had an impact on me. For various reasons, they affected me on my journey, by making me feel welcome, by telling me about some great sights, by sharing common interests. This may all sound like a ramble right now, but I think it is important to remember on any journey that we should try to meet new people, to interact with the strangers out there for even a brief moment. You never know what could happen…

 

 

Wear A Pair Of Wet Jeans

     Sometimes, ladies and gents, a pair of wet jeans marks the beginning of a long and exciting journey.

     For the next five days, I will be exploring the ins and outs of Dublin, Ireland- a city and country I have always desired to visit and admire. Yet, to get there, I had to endure a very interesting morning. I began my day at 4AM where I proceeded to get ready to leave at 4:30 for my thirty minute walk to the bus station downtown, which would consequently bring me to Edinburgh Airport for my flight. In retrospect, not choosing to take a taxi downtown was an incredibly stupid decision, but I choose otherwise with the thought that walking for a while would wake me up. Well, it did do so...in its own way.

     I woke up with eyes still half-closed and struggled to get ready, leaving my flat five minutes late. Yet just as I walked a few blocks, I realized I forgot a few essential items and rushed back. I was now 15 minutes late and only had 30 minutes exactly until my bus left. I walked like a cheetah, pacing my step off another man who appeared to be late for a bus as well. The walk took much longer than planned and so I was forced to sprint about 6 blocks and charge up a hill with fierce intensity. Did I forget to mention it was pouring rain out as well? Well yeah...that too.

     After finally reaching my bus and removing every layer of clothing possible, without being inappropriate, to relieve my sweaty body, I passed out for the entire ride, waking up in a comatose-like stupor once we got to the airport. I got through security with no issues and ate breakfast, passing by the hour and a half wait I had until my flight boarded.

     Now in reference to the wet jeans... Let me summarize: I washed all of the clothes for my Irish adventure last night but despite two rounds in the dryer, all of my clothes were still soaking wet. Yes, I could have waited for another dryer to be open and dry them then, but as I believe we have established, I have not made the best life choices in the past twenty-four hours. Consequently, my jeans throughout this whole morning have been soaked and with every step, felt more and more like I was wearing a diaper. The fact that it was raining as well did not help my situation.

     Back to the present. Eventually I found out what gate I was at and walked to it all the way at the other side of the airport, far away from security. So there I sat, waiting for them to commence the long and arduous boarding process when I started looking through the photos on my phone. I had screenshots of various things I had to remember for my trip- directions, times, etc. I started deleting the ones I did not need and came upon one which I did not recognize. Just as I am about to zoom in and read it, a lady with a perfectly shaped bun on her head calls out for boarding.

     I wait in line for about ten minutes as this lady comes around to check on tickets. At the moment, it is precisely twenty five minutes until the plane takes off. If you have been paying attention, you will know what comes next. The lady, with the impeccable bun that it almost seems fake and actually could anger you at how much time she obviously spent doing that bun that morning and is still as cheerful as an elf on Christmas Day while you are tired and wet, looks at my ticket and says I need to check-in my visa paperwork down by the main entrance. Oh yeah, and she says, "You best move quickly."

    Words cannot describe the intensity with which consumed my body for the next thirteen minutes. It took me about 5.2 seconds to comprehend what she said, after which I began to sprint faster than I ever have beforehand. I ran by people boarding flights to London, Belfast, and multiple other cities. I passed so many cafés and restaurants that their smells began to simply meld together. I frantically asked every security personnel where to go, shortening my story down to, "I screwed up. Where's the visa place?" I ran back and forth on the main level to find a short line, got my boarding pass stamped without having to show any documentation, and ran through security in two minutes. With every little muscle in my body, I sprinted back to my gate, only running into one person. 

     I was the second-to-last person to board the plane and the last to sit down. I sat right next to the lovely bathroom and a couple who slept on one another the entire flight until, right before we began descending, they decided to get drunk on teeny-tiny bottles of vodka. Once I was sitting comfortably, I unlocked my phone and, as usual, my most recent  page was up. It was the picture. And as I zoomed in, I remembered what it was. It was a reminder from RyanAir and Edinburgh International Airport to check-in my visa at the service desk by the main entrance, the same desk I was at only a mere five minutes ago. And what did I do then? I laughed. I hysterically laughed like never before at everything that just went down. In thirteen minutes, I accomplished the entire boarding process. I needed a laugh.

     This entire venture lasted no more than four hours, and it all began with a pair of wet jeans. Sometimes little things like that really get on our nerves and force us to work through an uncomfortable or unpredictable situation. Yet these moments could turn out to be the best. Sure, I nearly missed my bus and my flight, but I didn't. Looking back, it was a great morning.

     I would now like to thank the woman at the security desk, who, in my frantic state and giving my best puppy dog face, allowed me to cut past nearly fifty clearly pissed-off people in the security line. In addition, I would like to apologize to the man who I ran into on my way back to the gate outside the coffee shop, preventing an obviously endearing hug between his wife and him as I ran between them.

     It should not be a surprise that life will, ever so often, throw us a curveball. We instinctively want to try and work around it, but sometime it's just fun to go along. Be risky and crazy and spontaneous. Therefore, my word of advice, dear readers, is to not always be afraid or worried about life's curveballs. You never know what adventures lie ahead when you put on a pair of wet jeans.

Roll With The Punches

       As with all journeys, we are to expect some hurdles along the way. With my first UK adventure behind me, I can say that this past weekend trip to London threw every unfathomable and unearthly obstacle in my way, resulting in one of the most interestingly comical trips I have ever had.

       I was accompanied to visit London with one of my friends, Rachael, as we left early Friday morning. We spent each day traversing different parts of the city center, seeing nearly every tourist site desirable, from Big Ben and Buckingham Palace to Kensington Gardens and the Millennium Bridge. One of the most amazing aspects of such a large city as London is the fact that there is something new around every corner. On Sunday, we walked around Hyde Park, leading us eventually into Kensington Gardens and a modern art gallery, and while walking around the nearby Kensington Palace, we ended up on the avenue where Ambassadors from various nations lived. Each spot was different in its own light and that in itself was amazing.

       Our difficulties came down to one thing: transportation. In search of a cheap hostel, we choose one which was located roughly 30-40 minutes out of the city center via subway. This did not stop us, however, as we began to plan our days around starting earlier in the day. What did throw us for a loop is when the only subway line leading to our hostel was closed on Saturday and Sunday, forcing us to take a combination of subways and buses that took nearly over an hour to get into the city. We persevered, however, by making light of every awful situation that came our way, such as when I accidentally triggered a series of events that led my foot to be drenched in a puddle. After this weekend, there is no doubt that Rachael and I deserve the awards for “Most Optimistic In Face of Certain Frustration.”

       London is visited by 15.3 million tourists each year, becoming one of the most well-known and popular cities in the entire world. Everyone who visits London can go on and on about its great historical significance, its elegant beauty, its rich and vibrant city-life. I did not have this experience though; instead I had one filled with comical memories and great sights. But in a way, is that not the point of any trip? We often do not go to a city to see the city, but to make memories to remember the city. I will forever remember that after this weekend, I took two planes, two taxis, one train, one airport bus shuttle, four buses, and over 20 subway rides on at least six underground lines. I will remember the struggle Rachael and I had on Saturday night to find a place to go out and have fun. These are the things I will remember more-so than the city itself.

        There was one great highlight to the weekend, however- an aspect which I would not have discovered had I not been to this great city. I called Glasgow my home. When things seemed like they could not be any worse, I simply said I wanted to go home; but I did not mean to New York, I did not even mean to the United States. I meant Glasgow. It seems strange that after being here for only a mere six weeks, I could see myself living here much longer than one semester. My friends and family back home are most likely shaking in their shoes right now or screaming at me via this blog, but it is true. I did not realize how much I would love Glasgow and to think about leaving in two months is a dreadful and saddening thought.

        On any journey we must anticipate the bumps in the road and roll with the punches. To believe that they will not come takes away from the innate purity of the experience. For after all the chaos and confusion, you may find a pearl hidden deep within, just waiting to be discovered.

        In any case, I am happy that I visited London. After all, how many people can say that?

        Oh right…15.3 million people.

 

 

 

Once again, I have uploaded pictures from my London trip which can be viewed here:

 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202217080573646.1073741830.1388736035&type=1&l=032a5dc9b0

Learn And Live Part 1

       I swear to you, my dearest readers, that it was life-changing.

       This past weekend I took a school-sponsored trip to the Isle of Skye in the Scottish Highlands. Along with a large group of truly amazing international students from various countries, this trip included stops at numerous beauties in nature, from waterfalls to statuesque mountains to immense cliffs overlooking the ever-reaching sea. And while our days were filled with historic sites and wonderful sights, our night was filled with raucous laughter and seemingly endless excitement.

       We witnessed so much this weekend that it is quite hard to pick out one favorite place. I thoroughly enjoyed Glencoe, a spectacular mountain range where various movies have been filmed, most recently the new James Bond film, Skyfall. I also loved the cliffs along the Isle of Skye as it reminded me very much of my times in Portugal during high school. Every place we visited was just fantastic in its own unique way.

       There was a moment on the bus ride back when nearly everyone was asleep and I looked out the window and saw something truly spectacular. There were mountains in the distance of every shade of green, surrounding a valley of lush trees and fields, scoping every color you could imagine that would make up a beautiful landscape. The lake right in the center was a fluorescent blue and reflected the small rays of light breaking through the dark clouds above. It was like a portrait, a puzzle scene, an image out of a movie that you could only imagine seeing and never really thought it could exist. And then in the blink of an eye, it was gone. The bus kept driving, people kept sleeping, and the dark trees on the side of the road blocked all vision of ever seeing that landscape again.

        It was right then that I remembered something, something I had only known once before in my lifetime. It was that my goal in life, my purpose, was to see these images, these moments when my mind is literally blown away by the wonders of the world. I first realized this while in Portugal three years ago as I stared out into the Atlantic Ocean and dreamt of all the things I could see in the world. Whether it is a sight only Mother Nature could have created or an encounter with an amazing group of people, I want to experience it. All of it.

       I think we need these moments- moments when we remember that we are not masters of our own universe, that there are things out there in the world that are bigger than ourselves, that we are here on this planet to learn and to live in the most grandeur of ways.

       For all of you who desire a little more, I have attached the link to a photo album of this trip equipped with everything your heart may desire.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202110756115601.1073741829.1388736035&type=1&l=757dc353e3

Meet Some Amazing People

       Each new week in Glasgow seems to have one of those nights that just take my breath away. From the nights where I really got to know some amazing people to the wild dancing at Scottish ceilidhs to partying until the morning to silent music, each night got me more and more excited to be in this spectacular city with some spectacular people. And last night was no different.

       At the end of my first class this week for Scottish Literature 1A, a group of people came in to quickly offer an invitation to join the Scottish Literature Society on campus. They seemed very welcoming and so I thought I would give it a try. Their first event was a pub crawl in the West End of Glasgow to some of the most popular pubs and bars for students. We all met outside the subway station and we all instantly connected, knowing it would be a great night.

       Our first pub was in the QMU at Jim’s Bar where a few of us bonded over Harry Potter, social awkwardness, and drinking games. As we were leaving though, we got to talking about television shows we watch and luckily, there were a few Breaking Bad fans that I talk to about the upcoming epic series finale. I was also told to watch Sherlock, which I will probably start doing soon because I guess it’s another one of those shows you can really binge-watch.

       The second pub was on Ashton Lane and was called VodkaWodka. Ashton Lane is definitely one of my favorite streets because at night, there are lights strung above the entire street; it is such a beautiful sight. That bar was really nice but it was incredibly crowded so we stayed for drinks and then moved on.

       We next went to the Hillhead Bookclub, a favorite of mine since coming to Glasgow because during the day, the food is amazing and during the night, the entire hipster atmosphere is just so alluring. There are even game rooms with ping-pong, chess, and 90’s video games; awesome, I know. I played a horrific game of ping-pong before heading off to our last location, Òran Mór.

       Òran Mór is known throughout Glasgow as one of the top pubs to visit for one specific reason: it’s a church. Well, now a converted church as it holds a stunning bar and underground nightclub. The entire vibe was very relaxing and it just made me admire the great city of Glasgow even more.

       I arranged this blog in a play-by-play format because that is strangely how this amazing night went. Each new pub that we went to, I got to know different people more and more. I met people from Scotland, England, France, Italy, and Spain, and for the first time, I was the only American. I was so incredible to get to know people from all diverse cultures and backgrounds, figuring out the differences we have all had in our lives. Yet despite all the cultural variances, we were all there, together. We shared common ground on literature, education, television, drinking games, you name it. Despite our various upbringings, we were all able to spend a night together and have a truly astounding time, creating memories that will last a lifetime.

       God I love studying abroad.

 

 

Live In The Moment

       Imagine a night that is so filled with excitement, energy, and pure bliss that it does not merely fly by, but soars through every open sky it can. It is a night to remember every day for the rest of your life.

       This past Wednesday, my friends and I attended an event at the QMU called Headphone Disco. Basic premise is that everyone gets a pair of headphones to listen to two separate DJs throughout the night. There is a switch on the headphones that allows the listeners to decide which DJ they want to personally hear, but if people were to take their headphones off, they would hear no music, no beat, no rhythm. They would solely see the crazy dancing styles of every audience member and hear the nonsensical singing of a group of people literally beating to their own drums.

       It was truly an amazing night; by far one of the best I’ve ever had. I was finally able to sing in public and no one could judge my horrifically awful voice because they were focused on their own music. I was also able to show off some of my “smooth” dancing moves. Insert hysterical laughter now.

       The best part about the whole event was the option of choosing between DJ A and DJ B. By the end of the night (which ended up being about 5 hours because it was that good), I had listened to each DJ for about half the night. Both energized the crowd and got people moving and each played great music, from current hits to pure classics in every genre. Everyone tuned into one DJ when Imagine Dragons’ “It’s Time” played and then back to the other for Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” High quality music all night long.

       Thinking back, I have a theory as to why this idea is such a genius one. As humans, we seek a level of privacy and solitude, finding a comfort in that. At the same time, we want to feel a part of something truly profound that connects us with others. This event allowed for both as each person was able to feel comfortable dancing and singing however they please without fear of judgment, something which I consider a huge achievement. We need nights like this one, where we can just sing like no one’s listening and dance like no one’s watching. All we need is to truly live in the moment.