Carpe that Diem

After studying at Maynooth University for almost three months, I have been fortunate to be able to travel the world, just like I've always dreamt. I have composed a list that's made me try to sort out what kind of life I want to lead.

Places I have been to since January:
  • Ireland: Dublin, Maynooth, Galway, Cork, Dingle, Derry, and Belfast
  • United Kingdom: Holyhead (Wales) and London (Great Britain)
  • Italy: Naples, Rome, Pompei, and Cuma
  • Malta
  • with plans to visit Paris, France in May
Food I remember eating since January:
  • Eggrolls
  • Toast
  • Gelato
  • Pizza
  • Lasagna
  • Chips
  • Avocados
Clothes I remember wearing:
  • ...
During my spring break travels, I realized that I absolutely loved the life I was living. Surviving on only five shirts, two pairs of pants, and PBJ sandwiches I’d packed from Maynooth to lessen the cost of buying food were somehow the perfect little sacrifices to travel the world and experience different cultures and people. My perfect future would involve living a minimalist lifestyle in a tiny home or affordable apartment, avoiding buying unnecessary items, spend my time making art, and then saving my money for traveling.

Of course I miss planning cute outfits and wearing quirky socks, but I won't remember embroidered pineapple puns as well as attending an Italian mass on Good Friday at St. Peter's Square or finding a cave on a rocky beach on the coast of Wales.

My studying abroad experience hasn't necessarily been all sunshine and rainbows, which people tend not to advertise. But part of the beauty of isolating yourself from routines and comfort takes you out of mundane normalcy and makes you do a double take on your choices and attitudes.

At the end of my life, I want to say that I spent my time, effort, and money on things that became a part of me and sculpted how I act and think, instead of the instant conveniences that tend to wrap up so much of our time.

Last month, a family member's passing came at the same time I left for London, and it felt very conflicting to be going on such an adventure when I and others back home were still grappling with this loss. But if I've learned anything about living, it's that you can't wait a second to enjoy it. The best way to celebrate life, even in the wake of its loss, is to spend time in nature, in beauty, in the presence of your favorite toothy grins, in the awe of everyday miracles.


Holyhead, Wales:

Beaumaris Castle

Beaumaris castle





Naples, Italy:

Mt. Vesuvius crater that became a lake

Zeus' Temple

Pompei ruins

Pompei victim

Rome, Italy:




St. Peter's Square


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