Krista Simpson is a student at Texas Woman’s University, and is an ISA Featured Blogger. She studied abroad with ISA in Galway, Ireland.
I came to Ireland with the expectation that I was going to make new friends, but I never expected to become so close with them. More often than not, I get so caught up in my own worries and problems that I forget that the people around me are struggling with life as well.
While there were a few deep conversations sprinkled here and there, there is one conversation in particular that revealed just how close I had become to a few of these girls that I had met on my trip to Ireland.
At one point, I’d had a week of pure misery because of drama back home that had made its way across the Atlantic to me. After a devastating phone call on Sunday and a tear-filled night, Monday morning came slowly and arrived with just as much pain as the night before. However, after I forced myself out of bed and sluggishly trekked to the nearest store in search of a Vanilla Coke to ease my hurt, I was met with a concerned and friendly classmate who knew that last night was a rough one for me. She walked with me to the store and listened patiently to me as I told her of what had happened. Not only was she a great listener, but she also was of great comfort because she had been in the same sort of situation as me.
Throughout the course of the next few days, several of my friends came to me to ensure that I was doing alright. They even made a point to bring me to town to tea diners and dainty little shops that fascinated me because of all the trinkets and bored them because well…the shops were really meant for cute little old ladies.
Although I wish the event never happened, I discovered that these people really were true friends, friends that I will forever cherish and will keep up with for the rest of my life.
Your Discovery. Our People… The World Awaits.