Work has been very busy in the last two weeks, which I am grateful for! I thrive when I have structure and a solid task list. We’ve had a full workshop schedule, with different age groups, ability levels, and locations. It’s beautiful to observe how each class brings their own unique strengths to create a completely original story, despite the fact that we employ the same workshop techniques every time. I highly recommend you visit the Fighting Words NI Library of Stories and read some of our recent stories. They’re full of wacky characters, witty quips, and dramatic cliffhangers. One of my favorites was a story about a smiley egg and a piece of extremely crispy bacon who turned from friends to foes after the revelation of the egg’s unfortunate proclivity for cannibalism. 

As you may remember, we have just moved into a new office space and it’s lovely! We have a large window, which brings in daylight and fresh air, and we’re surrounded by other arts organizations in the building. There’s a really friendly atmosphere here–I’ve enjoyed waving hello to our new neighbors in the hallways, chatting with the baristas in the ground floor cafe (which has INCREDIBLE decaf, by the way), and working peacefully at the sunny picnic tables out front. As sad as we all were about moving out of Connswater, working at the Crescent feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s also conveniently located near the Botanic Gardens, so I’ve been getting my daily flower dose on my lunch breaks, and tearing through books on my Kindle.

Although the new office has a lot of perks, it’s a very compact space. We currently have an island of mismatched desks crammed together in the center of the room, with boxes piled high and unpacked in the corners of the room. We would really love to get unpacked and fully settle in, but we don’t have any shelves to put things away on yet. So, I spent the last week writing up a proposal to IKEA asking them to donate some shelves, desks, and decor to make our space more functional and welcoming. They have a program where they sponsor charities who are making a positive impact on their community, so I think we have a good shot at getting approved. I wrote a cover letter explaining our unceremonious eviction from Connswater, a proposal explaining what kind of work we do and how we would benefit from the items we’re requesting, and a presentation showcasing my vision for the new office space. If we get the sponsorship, it will be cool to know that my work contributed to a nice future office for my colleagues, even though I will probably be gone before it fully comes to fruition. 

One more piece of exciting professional news! This week, The Irish Times published an article that I wrote about my observations and lessons learned from working with Fighting Words. It was very exciting to buy a physical copy from the grocery store newsstand in the morning and to know that people all over Ireland are reading my words! You can also read the article on the Irish Times website. 

I’m hyper aware of my quickly dwindling time in Belfast. I decided not to travel in May so that I could plug in here– spending quality time with friends and going to all the cool things that I’ve been meaning to go to and never got around to. I’m reallocating my travel budget to try that restaurant, go to that event, explore that unfamiliar corner of the city! This mission has led me to discover some awesome Belfast gems, as well as revisit some old favorites, often in the company of good friendship. I wandered through bluebell patches in Cregagh Glen, tried the camembert at Bert’s Jazz Club, got a comically asymmetrical sunburn at the Crawfordsburn Beach, marveled at a truly sensational aerial hoop dancer at the Festival of Fools, cried from laughter and melancholy at the Tenx9 storytelling event, slurped noodles at Ragin’ Ramen, bobbed my head to DJ beats at an artisan market in the Crumlin Road Jail, redeemed my completed punch card for a free bagel sandwich at Bodega Bagel, cheered for runners on the sidelines of the Belfast Marathon, and got a funky necklace at the shop run by Ulster art students. 

I also hiked up Cave Hill, which I have now seen in all four seasons. The gorse was in full bloom and I basked in its tropical fragrance while I savored the now-familiar view from the top of McArt’s Fort. I thought about my first visit to Cave Hill, when I was still learning how to use the bus system and completely misjudged the temperature when dressing for it, resulting in a blend of being extremely sweaty and cold at the same time, somehow. I remember how at peace and hopeful I felt then, despite the unfamiliarity of literally all of my surroundings. I felt the same peace each time I returned, with different nuances. This final time, the peace was tinged with wistfulness. I love Belfast. It’s my favorite place I’ve ever lived, and it’s taught me a lot about what kind of place I want to plant myself in the future. I feel at home and ever-inspired by Belfast’s colorful art scene, humor-laced resilience, friendly openness to new-comers (despite decades of past violence and distrust), and stunning green spaces. With each beautiful Belfast experience in my last full month here, there’s an element of sadness in knowing that I’ll be leaving soon. But there’s also a sense of how lucky I’ve been to know such a wonderful place! I’m planning to spend my remaining days soaking it all up, with gratitude.

A lot has happened since my last update, so this will be a long one. Last weekend, I traveled to Amsterdam to meet up with my friend Elisabeth for our birthday (which was also Easter!). We had a wonderful weekend full of lively activities and leisurely moments. I adore Amsterdam, although the constant onslaught of determined cyclists whizzing past me at 100 mph had me a bit on edge as I wandered through the city. My good friend Liz happened to be in Amsterdam at the same time, so we had a lovely surprise meetup at a coffee shop, where we got yelled at for attempting to smuggle in bagel sandwiches. I learned lots of important facts in my exploration, my favorite being that tulip bulbs used to be so sacred and valuable that one would be worth more than a townhouse in the city centre. 

We did the classic Amsterdam things, like sampling cheese and taking a canal cruise, but we also found some cool experiences slightly off the beaten path. One of those was a storytelling night at Mezrab, where 6 professional storytellers told funny, embarrassing, delightfully embellished, heartbreaking, inspiring stories about a wide range of life events. As someone who greatly enjoys the craft of storytelling, I was inspired and engaged the whole time. Being involved in a place like Mezrab, as an organizer or a storyteller, would be a dream job for me. It’s cool to see the community and fun that a unique space like that can create. 

Instead of paying for entry to the iconic Keukenhof tulip gardens, we rented bikes and rode through 25 km of the surrounding area. It felt like some kind of magical teleportation through different lands, as we pedaled through fields of swaying technicolor tulips and patches of forested shade, navigated between eclectic shop facades and grassy dunes, and paused to take in the view at the beach and a lakeside cafe. I hadn’t ridden a bike in a long time, but I felt a deep sense of nostalgia remembering how I spent so many summer nights in childhood riding my bike at the college campus near my house. I would listen to music on my iPod Shuffle and think angsty thoughts about my vastly complex 8-year-old life. I never imagined that 15 years later, I’d be riding blissfully through the Dutch countryside. 

The birthday festivities concluded with a potluck dinner in Belfast. The word potluck might evoke mixed reactions if you grew up in the American South, but let me assure you that this potluck was the height of class and deliciousness. Offerings included leek and potato galette, balsamic onion cheese, and a mocha raspberry cake made by yours truly. It was so lovely to see my friends chatting and laughing effortlessly with each other, even though they had only just met. I felt a great sense of gratitude for the community I have built since arriving in September. Before arriving, I worried that it would be difficult to find people my age to connect with, but I’ve been lucky to find kind people around every corner in Belfast, and my birthday dinner was a nice celebration of that. 

I’ve also been continuing to enjoy occasional solitude–donning funky outfits to read in coffee shops (getting creative with the same clothes I’ve had here since September), cooking up a storm (I need to be eating at home after all that traveling, but it doesn’t have to be boring), exploring new walking routes (I discovered a pond with swans and a view of the hills!), replacing phone use with books and crafts (just finished Wuthering Heights for the first time), and finding cool events to attend (it turns out Belfast has a monthly storytelling night called Tenx9)!

Last but not least, work has been getting busier after the lull of Easter Break. Last week, fueled by matcha and excitement, we moved our belongings out of storage and into our new office space at The Crescent Arts Centre! It feels so nice to have a stationary home after floating through the last month in a combination of working from home and borrowing spaces for meetings. We’re not even close to being unpacked, but we’ve spent our first week here analyzing feng shui, rearranging furniture, stepping over boxes, and enjoying being together again. Yesterday, I built my first IKEA bookshelf! I’m feeling like a real Bob the Builder in the above photo, where I’m in what we were calling “bookshelf jail”. 

The school workshop team has spent some time reflecting on our practices and developing some new methods to try based on our observations. This week, we had three workshops, where we put our new ideas to the test. We were all a little rusty at the original format, which made it slightly difficult to incorporate new aspects, but I think a lot of the changes worked. For example, we decided to change the order of the collaborative writing of Chapter 1. Typically, we write the story line-by-line, finish with a cliffhanger, do some light editing, and lastly, vote on a title. In the new format, we write the story, stop before we get to a cliffhanger, vote on a title, edit, and put the cliffhanger in last. In the past, we have often struggled to get a good cliffhanger sentence on the first try. Our hypothesis was that by asking students to vote on a title and edit the story first, they would be able to better synthesize the plot and reflect on cliffhanger ideas, instead of feeling the need to impulsively decide on one before fully grasping the arc of the story or the concept of a cliffhanger. It has worked really well, which emphasizes the importance of continuously evaluating our practices, even when we have been doing them a certain way for a long time. Small changes like that can make a significant difference in the success of the story and students’ resulting sense of pride and confidence in their writing abilities. The above photo includes today’s cliffhanger, along with my expert illustration of the story’s events. Check out the full story here. I only have one month of working left, which makes me so sad! I am really going to miss the workshops and spending time with my Fighting Words colleagues. 

Work has been pretty unconventional since our unceremonious eviction from Connswater. My colleagues have been joking about how many weird tasks you end up doing when you work for an arts organization, and this move has definitely had us doing some odd jobs. The day before we found out we would have to move out of Connswater, we had 40 brand new beanbag cubes delivered to our workshop space there. It was a coincidence of tragic timing. These cubes are gorgeous, multi-colored and corduroy, and we really did not want to have to give them up. We debated for weeks about what to do with them and researched lots of options for returning them, giving them away, or keeping them. We ended up deciding to store all 40 of them in my coworker’s flat, at least temporarily. That is why last Friday, Marnie, Aoife, and I spent the morning moving 40 beanbags (individually boxed) out of Connswater and into Aoife’s flat. It was a tedious process, but the beanbags were blessedly light and we got the job done in record time. 

I laughed to myself because this certainly isn’t what I pictured myself doing when I planned this project a year ago, but I am just happy to be along for the ride. Our move from Connswater has forced all of us to adjust our expectations and plans for Fighting Words, but it hasn’t detracted from the quality of the experience at all. Work looks different than I thought it would– I’m delivering workshops in schools instead of in our workshop space, working from home and coffee shops more than in an office, and stepping up for the unique needs of each new day. We have been able to assemble the team for in-person meetings semi-regularly, and it’s nice to see everyone and offer encouragement to each other. Next week, we will move into our new office space at The Crescent Arts Centre, so we’ll get to put down some roots and feel more settled. I’m excited to see what this next chapter of Fighting Words work brings!

My other big update is that I went to Barcelona! It was one of my favorite trips I’ve ever been on. I wandered in parks for hours, ate patatas bravas and paella (which I’ve been dreaming about since my trip to Madrid in November), finished 2 books, went to a transcendent jazz show, got inspired to try jazz flute, had a sunset beach picnic, made a friend in my hostel, admired so much funky architecture, and took things really slowly. I love Spanish culture– people stop to dance in the street when they hear live music, take long lunches, people-watch from sidewalk patios, and socialize late into the night. There is a leisureliness to life, an emphasis on joy and connection over work and productivity.

I have gotten to taste this leisureliness over the last 8 months because I have had the privilege of working on a Lumos project. However, I will soon enough be returning to life in America. I’ll be working lots, taking classes, adjusting to a new city, building community from scratch again, and jumping back into the fast and busy pace that I knew throughout all four years of college. It will probably be jarring. I’ve gotten used to the luxurious ability to be able to stop and smell the roses, to linger in pleasant moments and embrace spontaneity. I’m not delusional enough to believe anyone can simply choose this lifestyle– I know it’s an immense privilege and I’m unbelievably grateful to be able to experience it. However, I do think there are ways I can bring some lessons that I’ve learned and practices I’ve adopted back home with me, so that I can continue to make time for mindful relaxation and observant gratitude even when I’m in the whirlwind of a busy life. Being here has taught me how important that is.

We’ve officially entered our working from home era at Fighting Words! We’ll be remote for about a month before we transition into our new office space. I was worried that this interim period would be boring and lonely, but we’ve actually still had plenty of in-person work opportunities, including various workshops in schools and team meetings in community spaces. Last weekend, I attended a rap workshop, where we analyzed the lyrics of famous rappers and even wrote some of our own. Even though I was there as a staff member, I got to participate in the writing exercises and ended up including an Edgar Allen Poe reference in my lines. Who’s surprised?

You may remember me mentioning the residency program we’ve been piloting, where we complete 6 sessions with each class. We recently completed the final workshops with both of our classes, and it was bittersweet! We have gotten to know these students and watched them blossom over the course of the year. It was beautiful to see the growth and creativity present in those last sessions– they have eagerly adopted the Fighting Words mode of collaboration, positivity, and imagination. At today’s workshop, students reflected that writing stories made them feel “brave, free, happy, and confident.” One of the shyest kids in the class was the one who said he felt brave. I nearly shed a tear. We couldn’t have hoped for a better outcome than a room full of children who are genuinely excited to continue to use their power to write. 

For the rest of the life update, I think I’ll just quote from last night’s journal entry: “I am the happiest and most content I’ve been since arriving here. The weather is so beautiful, I have lots of quality friends, I genuinely like spending time alone, I have continued to find new walking paths and coffee shops and thrift stores, and my work is so meaningful. I love my pace of life and the ways I choose to spend my days.” That pretty much sums it up! I’ve found my groove here and the impermanence of this life I have built only makes it sweeter. Life is swaying golden daffodils and writing outrageous stories with 6 year olds and singing as friends blow out birthday candles and stirring homemade lavender syrup and swishing thrifted skirts and discovering new songs to love and reading peacefully on a grassy patch. Spring has always been my favorite season; I love the freshness and sense of renewal that accompanies it. I spent fall recalibrating, winter reflecting, and now, in spring, I am reinventing. 

I remember writing in an early blog post that I didn’t want to lose my sense of wonder in this place. I’m happy to say I certainly haven’t! My appreciation for Belfast grows deeper each day, and each new season brings exciting discoveries. Last night, I went to Late Night Art, a monthly event where galleries all over the city open up late so people can come see what artists have been working on. Everyone dresses up and enjoys art together. I had fun chatting with new and old friends, admiring art of all varieties, and marveling at the fact that it was still light out at 8 pm. What magic!

A tectonic shift has occurred at Fighting Words NI since my last blog post. As you may remember, our workshop and office space is located in a shopping centre called Connswater. On Friday, March 7th, we received news that the shopping centre would be closing in 2 weeks and that we would need to be fully evacuated from the building by that time. This was obviously a huge shock for all of us, and a difficult reality to come to terms with. My colleagues have put so much time, care, and effort into making Connswater a welcoming and safe space for children. There’s the sensory space for neurodivergent students who need a break during workshops, the green Author Chair where children proudly share their writing with their peers, the light-up bookshelves decorated with no shortage of eclectic knick knacks, the antique door painted Fighting Words blue and adorned with a magical lion knocker. It’s a quirky space, full of life and memories. It’s integral to our identity as an organization, and it’s the only iteration of Fighting Words that I’ve ever known. 

The Monday after the announcement was made, it was Fighting Words’s 10th birthday. We ate birthday cake and laughed wryly at the morbidity of our situation. I think we all implicitly understood that there was no time or space to feel sorry for ourselves, so our first meeting was full of dark humor, self-compassion, matter-of-fact problem solving, and calm positivity. It is a tragedy to be thrown unceremoniously out of your home with only two weeks’ notice. There’s no doubt about that. But the indomitable spirit of Fighting Words has allowed us to adapt to these circumstances and we are committed and confident in our ability to continue to serve young writers in our community. This new chapter will surely bring changes in our program delivery, our work routine, and our practices going forward. However, we have been a whirlwind of action these past two weeks and we are ready to transition into this new era. Fighting Words fights on! 

March has been full of good chaos, packed schedules, and joyous experiences. In the past two weeks, I’ve hosted multiple guests from out of town, presented my Lumos project to the Belmont Honors cohort, celebrated my first Irish St. Paddy’s Day, enjoyed cooking new recipes from my Hello Fresh trial subscription, and basically have not stopped running around for 14 days straight. My laundry is piling up, I’m 10 days behind on my daily journal, and I can’t remember the last time I went to bed before midnight. All that being said, I’m happy as a clam! I thrive in busyness, and as I have matured, I have learned to distinguish between busyness for busyness’s sake and the busyness that comes from having lots of wonderful and important things that I genuinely want to dedicate my time to. This past weekend was a particular highlight, as my friend Elisabeth was visiting. We spent all of Saturday with our friend Adam, and because Adam and Elisabeth have both lived in Belfast at some point, we didn’t feel the need to spend the day hitting all the iconic Belfast spots and landmarks. Instead, we were able to enjoy the simple pleasures that come with living here: sipping matcha at a small cafe, making music together at Adam’s flat, dipping into charity shops when something caught our eye, wolfing down bean and cheese chips from the nearby chippy, and sharing our favorite songs and a Shamrock Shake on a windy night drive through the countryside. 

On Monday, the fun continued with a full day of St. Patrick’s Day festivities. Nothing makes me more sentimental than seeing a whole city come together to celebrate and be cheerful. Elisabeth ran the Spar Craic 10k in the morning, and I waited to cheer for her at the finish line. The man next to me was reading the names of the runners on their race bibs and yelling words of encouragement to them as they completed the final dash to the end. “Let’s go, Finnoula! You’ve got this, Geoff!” he shouted. As I watched someone in a full leprechaun onesie (complete with a green top hat) run past me, I felt a little bit of hope restored in me regarding the human capacity for (and tendency towards) goodness. There are a lot of disheartening and downright evil things happening in the world right now, but these pockets of whimsical positivity and kindness keep me from despair. All day long, I witnessed outlandish green outfits, friendly chats between strangers, carefree dancing, lilting live music, and a general agreement that for one day, we could pause our lives and collectively participate in something purely because it’s fun. There’s little utility or gain from a day of celebration, but our delight in frivolity is part of what makes being a human so special. As I looked around the table at my friends, I was acutely aware that I will cherish this day in my memory, and that I will miss Belfast dearly when my time here comes to a close. 

There’s a creepy path by my apartment building. It exists under an overpass, enclosed by claustrophobic metal gates, punctuated by odd little alcoves that seem to only exist as trash receptacles for careless litterers. Ordinary objects become haunting when they lie strewn under an overpass: an earless stuffed animal, a dirt-matted fleece, mysteriously warped traffic cones, half-eaten packets of crisps. Even though it looks like the set of an apocalyptic movie, and most would probably avoid it, I am fascinated by it. Each time I walk through, I’m excited to see what unsettling items might have been added to (or subtracted from) the collection. The other day, I had the thought that random details of my life here, like the creepy alley or the smell of my kitchen, are the details I don’t want to forget when I leave Belfast. Now that I’m over halfway done with my time here, I’m feeling sentimental about my rituals and routines. They are signifiers of this era, and I’m trying to maintain awareness and log the details so I can revisit them in my memory.

There has been plenty of variety in my work routine lately, which has kept me on my toes. We’ve been doing lots of offsite workshops, which means I get to explore new parts of Northern Ireland and meet a wider range of young authors. I really enjoyed a workshop we did recently with a girls’ college. I was nervous about how the dynamic might be different because they were older than the students we normally work with, but they brought so much humor and enthusiasm into the workshop. They had fun brainstorming silly ideas together and got really into writing the collaborative story. It had been a while since I last led storymaking, but this was a great group to jump back in with. As a bonus, it was also a sunny day, and I felt so rejuvenated on the bright road back from the workshop. Even though I’ve done a million workshops with the same format by this point, every group brings originality and freshness to the creative writing process. I don’t think it could ever get old!

Life has been busy busy, but here are some quick highlights. As sunlight has made its spring return with the turning of March, I have been taking lots of photos, with a special interest in shadows, reflections,  refractions, and all dimensions of light. One of my favorites is of a stained glass window’s wavy shadow. I’ve been finding relaxation in creativity: writing notes app poetry, singing with friends, discovering exciting new outfit combinations within my limited wardrobe, watching movies critically and carefully crafting reviews for my 7 Letterboxd followers to enjoy, and making elaborate packed lunches with plentiful colors and flavors. I’ve had lots of good social time, which gives me an excuse to try delicious and overpriced new treats like Slabz sandwiches and Black Sheep pistachio lattes. My friend Liz was in town over the weekend, and we had fun hiking, trying new spots, playing bingo, laughing lots, and catching up with mutual friends from Belmont. This upcoming weekend, my Aunt Heather will be in town, so the hosting fun continues!

The main thing I have been working on in the last couple weeks is creating our submission for the Irish Times spring edition! We have the opportunity to submit some of our workshop stories from the past year, and the editors also asked me to write a piece about my experience with Fighting Words! I had so much fun combing through our story archives for this project, and I got to read everything our young authors have written since last April. I noticed patterns, like how younger students often start their stories in the forest, and common motifs, like lots of characters named Bob. It was fun to see how young minds work and what common themes they write about over and over again. I loved all the stories, but had to narrow it down to just a few for us to submit for this year’s feature. I tried to pick a variety of age groups, story themes, types of schools, etc. I won’t give too much away about the piece I wrote, but I shared about what I’ve learned and how my perspective has been shifted by my experiences with workshop facilitation. I’m proud of the piece and excited to see it come out soon! We’ve also welcomed a new colleague at Fighting Words. Sorcha has joined us to work on a 3 year project called A Shared Agenda for Peace. It’s been lovely to have a new person in the workspace and Sorcha’s energy compliments our office dynamic quite well!

Outside of work, I’ve enjoyed a rich array of experiences and adventures. I was approached in an art gallery by a photographer who took some beautiful portraits of me, attended a Galentine’s themed book club while floating on the River Lagan in a barge, enjoyed nights out and in with friends, revisited favorite films and saw new ones (I was not impressed with A Complete Unknown), read feminist theory and beach reads on public transport, and hosted a dinner party (I had to use paper plates because I only have 2 real plates). 

Last week, my two best friends from Nashville came to visit me in Belfast! It was surreal and exciting to see their familiar faces in the streets that I walk every day. We took a trip to Geneva, Switzerland and Nice, France and it was nothing short of magical. When I think of the trip, I see a montage of so many beautiful moments that it’s hard to choose which ones to share. Even though we spent all of every day together, we still stayed up late talking every night because we just love being together. The trip was full of loud expressions of joy, quiet moments of rest, and steady friendship. My senses were overwhelmed with goodness: colorfully undulating dancers at the Carnaval de Nice Flower Parade, creamy burrata and fresh green pesto, cake crumbs in bed and giggles over a silly movie, salty sea air and panoramic views, softly smudged artwork, candy-colored buildings glimmering in the reflection of night water, ice cubes rattling in stirred peach tea, peacocks strutting across the sidewalk, fondue dripping on the table before reaching our mouths, gracious smiles at stilted French phrases. There’s no one I’d rather travel the world with than Megan and Alana. We are perfect trip companions because we share curiosity, positivity, openness, and an ability to go with the flow when travel inevitably throws curveballs. I miss them already and look forward to our next adventure!

Last week, I was unfortunately very sick. I don’t want to point fingers, but I know exactly who gave it to me and they are now my sworn enemy. I had to take two days off work, which was unfortunate because I hate missing workshops. They’re my favorite part of the job! This week, we had an incredible workshop with supported learning students. Their enthusiasm, support for one another, and wellspring of creativity made the workshop just perfect. One of their teachers shared that many of them were stepping out of their comfort zones, and that she was surprised and delighted to see them speaking up to share ideas, smiling and chatting with others, and reading their individual writing to the whole class. It never gets old hearing this, because it shows that the workshops can be an eye-opening experience for both the students and the teachers. Both become aware of just how much the students are capable of when they are celebrated and supported as writers. Other than the workshops, I’ve been working on a supplement for the Irish Times, which will include some stories from our workshops with NI schools and a piece written by yours truly. I’m very excited to share some thoughts on my experiences with Fighting Words and so grateful that they’re offering me this super cool opportunity to get my work published! I’ll be sure to share the link when it comes out. 

Outside of work, life has been full! Last weekend, I traveled to London. The day before I was supposed to leave, there was a terrible storm in Belfast with 100 mph winds, but thankfully my flight still took off right on time. The last time I was in London was in 2022 when I studied abroad with Belmont, so I felt sentimental revisiting some places and reminiscing on that formative time of my life. My fantastic experience abroad was what made me so passionate about living abroad post-grad! I made the genius decision to stay in a 33 bed hostel room, so that was certainly an adventure. What I did not account for in my grand plan to save money on lodging was the reality of having 32 people snoring, sleep talking, whispering, watching videos out loud, and emitting various odors throughout the night. Needless to say, I did not sleep well. 

My sleep-deprivation didn’t dampen my spirits, and I had a lovely mix of alone time and friend time. On Saturday, I met up with Elisabeth and we did what we do best: meander, chat, and enjoy delicious foods and sights. On our walk back from a coffee shop and the National Gallery, I was telling Elisabeth about my desperate craving for an authentic Italian sandwich and in a lightning strike of serendipity, an Italian deli appeared! We couldn’t believe our eyes, and believed that it must be a sign. We ordered sandwiches and practically skipped to the register to pick them up, but then disaster struck. The sandwiches, while delicious, made us feel terribly nauseous. Maybe it was to teach us to be careful about what we interpret as signs or maybe it was just a bad bit of salami, but it did make us giggle that these serendipitous sandwiches were ultimately the cause of our destruction. 

Back in Belfast, I’ve been enjoying moody mist punctuated by rare glimpses of the bluest skies I’ve ever seen. Spring is coming, and with it, more sunlight! I have now been here long enough to have friendships that feel familiar and comfortable– I’m out of the phase where I feel like I’m interviewing for friendships. It’s nice to have a solid base. Coffee dates, home cooked meals, ice cream and movie nights, coastal walks, and visits to new places are all made happier by the company of good people. I’m now about 4 months in, leaving 5 months until I go back to America. At my friend’s sardine-themed birthday party last weekend (awesome, right?), I had so much fun mingling and chatting with new people. It reminded me of how much possibility there is in my remaining time. I want to continue to meet people, try things, and explore with the same vigor that I did when I first moved here! Who knows what or who I will encounter next? 🙂 

Hello again! Once I returned to Belfast from my holiday travels, I eased back into my packed weekly routine while desperately trying to reset my jet-lagged sleep schedule. Last week, we had less workshops than usual, so work was very chill. Our Wednesday workshop was a highlight, because it was our fourth workshop with one of the classes we’ve been working with in our residency program. We adapted the workshop slightly to build on skills they have been strengthening throughout the program. For example, in a typical workshop, we verbally brainstorm character ideas and traits as a class. In this workshop, we gave them clipboards and encouraged them to write down their ideas individually before sharing with the class. Between our first workshop with the class and this one, there was a clear difference in the way they interact with each other, with us, and with the creative process. They have a new confidence in their abilities, speaking with boldness and excitement about their ideas and plans. A spirit of collaboration pervades the classroom, and while they are all passionate about their own ideas, they have developed their ability to listen to and build on each other’s suggestions. Even children whose ideas were not chosen for the collective story were eager to get involved with writing it. Fighting Words’s methodology focuses on valuing, respecting, encouraging, and empowering young writers; its efficacy is evident in what I have witnessed in these students. They have been taken seriously, celebrated, and nurtured creatively, and this has transformed their perception of writing and reading. They are excited to write and exchange ideas with their classmates. Storytelling is a fun creative outlet, not a drag or an obligation. I hope that this understanding will extend into the rest of their education and lives, because we sure need more passionate writers in this world. 

I’m still discovering new parts of Belfast all the time, but I’m also getting to a point of familiarity where I’m becoming a regular at my favorite spots. I went back to Cave Hill, where I hiked and experienced the sublime in my first weeks in Belfast. This time, it was snowy and majestic. Through divine luck, it was also sunny, so I got to see the city and water of Belfast sparkling in the afternoon light from my vantage point on McArt’s Fort. The visit was a poignant reminder of the passage of time– I reflected on the newness and apprehension I felt when I hiked there in October, and compared it to the comfort and sureness that I felt in January. The natural landscape’s transformation from verdant green to soft white parallelled the changes I felt in myself. It was a celebration of the different kinds of beauty and vibrancy life can hold. The green newness is still within me, but a swirl of snowy familiarity is in there too. I’m proud of how I’ve changed, and eagerly anticipating what the next season will bring. I hold tenderness for my past self and hope for my future self.

I hope you’ve all had lovely holidays! Mine was action-packed and super fun. I started out with some time at home in KY (which I talked about a little in my last blog post). Being home felt completely normal and utterly foreign at the same time. My time in Belfast felt like a distant dream as I coasted past my high school, sat in the pew at my childhood church, and ran into people I knew at the grocery store. Had I been gone for 3 months or 3 years? I couldn’t seem to make up my mind. I did what I always do at Christmas break: I went to the eye doctor, got a haircut, caught up with friends, relaxed with my family, stayed up super late every night for no reason, and ate lots of Christmas sweets. I think it felt different this time because I appreciated everything a little extra. I wasn’t originally planning on coming home for Christmas, but I found a really cheap flight at the last second and hopped on a plane. I had braced myself for 9 whole months away, then got a surprise trip 3 months in. Although I have thrived in the newness of Belfast, the familiar warmth of being home, with the people I love most, was a pleasant change of pace. I hugged them a little tighter and smiled a little bigger because their presence was an unexpected and needed gift. On New Year’s Eve, I played a silly board game and toasted to a new year with my family, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

After my time in Kentucky, I went to Georgia to visit my extended family. We played pickleball and drank coffee on the porch, and I got to see real sun for the first time in months. My eyes didn’t even know what to do with all that light! I had fun chatting with everyone and hearing their terrible attempts at Irish accents. Then, I went to Nashville and spent my last few days with all my Belmont friends! Everyone’s lives have continued to change and grow like mine, but that puts no distance between us. So much can happen in 3 months– heartbreak, new opportunities, mistakes, successes– and we can sit down over a cup of coffee and connect over it all. Friendship is beautiful because we are constantly evolving into new selves, so we get to fall in love with friends anew each time we meet. I am just as in love with my friends as I have ever been, if not more! The belonging and depth of understanding I felt with them was an encouragement to continue building my community in Belfast. I know how precious and limited my time is here, and I want to deepen my connection with this city and its lovely residents. I have already found such fulfilment in being creative and silly with the young writers at Fighting Words, in drinking tea with my coworkers, in pleasant hellos with hikers on trails, in griping about core workouts with my fellow Boxercisers, in striking up chats with strangers, and in saying yes to every opportunity that presents itself. When I came back to Belfast, it felt like coming home. This city is becoming part of me, weaving itself into my hair and encircling my heart like a warm scarf. My brief time away only made me love it more.