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.