The Furthest 27 km

After exams were over, I had a little over a week left to enjoy my time in Maynooth with all of Saint Mary's friends. However, as soon as I got out of my last exam, I immediately began to feel sick. What awful timing! I tried my best to try and get the strength to battle through the raging pain of my head and the fever for the last big night out at the famous Roost pub, but I had no strength or energy to do it. I was insanely depressed, but I was reassured by my friends that I had not missed much as the line to get in was insanely long and you could not even breathe once you were in. I also had to watch one of my roommates, Brid, pack up all of her stuff and leave for home, although I would be seeing her anyways To make my chills and migrane even worse, the fire alarm went off three times in my building throughout the night. By the morning, I felt even worse and was bound to my bed all day. Thankfully I had one of my roommates Laoise still around so she was able to run to the shop for me and get some things. I felt so sick that night that I took a nap at half six and did not wake up until 2 in the morning...needless to say I was a bit confused. Saturday being the next day, I was meant to go to Tipperary to stay at Brid's house for the weekend with my friend Kellie, and then go to her house in Waterford for the week. However, I was still not feeling well and waited until Monday to meet Brid and Kellie in Waterford. Laoise also left that day, so I was left alone and sick in the apartment--what a state I was in. Some of my SMC friends convinced me to get out for a bit and I actually did begin to feel better after I got out of my stuffy, confining room. On Sunday, I was at the tail end of the sickness and went into Dublin for dinner with some friends and then to see my friend's dad play in his traditional Irish band in Temple Bar. It was all too sad as I knew it was the last time I would be with these girls in Dublin and listening to our favorites..it was certainly emotional to look around and know that they next time I came back to listen to the band that things in my life would be completely different.



The next day, I had my bags packed and I was off to Waterford. After a somewhat smooth ride, I was met by Brid and Kellie to begin our holiday in Waterford which we had talked about for over a month. My two other roommates were supposed to join us, but unfortunately things did not work out for them. Brid drove us to the house that her family rents out to students and we made ourselves at home. Since the weather was gray and rainy that night, we went out for a bit of dinner and then went back and watched tv for the rest of the night, beginning our obsession with Britain's Got Talent.

When we woke up in the morning, the weather had done a 180. The sun was out and the temperature was perfect. We got in the car and went into the city centre and did a little shopping. From there, we headed out to Tramore which is a seaside town with a huge beach. We decided to take off and walk around the beach, even though it was a bit cold and windy, it was all perfect at the same time. The sun was still out and it was simply a beautiful day and we were trying to enjoy each other's company, knowing that we would soon be separated. Brid took us to a spot she said she used to go to all the time when she was little...I thought maybe a nice ice cream shop or something, but rather it was a place filled with games and loads of slot machines. Trying my hand at one of the slots and having no idea what to do, suddenly I found myself winning a small fortune. The look of everyone around me who had been playing for hours and probably years was priceless. Here I was, having no idea what was going on, sitting in shock of the amount of coins coming out of the machine. Claiming my prize, it turned out that I had won 15 euro and 60 cents, not too shabby. Eventually we made our way away from the slots and went for some ice cream. Eventually we headed back to our home for the week and continued our love for Britain's Got Talent. We headed to bed, ready for a full day at the beach.







The only time I have needed to use my swimsuit began on a beautiful day in June with the sun shining and the temperatures rising. We decided to head out early to spend as much time as we could outside. We bought some sunscreen and headed back to Tramore. We were one of the first few people there and we laid our towels down, claiming our territory. Loading on the factor, we relaxed and listened to the waves. Eventually the beach started filling up and surfers started showing up, I was insanely jealous and wanted to try for some lessons, but it was too expensive. In a defying feat, Kellie managed to get Brid and I to go with her into the freezing cold water. I might have been insane but eventually you were numb enough that you didn't feel the cold and we went further into the sea. However, the numbness then turned into pins and needles and I headed back to shore. It felt as though it took hours to dry off in the freezing breeze, but eventually we walked around in the sun and I felt better. We were starving so eventually heading to get something to eat and then walked around the beach a bit more and made one more stop at our favorite place with the slots. Realizing that Brid and I were both a bit sunburnt, Kellie (the one who never gets burnt) thought it might be best to get the two of us out of the sun. On the way home we stopped off for a bit off after-sun cream and after loading it on, we continued our final night of watching Britain's Got Talent.





The next morning it was the end of our holiday and Kellie and I had to get back to Maynooth. Brid dropped us off at the bus station and Kellie and Brid had to say their final good-byes until they hopefully see each other in the near future, it was insanely hard to watch and made everything seem so real for the first time. On the bus ride back, Kellie and I shared a shirt of hers and poured our tears into our own respective sleeves. Eventually we made it back to Dublin and then on to Maynooth. It was hard to have everything come to an end and even now I still can't believe my semester is over. That night I went to my family's house for dinner, knowing that I wouldn't be 5 minutes away for much longer. I played on the trampoline with my Eve and Hannah and enjoyed everyone's company.



Friday morning I woke up knowing that I had a lot to do, I had to pack up all of my possessions into 2 suitcases. The task proved to be immensely difficult even making me cry at one point, I was so frustrated. To make matters worse for the depressing day, Kellie came over with her computer and we sat and listened to a song our friend Aoife had written about us and our friends. The lyrics and her voice combined made us once again crumble into tears and made the situation all the more harder. I did some more packing and tried to get all sorts of different tasks finished. I took one more walk around the beautiful South campus and took in everything with my eyes, telling myself to never forget what I was seeing-I think the South campus is certainly one of the things I will miss most about Maynooth when I journey back home. One of my roommates, Helena, came back that night to get the rest of her stuff, so thankfully I was not alone for my last night. Kellie, Helena, and I went and hung out with our friend Annie and her Irish roommates. We sang and had some laughs. It was great to be surrounded with friends especially on the dead Maynooth campus.







Eventually we made it to bed for a few short hours and then it was time to wake up and I finished packing up my room, said my good-bye to Helena, and then was picked up myself by my family to make the move to Dublin. As I said good-bye to my SMC friends by the car, I knew it was all coming to an end. I pictured myself dragging my suitcases into the Boyne apartments for the first time, nervous to meet my roommates and could not believe that so much time had passed in the blink of an eye. As we pulled away from the apartments and made the turn off of the main street of Maynooth, all I wanted to do was break down into tears and run back, hoping time would start over. However, with my family in the car, I had to compose myself, bite my lip, and hope that I would be back soon enough. However, the 27 km from Maynooth to my house in Rathmines, Dublin could not have felt further apart. As we made our way to Dublin, my stomach was churning and I was not ready to make the transition. I kept telling myself that it had been my choice to stay in Dublin for the summer and even though I knew it would be hard, it was an incredible opportunity that many do not get to experience. After I got my keys, we went to the house I would be staying in for the summer and it seemed that all of my roommates had unpacked and already left to explore. So I went out with my family for a few hours and then came back to the house...