Dunluce Castle is on the road to Giant's Causeway. The castle, which is perched right above the sea was built back in the 1400's, I think. Anyhow, one night as the owners of the castle were preparing for a dinner party, lightning struck the back of the castle and caused the kitchen area to fall into the ocean, killing many people. The lady of the castle could never bring herself to go back and the family left the castle to sit empty and fall into disrepair. The tragic event happened in the 1500's.

I don't know if you all remember my entry about the refuge camp that my bunk mate Jennifer and I built at Downhill, but this is what it looked like! We laughed so hard we nearly woke the people up next door. Jennifer said it reminded her of the clothes lines in New York, but we decided refuge camp worked better! Our Parents would be so proud!

These are the girls I met in Killarney from Wexford. We had some savage craic!

Last week, I sat down with a local journalist for an interview for a magazine article. You see, my story, as nutty and whimsy as it has been, may just inspire someone else to live out their dream. I think that was one of my intentions when I put together this website. I wanted to show people that anyone, no matter who they were or what their circumstances, could make their own dream come true and really learn something about themselves along the way. I mean, if I could get to Ireland and travel around on my own for three weeks, I might be able to inspire someone else to fulfill a similar dream. I think now, I am ready to reveal to you at home, what I really learned on my travels.

First off, I learned that I can really hold my own out there in the mean world. I had to depend on my myself and not rest on the fact that at home, if I need something, I have a support system of people to rely upon. I was on my own and I had to figure things out for myself. Sure, I did have people who offered random acts of kindness as I went, but I didn't take it for granted or depend upon it. I came back with a sense of self confidence that I didn't even know I had.

I also learned that people like me for me. I think so many times here at home, I think people only like me because I could be their child's teacher or I have been their child's teacher, because I am the girl who sings at church or because they think they have to like me by association. I learned that people like me because I am who I am. I am funny! I have important things to say and people respect my opinion. I learned that I can strike up a conversation with people and they can get to know me as Heather and not by my many other titles.

I am not just a teacher or the girl who sings at church. I am a person. This is something I that I have forgotten along the way. You see, I have been so fixated on living up to those titles for almost six years that I had forgotten who I was. So many times, I have only identified with the titles and I get pigeon holed into thinking that is all I am. Well, that isn't all I am. I am so much more. It reminds me of the beginning of Beauty and the Beast where Belle is singing and she says I want so much more than they've got planned. I do want so much more than to just be a teacher and the singer from church. But, the people around me haven't put me into those boxes, I had put myself into those boxes. I had stopped thinking of myself as a person. Well, I know now that I am so much more and I can appreciate that and start living those other parts of my life. Am I going to give up those hats that I wear? No, because they are very important and they are so much a part of who I am. They just can't be all that I am.

There is really no place like home. When I wrote my orignal grant, the title was Sometimes You Want To Go Where Nobody Knows Your Name. As I was writing the grant back in October, I had really been struggling with the fact that I couldn't go anywhere on the Eastside without seeing someone I knew. I mean, anywhere. I would go to Target and see three people in the parking lot from school and walk in the store and find three more. I felt surrounded and the feeling wasn't so great. I never felt like I was just a person going to the mall, I was Miss "Teacher". I felt like I was always "on" and I never had any "downtime." I again, had put myself into a box and just couldn't seem to get out. I felt like people didn't understand that sometimes you just had a bad hair day on a Saturday morning or that there were times that you just wanted to get into Osco, get your cough medicine and go home because you felt awful. Now, I think a majority of people do understand that and they respect me enough to give me that space. I don't always have to be "on" and ready to talk school or church. Does this give me a license to act like a crazy women? No, I still have to uphold good morals and values and be a good role model to people around me, especially my students, but I don't always have to a teacher.

I think I realized that I really missed finding people I knew about two weeks into my trip. Realize that I had been riding the bus and train for this time and I had only met up with people at the places where I was staying. Well, I got on the bus in Coleraine to ride back to Downhill and just happened to look up and see someone that looked familiar. It turned out that it was the girl who helped clean at the hostel I was staying at in Downhill. I swear I would have hugged her if I had known her better. It felt so good to see a familar face. It was then that I realized that the thing I missed the most was the one thing I had been trying to get away from in the first place. I realized at that moment that I had been taking it all for granted. I have a group of people who love me and care about me. They make me laugh, they share in my fears, they know me and they love me. I think I needed to go someplace where I didn't know anyone to realize all that I have and how much I take for granted.

I think at that moment, I knew why God had sent me on the trip, it was to allow me to see my life from the outside and to help me see all that I had taken for granted. Here I was in Ireland, having a great time and I didn't really have any of my friends to share it with because they were all here at home. What I wouldn't have given to run into The Costello's or The Jones', The Lee's, The Routh's, The Fanzini's anyone I knew and just share my holiday with them. I came to the realization that I love what I have here and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. How many people can say that they can always find someone they know when they go to Target? How many people can say they are surrounded by people who really care about them? Not many. That's what I had really lost sight of and now, I realize how thankful I need to be for all my blessings. LF isn't just a place where I work and teach, it is my home and I really appreciate it now.

I can honestly say "There's No Place Like Home!" I watched The Wizard of Oz a few days after I got home and I realized that I was Dorothy on my adventure. Ireland was my Oz. I had the ability to go home whenever I wanted to, because home isn't just a place, it's the people who you love and care about, it's the special memories and the moments that you create. Home was never far away, all I had to do was look in my heart to find it.

I love you all more than you will ever know! Love, Heather

I thought this was hilarious! They even have dollar stores in Ireland, okay, pounds, but I thought it was funny! I guess finding a bargain is a universal thing!