Blogger Swap Day!

hi! i'm erin from and her heart it is in ireland in honor of the 20sb blog swap i have been paired with the fabulous emily jane! so with both of us at one point living abroad we decided to write about living abroad and finding out where do i belong? and is the grass greener?

so quick back story on my adventures.

i studied abroad in ireland my junior year of college for the fall 2005 semester.

fell in looooove with the country, city and everything and had the BEST time ever!

went back to the states, was miserable for 6 months, then lived it up for senior year and applied to go back to ireland for grad school. and moved back in september 2007. absolutely loved most of my time over there, worked hard on my masters degree, had loads of fun, traveled around europe and then had a major life decision to make. i decided to move back to the states in march 2009 and no matter if i was in cork or in the states i would always question where should i be?

but i think i've learned a lot from this. while when i was in ireland, i would hate when all my college friends would have a reunion or a wedding and i couldn't go. but then i was the one frolicking around greece or italy or hiking in the irish mountains. and now while i am extremely lucky and grateful to have the most amazing teaching job, some days especially when i get the emails from aer lingus with super low flights around europe, it makes me wish i could just pop somewhere for the weekend. but it has been great to run down to philly for the weekend to cheer on my college rowing team, or go up to connecticut to see my college roomie and to know i can be at my little's wedding next summer. i know i moved back to the states to continue with other things i wanted in my life. i wanted to teach, i wanted to be closer to friends and family, i wanted to start my "grown up"ness and i am absolutely loving my life. while i LOVED living in ireland, it never felt permanent. i wanted my own place, a car and to not feel like every time i opened my mouth i was being judged. and if leaving the states to move to ireland was one of the happiest and most exciting days of my life... leaving ireland in march was one of the saddest, but at the same time also exciting. because i had no idea what life would hold out for me. and i've just had the most amazing 6 months and i can say i am happy to have moved back.

and i think that is what life is about, knowing that you are happy with the decisions you make and trying not to worry about what if.... i can look back on my 2 years in ireland knowing that i had the best time, and also that i was able to accomplish one of my goals and that i was doing something so awesome that most of my friends would have killed for...

so while the grass might seem greener just remember that it is your life and you have to be happy and that every opportunity has things you love and things you don't.