Backstory
There is something so special and invigorating about Ireland. The landscape. The culture. The free-range sheep. The music and language. All of this has been something that has been a dream of mine to see and experience since I was 7 years old.
Picture this: a 7-year-old cutting landscape and nature pictures out of a National Geographic magazine, which she took from the craft table at her afterschool program. As I skim the pages and pursue the image that best aligns with my immediate imagination, I find several. But there is just one that I encounter that has me bursting with a warm inviting sensation.
It is a cliff amongst a green landscape. I look at that cliff and imagine myself standing on the edge. The wind passes through my loose hair strands; eyes closed, but just for a moment as I indulged in the immediate sensation. Beautiful. Incomparable to what I’d been consistently seeing. In my case, an orange gradient sky above a desert in Arizona and years later an agglomeration of city life, thereafter. Why, yes everything is beautiful still, but THIS! This image is here within the sheet. This moment is what began the yearning of the most tender wish that has been sown into a child’s heart, until 20 years now and now a woman. The dream is brewing fulfillment.
What about Ireland?
This is the question many friends and family asked me after I exposed my desire to travel to Ireland.
There are several reasons. To put it simply, it will be a birthday gift to myself. It is also a Thanksgiving adventure. Not only would I be celebrating myself but giving thanks to God for his approval and allowance for this opportunity.
Recall, my childlike desire to explore Ireland. The idea of standing amidst the cliff at the Isle of Skye strikes a pressing excitement in my chest. The green landscape and geography beget an imaginative fairyland within my mind. The ever-spanning pastures ignite energy that compels me to frolic in hopes of encountering a friendly sheep, only to be nudged and chased due to my intrusion into their home. This all sounds good until I must report my jolly behavior to the authorities because I imposed on a native’s land or worse, a ceremonial or historical plot. Excuse my turn to a darker and anxiety-filled scenario. I’m simply just trying to explore the potential routes of my captivating dilemmas. Never mind that, though.
➼ Ireland stirs up ideas and imagination. I often imagined myself as an Irish warrior princess. Maybe, my past life was like this.
➼ Maybe my desire was birthed by an impactful statement by a loved one that faded in my memory through time.Terra
Perhaps, there is a force pushing me to Ireland to fulfill an uncovered duty. Or better yet, a duty will become steps closer to completion by my setting foot on land. I do believe this desire was not for mere wishing and dreaming. It is too consistent and reoccurring of a call. God has a way of revealing himself and I believe it may be here. It may be here where my faith grows stronger. The intercom of his voice is heard clearer. God may want me to fulfill this dream as a way to display my willingness to listen to him. A challenge. I am truly enthralled by the possibilities of God’s plan, that I hardly give thought to any responsibilities of my day.
I realize this sounds dramatic but to my defense, wait until you see it.
To keep things simple, what made me choose Ireland…? 😶👀 What is it about Ireland? Well, it’s breathtaking. And even though our atmospheric layer is being degraded and soon (but not in our lifetime) there will be a decline in the level of oxygen available to all humanity, I welcome the moment where I gasp in multiples, to no end, at the sight of my view, where I am perched upon the Cliffs of Moher.
Black girl sets forth to Ireland.
After listening to my friend and Aunt describe their experience traveling to Ireland, they comforted my expectations. I do not expect to feel uncomfortable or out of place. Yes, I will feel a sense of unfamiliarity, but I do not expect to feel a “you don’t belong here” feeling. My Aunt said Irish residents enjoy Americans. The pubs are nice. People are friendly. Other black people come from England or Africa. I will be a visitor, but I have expectations of closeness as If I am supposed to be there. My contemplations for this trip vary.
➼ Will I meet any fellow solo travelers of my age and ethnicity?
➼ Will I uncover more about myself?
➼ Will I impose any cultural norms due to my independent belonging?
➼ Will my independence and assertive demeanor make me stand out so much so that the locals will know I am a visitor?
➼ Will I meet a person from home? Small world.
➼ Will a creature venture into my backpack and make its way home with me?
➼ Will I not want to leave? We will see.
Travel waits for no one so I will travel solo.
Solo travel was never something I would reject. When you have so many dreams and desires, you simply cannot wait for a partner or struggle with finding an accompaniment. The desire you have is too much to explain to someone who does not understand the vision and does not have the same yearning. When it is time to set forth on a journey, there is no waiting for others who are not called at that moment like you. Go! Before the yearning dissipates.
Stay posted! I will revisit this after Ireland. I will share all that I have learned and experienced.
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