A 30-item Study Abroad Bucket List hung above my desk at University College Dublin. Next to most of the items are tiny satisfied check marks, indicators of the adventures I hoped to have while studying in Ireland. The Ireland Bucket List is filled with adventures around Ireland: “Kiss the blarney stone. Stay cozy in an Aran Island wool sweater. Stand over the Cliffs of Moher. Relax in St. Stephen’s Green.”
However, I have recently created another long list. I call it the Unintentional Addendums List – experiences I had no idea that I would have while studying in Europe, but memories that I would not trade for the world.
The bulletin board above my desk at UCD, filled with postcards of the places I’ve been, the semester bucket list, and the unintentional addendum list I’ve created along the way
Study abroad students board a plane with nothing but a suitcase full of clothes and a head full of ideas of what the next four months have in store. Our imaginations run wild with hopes, worries, questions, and goals, yet none can be answered, resolved, or achieved without patience.
My initial Ireland Bucket List provided a loose structure for what I hoped the months would entail, but the scribbled Unintentional Addendum List is evidence of the effects of openness and a spirit of adventure. The items reveal the consequences of openness to new conversations, experiences, bus routes, roads less traveled.
The Unintentional Addendum List is filled with scribbled memories: “Sung Galway Girl in a Galway pub. Watched the sunrise over Dun Laoghaire. Began new friendships with my Aussie friends. Sampled fresh food at the markets at Howth. Learned about life in Asia through the stories of my Chinese roommates. Stared into the eyes of twin boys just minutes after their birth.” That list of tiny and unplanned events is nearly endless, yet it is filled with details that added up to create the biggest difference.
Studying abroad, in its most basic form, is learning both inside and outside the classroom. This semester I learned assertiveness as I navigated new cityscapes. I learned more about the conflict in Egypt from a single conversation with an Egyptian exchange student than I learned in any American newspaper. I learned the value of exploring alone as I walked the streets of a new city by myself. I learned that although I have no sense of direction, there is a beauty in being hopelessly, wonderfully lost.
After such amazing experiences, I have been very nervous about the transition home. This past semester has been transformational and surreal in ways that are difficult to comprehend as I experience them.
However, to ease my transition back to Marquette life, I have created a Milwaukee Bucket List. Exploration does not require a change of scenery; it requires a change in perspective.
With a continued spirit of adventure, I cannot wait to check items off of my Milwaukee Bucket List. Perhaps most importantly, I am looking forward to the new Unintentional Addendum List I create along the way.
Postcards from Ireland 