My rings- One from Ireland and one from America.

I’m from the US originally, born and raised in California. When I was 17, I moved to Hawaii and did a BA in fine art and sociology. I then went on to do a postgrad in museum studies. Honestly, I decided to move to Dublin on a whim. I had a crazy thought last summer and applied to University College Dublin. I got in and, with all the things that were going on in my personal life at the time, I decided to go. I remember a few weeks before I left, I had this moment and thought “Oh god! I’m actually doing this!” It was kind of a shock to me! I came here in September, started my course and I really enjoy it. There are no big cultural differences between Ireland and America. I find myself getting caught up in the language differences, but the culture is kind of similar. I visited here a few times when I was younger, my grandparents moved to the US to have my dad but they were here a lot. Dad was partially raised here, so he has an Irish passport. Now I live with my aunt, uncle and cousin. He’s two years older and he is a very funny guy. And I keep in touch with family back home and here in Ireland. I went to a family reunion a while back, it was a retirement party. It was quite special because it was the first time I met a lot of my family as an adult. I just got my Irish passport and I think I’m planning on staying here. Practically speaking, if I get offered a good job elsewhere after an MA, I’ll go. I can’t be picky! But I do like it here. My object are my rings, I wear them all the time! This ring here my mom gave me. She got it the first time she came back to Ireland with my dad and it has this Celtic knot design on it. Before I left, she gave it to me so I could take it back to Ireland. It’s a little bit of my mom from home. This other ring, with the three green stones, is a ring I got in California. I suppose they both symbolise my dual citizenship. It’s a little bit of Ireland and a little bit America that I always keep with me.