We had a pretty good run in Dublin, all of us. It’s not over yet of course, but we’re all winding down now. A few tears will most certainly be shed in the coming days. I may cry in private on the plane out, we will see. Here’s the way I see it – as someone who spent his childhood moving around, whose mom didn’t get to see him off to college, hasn’t spent a summer home since high school – these things end. That’s how it is. But the end of a job, the end of a summer, the end of a relationship, it’s like the end of a story someone would tell you. The end of a story doesn’t mean the end of a conversation, it just flows into something else. And that’s life. There aren’t really clean, easy “chapters” of a person’s life, you just take it one day at a time.

This past weekend, I went to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. Theoretically, non UK or EU nationals need a passport to go between the Irelands, but I was never checked. Belfast is a rather grimy city, more in terms of character than landscape. In my two days there I made it to the City Hall, Ulster Museum, waterfront, city center shopping, and the Solidarity Wall of political murals, as well as an extremely charming 1920s-themed jazz lounge. All in all, I enjoyed my time in Belfast, but I don’t think I needed to spend more time there. Except for the lounge. The lounge almost makes me want to go back.

Ireland is something of an exception to the rest of Western Europe, in that it was a destitute nation until relatively recently. Therefore, Irish society doesn’t necessarily have the tradition of old money industry dynasties that one finds in England or France. Successful figures in the Irish tradition have long been associated with political or familial pursuit. However, Ireland is now a modern and developed capitalist nation, so “successful” modern figures are the rich and famous.

I’ve found Irish working culture to be more balanced than America’s. You can definitely take a coffee break unannounced or stay out late on your lunch break. But the fundamental work rules are the same. You get stuff done. In order to be successful in my placement at the Department of Housing, I’ve had to not only do the tasks I was assigned, but demonstrate myself competent and deserving of confidence. My mid-placement report, which speaks in superlatives, is proof that I have done so.

Success isn’t one and done, it has to be constantly earned and re-earned, every day. Trust is earned and kept through continuous displays of competence. Soon I will be leaving the Department of Housing, and Ireland shortly thereafter. I will consider my time here to have been a success. Will I be pivoting my career plans to pursue housing law? No. Did I single handedly resolve the Irish housing crisis? Also no. However, I rose to the work I was given. My final project, a directory of Court of Justice of the European Union environmental case law, will be used to train new Department legal staff and aid existing ones, meaning I have left a legacy that will help people after me succeed. For that, I couldn’t ask for more from my time here.