This week was one of my favorite weeks so far. On Monday and Tuesday we had good cool weather after a couple days of extreme heat. I got a lot of work done in my job on Monday in town at a cafe and was also able to go for a run in the park. When it was super hot I was just kind of miserable because there is no air conditioning and it was hard to cool off. Also, knowing this is my second to last week and I do not have much time left, I was happy the good weather gave me days where I could go out into town and experience more things in the time I had left.
My friends parents were visiting so I on Tuesday I met them for a drink at the pub we always go to. It got me excited for when my parents come because they were coming this weekend. We had a few drinks and a few laughs and then headed home. Wednesday was not the best weather so I did not do much but I was able to spend a lot of Thursday outside going for walks down to the water and exploring new areas.
My parents arrived in Dublin on Friday afternoon and then came to UCD to see my apartment and pick me up for our weekend trip. My mom rented a car and though I was quite scared for her performance her actually did a very nice job driving this weekend, especially driving on the windy country roads.
Our first stop was Arklow, where my mom’s dad is from. We got there and after checking into our hotel hit up every pub in town. I cannot even remember how many we went to, but I had a great night catching up with my family and meeting some locals. I loved this town because every pub played good music and every was super friendly and kind.
After an incredibly late night, we woke up super early to start our drive to Middleton Distillery. We got to go on a tour of the place and see not only the history but also learn the process fo how whiskey is made. I was fascinated to learn about the process and not so happy about tasting the whiskey after .My brother and my dad enjoyed it though, I am just personally not a whiskey fan.
After the Jamison tour we went into town for a quick lunch before heading on the road to Kinsale. My favorite part of this weekend was driving through all the old country roads and see the animals. Once we made it to Kinsale we got a second wind and decided to walk around town and hit up a couple pubs before dinner. We got great seats at a pub outside with live music, and sat down to listen to a couple songs before heading over to dinner. After dinner we decided to go home and call it a night as we were tired from all the driving earlier.
On Sunday we woke up and went to the Blarney Castle which was one of the most breathtaking things I had ever seen. Thank god it was cool outside because the castle was very small and hot. My brother kissed the Blarney stone but I was way to anxious from being so up high to flip upside down and kiss a rock.
After the Blarney Castle we drover to the Cliffs of Moher which I had already seen. I was worried it would feel like the same but because I had two completely different weather experiences, it looked quite different! This time it was really sunny but super windy and I was worried I was going to blow over. then we drove over to Galway to hit up some fun pubs and go out to dinner. It was really good to see my family this weekend and I really liked driving around different parts of Ireland I had not seen before.
I would say I have always been a good leader, but I certainly improved my leadership skills in my internship. I think I have never experienced a level of such independence in a job that forces me to be my own leader. I have found myself in situations where there is no one to follow and I must be confident enough in myself to make decisions. This has made me grow as more of a leader and I think will help me in all my future jobs.