When I was younger, I dreamed of many things. And one of them was going to Ireland. I used to read any book I could about the country and always dreamt of actually going. My best friend from high school and I even tried to plan a trip one summer, but it never ended up happening.

I was close to convincing myself that traveling in Europe, or anywhere other than the United States, was not going to happen for me. But now I’m here in Ireland. It hits me every single day that this happened and I’m actually here.

I don’t know. Maybe I’m just lucky, but one of my dreams has come true. It makes me feel like other larger dreams are actually possible for me. It makes me feel like if I reach for the stars, maybe I can actually get there.

I feel like so many people go to college to do something that will earn them money or something that will guarantee them a job. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, if that’s what you really want. But I think there are so many people who hate their jobs because they grew up and they didn’t end up being what they actually loved. Why is this? Why don’t people try to live their dreams? Why are we conditioned to give up?

My point here is that people should never give up on their dreams. The only reason they are unachievable is because you stop trying to achieve them. One of mine has come true. And I am most definitely not going to stop trying to reach every other one – not until the day I die.