Honestly, while this is temporary, I'm still pretty surprised, and more than a bit nervous, about working and living in a new city. I love New York- it's hardly my first time here, having visited through the years for ballet, Model UN, and just with family- but I hadn't anticipated living here, unless you count the very much idealized New York dream life that so many 20-something girls have! Needless to say, this is an amazing opportunity to help start my career, which I'm very grateful to have, no matter how nerve wracking it may be!

(Side note- I can't get over the fact that I just used the word "career" without speaking of my dream job farther down the line. When did I become adult enough for this? Who let this happen? Help!?!?)

This has been my second week at my new internship, which has been going well so far, knock on wood. Of course, I'm looking for new ideas to fill up my free time and weekends, and to write about here, so if you have any New York must-do items aside from anything very touristy, I'd love to hear your suggestions!


Follow my (short-term) foray into NYC on:


 Instagram Tumblr Twitter

XOXO,
Emily

Long time no see- I hope that everyone who's stuck with this tiny little blog of mine had an amazing holiday season and a happy new year! The past few weeks have been more than a little hectic with final papers, nerve-wracking exams, and of course, keeping up with Christmas shopping and decorating.

Finally, my fog of comparative foreign policy and human rights law cleared, and.....


I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and a minor in French!

After we crossed the stage, our departmental director, who is also my academic advisor, hugged all of us as we walked back to our row in the auditorium. You know that professor who you might have every semester, whose classes cause you major stress, you're a little scared of, but who really teaches you so much? That's definitely Dr. S! I'm grateful for her classes, and all of the faculty that pushed my classmates and I every day to prepare us for grad school and our future careers.


All of those classes, papers, Model UN conferences, and a semester abroad. Undergrad? Check!

And the best way to celebrate graduating? Finally taking some time to catch up on my favorite shows (Poldark, anyone? I'm hooked!) and reading actual books (remember those?) before I'm completely immersed in internship and job applications and the possibility of....

*gulp*

...grad school!
(More on that later!)

So long, 2016!

(Apparently, you have to actually put words onto the page to keep updating a blog, who knew? But I'm back!)

A few days ago, I posted this picture on Instagram:

#ImWithHer Someday when I have my own little girl, I hope she'll be able to read about this day and smile 😊❤️🇺🇸🎀 #election2016 #internationalaffairsmajor #vote

A photo posted by Emily Love (@elove428) on Nov 8, 2016 at 12:16pm PST

My second time voting in a presidential election, for a candidate whom I honestly thought represented the United States well, and had the experience and ability to be president- as well as becoming the first woman to do so.

We all know how the election turned out, and I don't really like dragging too much politics into my blog-world. However, these past few days have made me think about a lot of things- my country, my career, and yes, my possible future daughter.

Over the past year, I've had the privilege of living abroad, traveling, and meeting people from all over the world. Getting to talk to people from different countries and cultures was one of my favorite parts of studying abroad, and it remains one of my favorite aspects of studying international affairs. Of course, everyone joked about whatever crazy event was happening in the American election, and I don't blame them- regardless of your political views, it's been a long ride.

But through any jokes about typical American stereotypes or discussion of whatever happened to be going on in the US at the time, no one ever asked me if I agreed with the things being said by one particular candidate. No one assumed I hated immigrants, or Muslims, or people of different backgrounds than me. That just wasn't their immediate impression of Americans.

And I don't want it to be.

With this recent turn of events, my biggest fear is that my country will quickly become associated with the comments and actions of the person recently elected to become president, and his supporters.  As I enter a career that will (hopefully!) allow me to visit many more new places and meet new people, I don't want them to think of intolerance and threats as soon as I mention I'm American. I want to represent a country that has been a symbol of hope for generations, a melting pot of cultures and new ideas, not a country ruled by fear. Yes, our country has its problems, as does most of the world- but I want those problems to continue to get better, not worse.

Frankly, the title of this post is misleading. I'm mature enough to recognize my privilege. Yes, I'm a woman, but I'm also white, Catholic, straight, and have a college education. My family is solidly upper-middle class, and I've grown up in suburban Maryland. I don't get to say that everything will be fine. I cannot imagine what is being felt by those who have been in the run up to this election, and I won't face the same obstacles as many other Americans.

I don't know what the next four years will hold, and yes, I will freely admit that I'm scared, particularly after what has already been witnessed across the country since Tuesday. However, I do believe there is still plenty of good in the world, and for right now, I'm going to try to do my part, however small, to spread that good.

Be kind, be helpful, and if you choose your right to protest, please be peaceful, and please be safe.

And of course: Good Things That Have Happened in 2016

XOXO, Emily

Instagram Tumblr

A very belated happy 4th to any other Americans reading this! I hope you enjoyed cookouts, time with friends and family, and fireworks... because it was 70 degrees and raining here!

This certainly isn't the first time we've had a rainy 4th of July. It always seems like every year, it's either very hot, too humid, or rainy... or a combination of any of those options. So this year's fireworks were viewed through my TV, rather than heading off to see any- makes me miss the days of spending 4th of July working at camp, where we could watch fireworks right on the lake!

Summer 2016 has been pretty quiet recently, I can't believe it's already mid-July. My first two Summer courses are finished, so I've been doing some babysitting in addition to work, and just enjoying having a more relaxed schedule, before beginning what is (hopefully!!) my final undergraduate course today- cross your fingers and say a prayer that all my requirements and study abroad credits line up correctly!

Since I've had more time for writing and some "normal", non-academic or work related hobbies, I thought I'd share some of my current favorites and recent obsessions.

Currently Reading....

...Knock knock, anyone there?

I really, really didn't mean to neglect this blog for so long. After I came home and settled into classes, work, and just my "normal" life overall, I was excited to have a place to express myself and write a little each week- especially as I navigate finishing undergrad, entering the "real world", and the possibility of grad school (ack!) Unfortunately, my calm, productive summer filled with blogging didn't start out as expected...

I wasn't exactly in the mood for blogging when we suddenly lost this crazy guy on June 13th...

5 months, 10 passport stamps, and a million new friends and adventures later, I'm home from my semester abroad. My last few weeks in Galway were filled with final papers, more Ireland adventures, travel, falling in love with Paris again, and of course, exams. My Irish language exam was at the beginning of April, and two of my remaining four classes required final papers instead of exams. This allowed me to tag along with another American friend from NUIG on quick trip to Paris that happened to coincide with my birthday!





Obviously, Paris was just as amazing as the first time I visited six years ago. In addition to all the usual Paris must-sees, I also saw the Napoleon apartments in the Louvre, and toured the Paris Catacombs, which I hadn't seen on my previous visit.

Of course, I was completely geeking out over finally being able to speak French outside of school, and I was pretty proud of my ability to understand and speak without overthinking, as I'm known to do! All of those years of French courses (and that huge stack of French textbooks in my room), finally paying off!



Back in Galway, I finished my exams, saw my amazing French Society friends again, and finished out the semester with my crazy apartment community.

Saying goodbye to everyone was as strange as you might expect. I think it's important for me to say that at this point, I really was ready to be home. Just as I'd expected, I was sad to be leaving Galway, and finishing my first stint of living abroad. But I was also tired, and ready to see my friends and family again.

When most of the other apartment residents had packed up and gone home, it really set in that my time in Ireland was coming to a close, and I was ready to be back home. Of course, now that I'm back home, I'm starting to miss Ireland and my friends in Galway when I see their social media posts!



That being said, after a full semester of classes, travel, and fun in Galway, plus a week of touring the country with Brennan, I was pretty anxious to fly home!




Home sweet DMV- home in time for some nice Spring weather and the last of the flowers blooming at my house :)

I've been enjoying lots of time with friends, family, and my dog... plus some of my favorite "American" foods (Panera!), my favorite hometown spots, and doing some shopping, plus laundry for free :)

And finally, just three short summer classes until I can finish undergrad!

More fun stuff to come, follow me on:
Instagram Twitter Tumblr

And leave me a comment below :)

Until next time,
XOXO Emily

Prague has been on my list of places to visit for a while. Ever since finishing my European politics course last Spring, I've wanted to learn more about Central Europe and the Balkan region. And of course, it's just plain beautiful! Prague is a quick 2.5 hours from Dublin, so I tagged along with a friend from two of my classes in Galway, who is also studying abroad.