Blog 7 – Lifelong Learning

Hello, hello, hello…to my dear friends! 

 

There are so many blessed things in life. To me, the greatest gifts in this world (behind the gift of faith, of course 🙂) are learning, knowledge, and education. No one can take the gift of knowledge away from you, for wisdom is gained over time and seeps into perception, vulnerability, and perspective. It ebbs and flows with the tide of life and morphs into a rock that grounds our morals, values, and underlying beliefs, leading us to be who we are and think the way we think. Thank you for spending your time with me today as I ponder some of the lessons that studying abroad has taught me! I hope that you can take a moment for yourself to see how your own knowledge, wisdom, and thoughts help you interact with the world! 

 

One of my innermost and core beliefs lies in the idea that one’s attitude and mindset have deep psychological power over life’s constant curvature. Finding the beauty in each day can sometimes feel like a monumental task when the world around you seems to be disintegrating – and that is a valid feeling. However, no matter how challenging a season in life may seem, there is ALWAYS an abundance of things to be grateful for…even if the only things you can be grateful for is the oxygen you breathe and the eternal salvation you possess. Thoughtful reflection and gratitude can take adversity and mold it into lifelong wisdom! 

 

Three things that I am grateful for:

1. Coffee (as the weather is beginning to cool, coffee is the perfect way to warm up…I get SO giggly and excited when I get to have a yummy cup of coffee) 
2. Productivity (there have been many unproductive moments this semester, but I have lots of projects that are due soon, and I have been quite productive, which is so happy) 
3. Irish Immigration (Laura and I had our Immigration appointments in Dublin, and everything got sorted quickly! We now have our “Irish Residency Permits”, which feels pretty cool! 😎) 

 

Moments and experiences. What are some of the times in your life that have been the most significant? Have there been moments or experiences that have totally changed the way you think? Have you ever had that passionate, excited feeling that bubbles through your body when someone inspirational is speaking? The truth is, whether we reflect on it or not, moments (both good and bad) shape us. There is no denying that our perception of the world comes from our lived experiences at home, in school, at work, and with every individual we encounter. 

 

My study abroad experience has been monumental. I have done loads of things that I never thought were possible, and I am growing every day with the obstacles I face. Interestingly, I have a lot of spare time in which I reflect on my experiences, and I have come to learn many things about myself and the world around me, as well as solidify many of my preexisting notions. This blog is dedicated to just that – sharing my thoughts! 

 

Thought #1 – Time with God Makes a Real Difference 

 

Okay, so I know that you may be thinking, “Duh! Katie, of course spending time with God makes a difference, He’s God!” and you would be very correct. Over the course of my time in Ireland, I seem to have inadvertently done a variety of experiments on myself (which is so funsies because science is my favorite subject – there’s a little fun fact for you 😋), one of which has revolved around my time with God. 

 

For the first part of the semester, I was doing really amazing – establishing a morning and evening devotion routine that kept me close to God. Then, in the middle of the semester, there was a week that was just downright rough. I was a mess, not managing my time well, tired, cranky, not getting things done that needed to be done, etc. And then it dawned on me. As I was writing in my daily prayer journal, I realized that I hadn’t done my morning devotion the entire week. I felt sad that I would have pushed God to the side like that, I felt guilty for not making the One who created me a priority, and I felt certain that my week fell apart because I did not spend time with God, like I should have. The next week, I made a conscious effort to do my morning devotions before anything else in the day, and I added a small afternoon devotion as well. Any thoughts on how my week went? If you said that I had the best week that I have had in Ireland, up until that point, then you would be right! 

 

Maybe you have experienced something like this in your life, too. I am here to tell you that God forgives you for those sins. He loves you unconditionally because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross, and He wants to be a prominent part of your life! Be creative! Find ways to talk to Him throughout your day (prayer), read His Word, and meditate on how He positively impacts every aspect of your life! Let God work in you and joy will undoubtedly overflow! 

 

Thought #2 – My Flaws of Perfectionism and Control

 

We all have flaws. Some flaws are things that we see in ourselves or in other people, and some flaws are things that only God really knows. I don’t know what your flaws might be, but I know that one of my biggest flaws is both a great blessing and a challenge…perfectionism. 

 

I have always wanted to be the best that I can be and do the best that I can do in everything. From school work and dance to my future career and my relationships, I strive to be perfect. The problem is, I live in an imperfect world, and I am a sinful, imperfect person. Therefore, it is impossible for me to be perfect. Along with this pesky flaw of mine, I feel the need to have control over things because many times, I sinfully feel that if I do it, then it will be better than what someone else may come up with. 

 

Allow me to give you the visual for my confession. 

 

I just finished a group project in my Communications class. To preface, my group was a bit of a hot mess, and the reasons why I had to take leadership of the group were valid. However, I ended up doing about 92% of a project that had five people working on it…that is ridiculous. When I was working on our team reflection, I reflected on my flaws of perfectionism and control within the setting of this group project. I took control over this project because I didn’t trust my group members to put forth work that matched my standard of what “good work” looks like. There are particular reasons why I didn’t trust them, but that is still not an excuse for me. I hope that in the future, I am able to work past some of my flaws to give others the learning experience that will be most beneficial for them. 

 

The first step in making any change is recognition. I have recognized an area where I can continue to grow, and I thank God for giving me opportunities to work through some of these areas of growth in Ireland. And maybe, just maybe, this recognition will give you confidence to reflect and recognize an area of potential growth in your own life! After all…no one is perfect! 😉

 

Thought #3 – You Reap What You Sow

 

There are two common ways of taking on something new. One is that there is an urge to accomplish a task, get it done, and move on. The other is the overwhelming desire to twist and squeeze every last ounce of thought, growth, and experience out of a task. Both ways are valid and useful for different parts of life. However, the path that is usually taken is dependent upon the intention and motivation that lurks in the deepest depths of one’s mind and heart. 

 

When opportunities present themselves, we have the choice to decide how much of ourselves we are willing to devote to this new experience. Indubitably, you will reap what you sow. If you put reflection, hard work, and joy into what you are doing, you will receive the benefits of growth, accomplishment, and immense gratitude. If you put less effort into something, then you ought to expect your outcome to be less fruitful. 

 

Coming to Ireland, I had it in my mind that I wanted to be here to begin a journey of taking care of myself again and to learn new things. I had no idea what was going to be in store for me, but God certainly knew the things that would be awaiting my arrival. When I was presented with numerous opportunities, I made the choice to welcome every one of them with open arms. Yes, that has made my semester pretty busy, but it has been powerfully rewarding. I have learned more about myself, dance, culture, mindfulness, personal care, food, sincerity, empathy, and the power of God than I could have ever imagined. 

 

I say with gratitude and thanksgiving to God that I have undoubtedly squeezed every last ounce of thought, growth, and experience out of my time at the University of Limerick! I still have a few weeks left of finishing classes and a bit of travel, but I feel in my heart that I came to Ireland with a shapeless me and I will eventually leave Ireland with a sculpted new sense of self and perspective. 

 

Thought #4 – Care, Spontaneity, and Dance 

 

Priorities. We are all given 24 hours in a day, no more, no less. How we each decide to spend our 24 hours each day depends on our individual priorities. Now, priorities shift through the phases of life, but they do drive our thoughts and actions on a daily basis. Examining ourselves and our priorities is a healthy way to maintain a sense of balance in our hectic lives.

 

As much as I would like to admit that I have prioritized myself in the past, I most certainly have not. If you are reading this and happen to know me on a personal level, you would know that I put a ton of care into other people, my activities, my academics, and quite possibly everything that doesn’t have to do with my personal care. However, that is the silly-goofiest notion and not an option for anyone who wants to be healthy, for real. One of my main goals in coming to Ireland has been to care for myself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Through new habits, I am succeeding in caring for myself more. My new habits include: lots of devotions, prayer, pilates, dance, journaling, sleep, healthy food, and reading for pleasure! Guys!!! I actually get 8 hours of sleep each night! It’s incredible to not feel like death every day!! 😆

 

Due to the fact that I am caring for my personal well-being more, I have so much more energy to be adventurous and learn more about myself! One thing that has become apparent to me is how much I enjoy the most spontaneous adventures! I have always been a person who likes to plan everything out in advance, but some of my most fun memories of my time here include days where nothing was planned until the moment we decided to do something! I love a spontaneous adventure to a new coffee place or the random, “Oh, you know what we should do today? Shopping!!” moments! My all-time favorite spontaneous day in Ireland was when Laura and I went to the Aran Island of Inis Oir at the beginning of our trip. We got to the island and decided to rent bicycles for the day! We rode around the entire island, stopping where we wanted to stop, having lunch on a beach with the waves crashing up against the rocks by the lighthouse, and doing whatever brought us joy in the moment! God blesses us with incredible moments – we just have to take the time to ponder the special spontaneity that a moment can bring. 

 

On a slightly more serious note, I would just like to say, I am finally happy. Now I know that you might have a lot of thoughts in your mind right now… “Uh, Katie, that doesn’t sound happy.” or “What? Aren’t you always happy? You seem like it!” But the reality is, I choose to find the joy in most moments, but that does not mean that I am genuinely my most happy self all the time. (If you know me well, you know when I am the most happy…)

 

To this point, in an enlightening conversation I had with my mom a few weeks ago, she made a comment about me seeming like I am really happy again. She pointed out that I haven’t been my “normal” happy Katie self in a really long time, and she is right. It dawned on me in that moment that it is true – I have not been happy the last few years, and I compared those memories to what is different now. Yes, you might be thinking that it is because I am having the time of my life in Ireland, but that is not the root of my happiness. It all comes down to one single fact about myself. Dance and Katie are a package deal. You can’t have one without the other.

 

I have not had dance as part of my everyday life for the duration of my time at MLC, and whether I realized it or not, it has made my college experience very difficult. My idea of who I was became shattered my sophomore year at MLC when I was diagnosed with a variety of hip and back issues that severely limited my ability to continue dancing. I felt lost, broken, and not happy. But my mom had a really good point – I have been genuinely happy here. Why? I am dancing again. I will never dance to the extent that I used to – my body can’t handle the force. But here, I have found ways to be active, dance, and move my body in ways that cause significantly less pain. You will never know how much that very thought means to me. It brings me to tears every time I think about it – in fact, I am crying right now as I write this to you. I have found the key to my earthly happiness – dance. 

 

My eternal joy and motivation come from Jesus, and my earthly joy and motivation come from dancing for Jesus, and I would have it no other way. I am now certain that whatever my vocation may be, it undeniably has to involve dance in some way, shape, or form, for that is how I can best serve my Lord with joy. 

 

Thought #5 – Win or Learn 

 

Earlier in my “gratitude” section, I alluded to the idea that attitude and mindset have deep power over our thoughts and actions. You are how you think. If you think positively, then you are likely to be an optimistic, “glass half full”, kind of person. If you think negatively, then you will likely be the pessimist, “glass half empty”, kind of person. Which one are you? Which one do you think you are at this moment? Which one do other people perceive you to be? Which one do you strive to be? 

 

A truth for you. People change. Now I know that is a “crazy” fun fact, but we all know it to be true. If someone wanted to be more positive, all it takes is to “flip the switch” and decide to live by one of my greatest mottos, “win or learn”. 

 

There will undoubtedly be silly goofy situations that fling themselves before you all the time, but it is how you handle the situation that has the power to change the outcome. If you decide to live by this motto, then either the situation went really well and you can celebrate, or the situation went poorly and you are now graced with the opportunity to learn from those mistakes. That is how we grow – through making mistakes. Success isn’t measured by how little we fail, but rather how we overcome constant failure and adversity with resilience and grace in God. 

 

I have made the choice to live by the idea of “win or learn” while being in Ireland, and I say with conviction that it has made my learning and growth to be abundant. There are always hard situations with cultural differences, communication styles, group projects, public transportation – you name it – but I either get to rejoice in succeeding or learn from my mistakes!

 

I will give you a quick, silly example! This past week, Laura and I went for our usual Friday morning shopping! Side note…everything went splendidly well with the buses this time! Aren’t you proud of our big win?!?! 😁 When we got to the store, we had our usual, already-made shopping list, which included a bottle of white wine. Just to be clear, we were using this wine to make chicken scampi – so don’t get any goofy ideas about what we do around here! 🙂 Anyway, I was checking out in the self-checkout when I scanned the wine, and it flashed for an employee to come over. I just figured that I was going to be carded…but NO. He looked at me and said, “Half ten.” That’s it! What the heck was that supposed to mean?! So I looked at him and said with a question mark at the end of my sentence, “Half ten?” And he said, “Yeah” as he reached for my bottle of white wine (which we spent a decent amount of time picking out so that we could get the perfect bottle of wine with the right hints of flavor to go with our beautiful dish – I guess it was a waste of our 10 precious minutes). For the record, I am not salty or anything… 😋 In the end, this meant that we couldn’t purchase alcohol before 10:30 am…which I thought was extremely silly goofy, considering how much people drink in this country! 

 

Anyway, we could have been really sad about our tragedy with this beautiful bottle of wine, but instead we laughed about it and said, “Well, I guess we will have to come back another time!” So now we know (and you know for the next time you happen to be in Ireland purchasing alcohol before 10:30 in the morning) that we shan’t do this again! I promise we won’t try to buy our wine in the morning ever again…we learned!!! 

 

Highlights from these past weeks include:

1. UL Access Campus (I was able to observe a teacher on the UL Access Campus teaching English to Ukrainian refugees. I will be teaching them in a few weeks to go along with my TESOL class, and I am getting excited!)
2. Dublin Day (Laura and I went to Dublin for our Immigration appointments, but we also had a delightful day of spontaneity)
3. 1 Year Anniversary (Micah and I celebrated our 1 Year Anniversary, and I feel so thankful and blessed to have him in my life – thank you, Lord!)
4. Cliffs of Moher (Laura and I went on a day trip to the Cliffs of Moher with our Worldstrides friends…and I got coffee…hehe) 
5. Video (I learned how to make a video for a project in one of my classes – I feel so techy 🤓)
6. Pottery (I went to an event to make pottery, and I learned that I am HORRIBLE at it – but I laughed so hard at myself!) 

 

Low-lights from these past weeks include:

1. Motivation Slump
2. Control
3. Thanksgiving Blues

 

Learned Insights from the Low-lights: 

1. Do you ever wake up in the morning and you are wide awake, but everything in your brain and body tells you that you just can’t do anything for the day? Well, that seems to happen to me all the time…and let me tell you, it is quite frustrating. Feeling a lack of motivation is a real thing that I believe most people have or will experience at some point. But having a motivation slump doesn’t have to be the thing that takes over our day. It gives us a healthy opportunity to evaluate our day and remember where our motivation should really come from – Christ Jesus. 
2. This goes along with my thought #2, but I just always feel the need to be in control. I want to make sure that things are good and well thought through, but the reality is – that is ridiculous. I can’t control what God has already blessed and by forfeiting my want for control, I get to harness my need for surrender to God, and God alone. This is not bad. It is healthy and an absolute blessing. 
3. I don’t know if you have ever felt this way before, but I am feeling sad because my family will be together for Thanksgiving, and I will not be there. Now, I know that I chose this path for myself, but it is still hard to see the people I love in one place, together, on a special holiday when I can’t be there to celebrate too. It is a challenge because Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Ireland, and everyone is looking forward to Christmas at the moment, so I am battling my no-you-have-to-wait-until-after-Thanksgiving-to-put-up-Christmas-decorations conundrum. I guess this just gives me an opportunity to share my love for Thanksgiving with my friends here in Ireland! 

 

Scripture that has been with me these past weeks:

• Psalm 23:4 – “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

• 2 Timothy 1:7 – “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.” 

• Luke 1:37 – “For no word from God will ever fail.” 

 

Whew! It is always an incredible moment when you can look back and reflect on how experiences shape us and mold us to be who we are for a period of time, until another revolutionary circumstance strolls by and challenges us to rethink. You know the saying, “You learn something new every day”? Well, I believe that we should seek to learn at least one new thing every day. We are blessed with the opportunity to be encapsulated by lifelong learning – we have knowledge at our fingertips. All it takes is a little motivation, reflection, prayer…and just a little bit of pixie dust! 

 

All my love,

Katie Gilkey