During the middle of May, I went on to Ireland for the first time with my family on our big vacation of the year.

I couldn't have been more excited to go to the country where my ancestors lived and finally meet people outside the family that bore my last name (I met a grand total of one, that's how rare my last name is.)

I was going to see the incredible landscapes the country had to offer like the Cliffs of Moher and the Ring of Kerry, visiting the beautiful locations where Star Wars and Game of Thrones scenes were filmed at. I could not think of a better place to be.

Upon landing at the Dublin airport after a seven-hour flight I was tired and jet-lagged but thrilled to finally be in the Motherland. Forgetting about the rest of the world and enjoy this island in Europe.

I got on the bus that was taking us to our Dublin hotel and as we got closer to the city I started seeing signs like "VOTE YES: For Compassion in a Crisis" and "VOTE NO: Abortion Stops a Heartbeat!"

"Oh god..." I thought. "What am I getting into? Please don't tell me there's gonna be more signs."

As I figured out through the signs, there was going to be a vote on May 25th (the last night of my two-week vacation) to repeal the 8th amendment of the Ireland Constitution which made abortion illegal.

As we got into the heart of Dublin, there were signs EVERYWHERE. Every street light and street sign had multiple "Vote Yes" and "Vote No" signs attached to them.

My eyes hurt as I saw pictures of unborn fetuses in the womb, exhausted at seeing (disputable) facts they listed like "160,000 forced abroad for an abortion" and "97% of aborted babies are healthy."

My mind started swirling: "Please no, I'm on vacation, I'm in the Motherland, I wanna forget about these issues and enjoy the culture and nature of Ireland, this is not my problem!"

It was also an uncomfortable reminder of how backwards some civilized countries are socially compared to America as much as we complain about inequality in the states.

Before the vote, the only relief Ireland ever gave to women on the right to choose was an amendment added to that constitution saying that abortion is illegal unless the expecting mother is suicidal.

Even though America as a free nation is much younger than the countries on the Eastern hemisphere, Ireland has been independent of the United Kingdom for only a century.

The history and culture of Ireland is way more complicated than beer, singing, and leprechauns. Decades of war, politics, and famine have shaped this beautiful island into a very traditional and religious country, hence why abortion had been illegal so long.

I visited many spectacular Irish churches that posted "Vote No" signs, including the famous Knock Shrine where Christians claimed the Virgin Mary appeared there in spirit once.

Although America has been a more progressive country, I was in awe of the fact that in Ireland an entire amendment of the constitution can be repealed with a popular vote.

In America, an amendment to the constitution can be added or removed in a more complicated manner with two/thirds of all states giving approval. Imagine how much easier things could get done if we let popular vote decide things let update that stupid and misinforming second amendment of the Constitution?

Of all the hot topics in the world, abortion might be the hardest and most impossible to solve. Both sides of the argument have humane passion behind it. Even though I've leaned towards pro-choice on this issue, it's a conversation I prefer not to think about or take part in.

I also thought that if a national debate and/or vote on this issue were to take place in the United States then things would be way more hostile than it was in Ireland. There might have been signs EVERYWHERE in Ireland, but not much noise from activists. All I saw were small booths or "Yes" activists handing out pins and brochures to people walking by. No nasty words from anyone, everyone I saw was civilized.

Perhaps the only way we can have a conversation about this is if the issue is shoved right at our faces again and again and again. Even though we couldn't vote, my family had a nice dialogue about the issue and concluded that it shouldn't be our business deciding what a woman wants to do with her pregnancy.

On the last night of my trip, the voting results were announced and, by a landslide, the 8th Amendment was voted to be repealed.

As our travels around the great country continued and we journeyed through the greener and scenic part of the land the number of signs decreased. I never fully forgot about them but eventually, I got used to them.

By the end of the trip, I grew an appreciation for them because I felt like I was apart of a national conversation even though my say didn't really matter to the country.

The historic vote to legalize abortion in Ireland also makes me realize that while some abortion rights are in jeopardy in America today, restrictions will be hard to keep in place because the Womens movement will only keep growing from hereon.