Something that has stuck out to me since being abroad in Ireland is the lack of worry about pretty much everything. It has really put into perspective how much Americans are always on their toes and always so worried about everything and worried about being late. Since being abroad I have realized when they say classes start at a certain time, the Professor will walk in 15 minutes late and that is normal. Clubs say they start practice at a certain time, but that rarely actually happens. I did not know what "Irish time" truly meant before I came here but now I can say that "Irish time" is the way to go.
I am usually such a type A person when it comes to being on time, getting my schoolwork done, and everything having a plan. When I came here I figured that it would not change much, or that I would have a hard time adjusting to the care free pace of life here. Well, never assume anything goes as plan.
I have since realized how important it is in life to not get caught up in the little things and just go with the flow. For example when the Irish say an "easy hike" I figured it would be an "easy" hike. Well, 8 hours later, I can confirm it was definitely not easy, but normally that is something that we would get agitated about and wonder why they didn't warn us better or have a stricter plan to stick to but instead we rolled with the punches and just enjoyed our time.
"Irish time" has made me realize that you can plan all you want, set aside time and worry about every little detail about how your day will turn out, or what you are going to wear, but 99% of the time it does not go the way you thought it up in your head and that is O.K.
America in our generation has put so much pressure on getting good grades, getting into the best college, having the most on your resume, but what we really need to do is take a step back and be grateful for this life and realize that it is an adventure that is better left to the unknown than to an hourly schedule.