​shaun dunne is incredible. the workshop we did with him will remain with me for as long as i create. i often experience a block when i’m trying to make something, and at this point, i’d just consider it lucky if i ever got an uninterrupted stream of creativity and ideas. however, i realized in talking to shaun that i have the power to give myself the gift of an uninterrupted stream of creativity and ideas if i acknowledge the block that i’m having and think about why it’s there. i don’t have to wait around helplessly until i suddenly have the idea for a project that comes to fruition in ten minutes. i can create that for myself by working with my blocks/obstacles instead of against them. additionally, shaun validated for me that being afraid an audience won’t have a reaction to my art is a healthy fear, and it shouldn’t stop me from putting all of my passion into my work.

​“maybe the things we can’t look in the eye are the things we came here to see”
at the poetry jukebox, this line stopped me in my tracks. perhaps this was because it resonated so deeply with me. maybe because it’s the words i wish i could tell my former self. either way, i wrote a short poem about it.

it will always find you.
you can run, and you can hide
it will still always find you.
you can jump and you can fly
and even then,
it will always find you.
avoidance is simply procrastination,
putting off the inevitable,
wandering without a destination.
you set yourself up to fail,
you fall on your own sword,
you fuel the wrong fire
when you choose to ignore.
escapism is an art,
trust me, i thought i’d mastered it...
until every time i looked in the mirror,
i saw someone made of plastic.

​into the tunnel and through the farmland to dublin, ireland we go...
today’s travel day was a sweet one. i had the most delicious pad thai on the train, looked out over the beautiful english countryside, and got excited about things i want to see in dublin. i had an inkling that i would like this city a bit better than belfast, and i was right. i love that it’s eccentric, welcoming, and bursting with utter joy (just listen — the sound of the city is music). i also love that i felt confident and very mindful while i lead my scavenger hunt group to the statue of molly malone. i volunteered to navigate without thinking twice and i felt very grounded in what i was doing and in knowing the status of every group member.

I miss my hat. The splashes of orange, green, and white. Oh how I really miss my hat with its so soft insides. Its cuddly insides. How I really really miss my hat. It covered my ears with warm hugs in the cold of London and Belfast. Too bad it died on the train ride into Dublin. My ears so cold, so lost, so lonely. Oh how I really, really, really miss my hat. Its fluff ball almost the size of my head flapping and flopping in the wind. How I really, really, really, really miss my favorite winter hat.

Today my one hundred words gets a very special treat. I am going to be writing phrases that I like starting with the amazingly talented Shaun Dunne, your welcome. Now buckle up and grab yourself some popcorn.
-“I understand that I am hard to understand.” (Shaun Dunne)
-“Herstory Heroine” (women’s exhibit in the same building as the EPIC museum)
-“To ask for freedom is not a crime” (EPIC museum floor)
-“ Take a seat and be inspired” (EPIC museum seat)
-“The good, the bad, and the Irish” (EPIC museum wall for who dunnit game)
-“I’m not a humanitarian, I’m a hell-raiser.” (Mary Harris Jones)
-“We all come from somewhere” (EPIC museum)
-She wouldn’t mind” (one of the most inspiring woman I have ever had the privilege to listen to, Athena Stevens)
-“Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It’s Brexitman” (online when researching for passion project)
- If buildings could talk” (The back of a man’s jacket in Belfast’s city hall) (also related somewhat to Ella’s poetry)
-“No place for hate” (a Belfast bus)
*Disclosure: this statement plus all words in parentheses do not and will not be included in the counting of a hundred words and are there for explanation and credit giving.*

​today was an action packed, emotion filled day. going from our workshop at the almeida to albion to notes to the forgotten she-wolves, i was consistently engaged and constantly having new thoughts. i am so happy about our workshop with emily and allie. so impressed by the cast of albion. and so grateful to everyone who participated in notes to the forgotten she-wolves. looking down from my bench at the beautiful candle filled chandeliers in the sam wanamaker playhouse and the powerful women who gave voices to the voiceless, i was moved to tears. i could relate to their words. and that was both validating and saddening at the same time.

So, I know we don’t have to write one today. Our trip is done, after all. I mean, I still have an entire project to do, but you get the point.

But I wanted to say thank you. At the start of this trip, I didn’t know most of your names, and now I consider most of you friends. And it’s going to be weird, right? Because we all know that if we weren’t friends before these not a high chance we’ll hang out after this.

But thank you. All of you. I have fantastic memories with all of you that I don’t have the space to type up here, but I’m really glad I met all of you, and I hope we meet again soon.

For our amazing teachers - Dr. Holt, thank you for everything you’ve done for all of us.
Megan - thank you for all of the comfort you’ve given me. I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for me and the group as a whole.

​To Chris and Patrick, if you ever end up reading this, thank you so much for leading us around the cities and providing us insights.

Thank you all so much!