Today we did our third site visit to Croke Park– which was my favorite one so far! The people were very enthusiastic about teaching us about the cultural significance of sports in Ireland. In the last few days Irish national identity has been a common theme we have mentioned quite a few times. I have found that Irish people have extreme pride in their country and love to express that to foreigners such as us! Gaelic football is a great example of this. Our tour guide, Ian, informed us about how significant it is to represent your village or wherever you were born when you play sports. We also witness national identity when talking to Irish people in the sense that they use phrases which really seem to commend the villages that they were born in.

Personally, I identify a few different ways. I am a daughter, sister, dog lover, and student, to say the least. On top of all that, I identify as Bosnian. My parents are from Bosnia and they have quite an amazing story of how they came to the United States. I feel very prideful about the fact that they have worked so hard to give me the life that they couldn’t have when they were children. I feel excited when people ask me questions about Bosnia because they are curious and have never heard of the quaint, mysterious country. I will continue to educate people about the country, and encourage people to visit in the future.