Three years ago, I was finishing my senior year of high school. I was terrified to enter into the great unknown world of college. Since then, I’ve figured some things out, learned some life lessons, and gained some relevant experience. It may seem like I have it all together in comparison, but it will be even more interesting to see how it all plays out three years from now….

Same goes for you, Dublin.

If we’ve learned anything from this trip, it’s that Dublin has changed quite a bit in the recent years, and it’s safe to assume it will continue to develop for the years to come. Within three years, I do not anticipate any extreme, macro-level changes to the country; rather, incremental developments will occur that will contribute to the overall shift in Dublin’s culture and business environment that will last several decades.

With the recent boom in business in the city (especially in the technology sector), the city’s gentrification will attract global talent and bring in more tourists. I anticipate this movement will allow Ireland to be a more diverse country. This will likely take longer than three years to take full effect, but I see no reason that Dublin will not be as diverse as the U.S. or London down the line.

When we visited the Docklands area during our Google site visit, Darren discussed gentrification in that area specifically. Darren pointed out the new apartment buildings created to house young professionals working technology jobs in the Docklands. In three years, I would imagine there will be demand for additional housing to be created as these young people begin to start families in Dublin. Attainment of permits will be necessary to build properties to accommodate for this movement. Laws and regulations will need to be explored and possibly questioned, so there could be a potential for new legislation and/or upheaval.

As this trend continues and Ireland attracts a global diverse workforce, becoming more ethnically diverse is a natural outcome. It will be interesting to see if/how this has taken effect in the next three years and if there are any social issues that result from Dublin changing from its traditional demographic.

It would be interesting to follow up with the companies we spoke with such as Enterprise Ireland and IDA. Since they gave us forecasted values for export levels, startup ventures (and female involvement in startups), and foreign investments, I would be interested to learn how accurate the predictions were. Of course I would be intrigued to know how Amazon/AWS has gained traction on taking over the world, especially in its involvement in Ireland. Although it won’t take three years to hear the results of the abortion referendum, I’d be curious to know if the results will give the topic closure or if citizens will still continue to express their opinions on the subject.

As frightened as I was to enter college three years ago, I’m somehow not nearly as scared to enter adulthood. As we’ve learned on our trip, you need to find comfort working in ambiguity, and that is a huge thing I’ve learned in college, this year especially. We must do everything now to set ourselves up for success later; harnessing our strengths and recognizing our weaknesses, foreseeing the obstacles, and, yes, making somewhat of a plan, are all ways we as students can prepare for the future.

Same goes for you, Dublin.