To freshmen and other Bradley students:
This last weekend, I attended Peoria’s Irish Fest. The festival was bursting with energy and lively entertainment.
My classmates and friends spoke to me afterwards about how they wish they had known about this event and how jealous they were. That is the problem with Bradley University – we absolutely DO NOT leave our campus bubble.
Plastic chairs crammed together, occupied by families and people of all ages, were shoved at the stage of Irish dancers. Different young girls danced jigs and reels on stage all hours of the day.
The stage with live bands was also bursting with spectators. Vendors sold t-shirts, homemade goods and other fares you could not easily find elsewhere. I left cradling a few Celtic style shirts. As the sun was beating down on me, I indulged in corned beef and roasted mushrooms from food carts onsite. I left with a photo taken at the wonky photo props station, which was, of course, green and covered in shamrocks.
It was a day of celebrating longstanding Irish family traditions. Even those of us only partially Irish can relish in that small piece of our background. I really soaked in and appreciated my Irish heritage, because the traditions from that background helped shape me into who I am, what I eat and what I celebrate today.
This event lasted all day from Aug. 24 through 26, along the Peoria Riverfront. Though some students were too busy to stop by, I think most simply did not know about this event, or did not challenge themselves to actually venture off the Hilltop.
I encourage Bradley students to actively seek out and try to attend local events. My friends and other acquaintances always ask how I do so many fun events. I simply look into local calendars and follow local pages or ask Peoria natives. Leave the Bradley bubble behind sometimes.
Apart from that lesson, Irish Fest also caused me to ponder the concept of my background and the backgrounds of the rest of you, Bradley students.
Every heritage is one to be proud of. Embrace and learn about all parts of who you are, so you can choose and form into who you ultimately become. And even once you feel like you have found yourself and know your heritage, keep learning and changing more. Learning about the heritage of those around you and those far from you is just as important.
College isn’t just learning about yourself and for yourself; it is a time to learn about others and for others too. Get to know about everyone and everything else to learn who you want to be.
As you enter this year of college, go forth with an open mind and ready to learn all new things in a world that’s so different from elementary and high school.
We are all old enough to realize that learning is fun and has always been. Learning is not always easy, but always worthwhile.
TLDR: Embrace your local community and gobble up information this year.
Meghan
