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After living for couple years in Salt Lake City, Utah, and make that beautiful city my new home, I had to leave the country in order to renew my visa. However my visa was denied. It was a very bitter experience, a very frustrating one, because I had bet all the odds and made so many plans for a future that, for me, was already certain. I couldn’t think about the future and not think about Salt Lake City. I had to face the reality and make choices in order to keep progressing. I didn’t want to stay in my home country for economical reasons, but also didn’t want to live in a country I’ve never been before. After few months researching, I decided to live in Ireland. That would be my new beginning and I promised myself to be open enough so I could live my frustrations behind and find a new happy home. Deep inside I didn’t want to go, but I went anyway. All I had was a mix of fear and hope. When I first arrived I didn’t know much about Ireland, I just knew Game of Thrones was filmed there. Dublin is full of immigrants, something I was already used to for living in America, and I loved it, because I could practice few languages I knew but also try food I loved such as Vietnamese food and Brazilian food. Overall, Dublin did not seem to impress me and day to day life was hard because renting and food was overpriced and also it became very hard to create bond with people, once they seemed to be always leaving. So, I decided to explore more the regions around, to see the famous cliffs of the green island, to try the fish and chips, go to the pubs and take time to understand more about those people. As I started emerging myself with the Irish culture I realized they had lots of connections with the US, especially with Utah and Idaho. The old songs I became familiar in Salt Lake City were in reality old Irish songs like Danny Boy and Celtic Women, the dishes based on potatoes were also Irish dishes. Those were small things that made me to feel a little bit more welcomed to that country. Then I started learning deeply about Irish history, the Viking era, the England’s invasion and Irish Immigration to America. I was amazed to know that a good part of those immigrants were responsible for the colonization and growth of Utah. I came to understand that the city I loved the most only existed partially because of the Irish immigrants. I wasn’t really surprise by the fact Irish people immigrated to United States of America, in fact I knew that already. However I was surprised by the reason those people moved away from their beloved Country. The Emerald Island, lived a period when a huge economic crisis crashed and many people was found on the verge of starvation, with many citizens dying in deed. Of course I never lived in those extreme conditions, but I felt empathy for those souls and found a strong connection between us, which made me value those people and their ancestors more. We both shared the same dream once and it was not about a country, but about a better life, finding true happiness far from the struggles faced and progressing without looking to the past. And if they did so could I. From that day on my perspective of life did changed. Honestly, it didn’t change my goal of going back to Utah but it helped me to appreciate life much more and see things with gratitude. I learned in Ireland that sometimes we need to go through our fears to see the beauty on the other side. There's always a connection no matter how far we go, we can always find something that will make us feel home. I could find joy on my new route and learn wonderful life teachings. I could see the beauty, I could smell the scent and taste the flavors of Salt Lake City on the other side in order to strength my dreams.