🇮🇪 A Year in Ireland (2021–2022)

In 2021 I moved to Ireland for my fourth year of high school, where I graduated with the Leaving Certificate. It was a demanding year. I had to catch up on all subjects from the Italian fifth year while adapting to a new education system, yet it became one of the most formative experiences of my life.

During those months, English stopped being a language I translated from. It became the language I thought in, a shift that changed how I reason, connect ideas, and express nuance. I spent much of my time studying, exploring literature, business, mathematics, biology, and German at higher level, but the learning extended far beyond the classroom.

Immersed in Irish culture and community, I joined a local Gaelic football club where my host brothers played. Though I didn’t play the sport myself, I trained regularly with the team and their coach, who deeply influenced my approach to discipline, movement, and physical growth. It was a period of quiet transformation: academic, physical, and personal, and it still shapes how I approach challenges today.