It's 7am and I've just woken up to my first day back in Belfast! Hannah, Corneilus and Dani greeted me at Dublin airport with signs, sunflowers, chocolate and hugs that would bring a smile to the faces of even the grumpiest of travelers!

I had envisioned this return for weeks, and here I am, in the sobering cold of my old country. I've woken up next to Corneilus in Hannah's living room. We sit listening to the pitter-patter of the grey rain outside as we sip on Burmese tea (the same bag I sent Hannah a few months ago while in Thailand!).

Little reminders of the "realness" of my stay here are in my face while at Hannah's. My GIANT photo from the Holi celebration hangs proudly in her kitchen. Prints from the city I had given here are in her bathroom and on the walls of her flat.

this was real. This life I've lived.

We ate vegan pizza from Pizza Paradise last night (ahhh the sweet familiar taste of my go-to eatery!) had wine, and bonding conversations to ease me back into the Western world.

Last night my mind was banging from being able to hear all the English conversations. The old familiar cadence of the beautiful accents of my friends.

How can I explain to you what this place means to me? This is where I fell in love. Love with photography, fell in love with my friends, fell in love with nature-based spirituality. Fell in love with who I was as a woman. All I feel is love here. And it wraps around me; a warm blanket in this frosty weather.

Happy St. Patrick's day folks! (this is the 4th st. Patrick's day I've spent in NI and I think it may become tradition now!) I'm off to adventure the countryside with good friends, good music and 40 shades of green all around me.

My heart is at peace, my soul is afire, and my heart is beaming at the possibilities.

To reunions, realizations, connections, and walks down paths once present.

All my love,

-DW