Well it has been a wonderful year full of great surprises. I am very grateful for the people I have had around me throughout the year.I can't express enough gratitude to the people I spent my year with.There are so many highlights of my year ! I don't know where to begin.Living in Ireland gives me a unique experience of the world around me.This was the first ever blog I had, and I found the whole experience of writing very exciting.
This year I had set myself specific goals. I wanted to continue my martial arts and I wanted to learn the Irish language a bit more.In the martial art of Sin Moo Hapkido I attained a blue belt back in April which I thought was pretty cool, I hope to progress on to red belt.I learned some Irish in School since I was 4 as is the norm in Ireland, however I used to dread learning it, until I finished secondary school I realized that is actually quite beautiful language and something we should be proud of as citizens of Ireland.My friends and I went to see stand up comedian Tommy Tiernan earlier in the year, It was my first time going to a stand-up gig, it was hilarious ! Tiernan's energy is unparalleled.I'd definitely go to another of his shows.
I spent some of the summer volunteering with two different organisations, It felt great being able to lend and hand it was nice to see that my work was rewarding.Through volunteering I have made some wonderful friends who I hope to be in contact with throughout the rest of my life.It is a a lot of fun and a great way to pass the summer.The weather during the summer this year was quite uplifting overall.
During the year I read quite a lot of books, If you've read my blog earlier this year you may see some of the books that I've been reading. Many of the books I read are books on Philosophy, I developed an interest in philosophy about 3 years ago and I can't stop reading philosophy. I do think it is imperative in life that we can sit down and ponder on life's most important questions,even to question our own values and long held assumptions about life,
Throughout this year in Ireland there was massive civil unrest throughout the country caused by the governments plans to introduce the much hated water charges.It's not exactly the water charges that are the biggest problem, the problem is really a lack of transparency in the Irish Water organisation.There were many protests in the country throughout the year that exemplified the countries overall discontent with Irish Water.
In international news, The brutal Syrian civil war lingers on to a stalemate. its being going on for more than three years now since protests against the Assad regime began in early 2011.In the middle east , ultra Islamic fundamentalist group Isis have created a self proclaimed caliphate in parts of Syria and Iraq,the brutality of Isis continues to enslave people in the area.Of course in sporting news Ireland won the the six nations rugby tournament, which was the first time Ireland had one the six nations since 2009.The world cup was also held in Brazil , with German beating Argentina in the final.
This post is getting a bit too long and I don't want to see a huge block of writing, I normally want to keep things concise.This has been a wonderful year for me in many respects, I faced some difficulties but I overcame them,I met so many new friends this year and made so many special memories worth remembering.I can only wish for another prosperous year in 2015 to myself and to anybody that reads this blog.
Good luck
Rob
