Absorbing the smell of barely and hops with the sweet aroma of whiskey, followed by the montage walls filled with heritage and culture, capped off with laughter and tears. The people of Derry are proud of what has become a city rebuilt to display pride and ambition.
The people of this culture will instantaneously accept anyone foreign to Irish traditions. Specifically, Derry citizens take the time to explain who they are, where they come from and what they have been exposed to in their life. When talked about, the troubles that once tore this city apart have been circumvented by a compassion for a better future.
No matter what side a person stands for or represents, loyalists or republican, the effects of past tragedies are embedded in the heart felt personal experiences that still linger. These experiences slowly surface after the overwhelming confidence in someone like myself, a person who can understand what they experience everyday they wake up and every breath they take.
While listening to these stories of their past and trying to maintain composure, I can't help but to notice the pain they try to swallow in every word they speak, the tears that start to build up in the corner of their eyes, and the emotions that take control. These people have endured a life experience that no human-being should ever have to witness: a experience that I know personally and will never be forgotten. The unfortunate thing about tragedies are that never leave our minds; however, they influence and define that people we are in the today. That is what I see in the people of Derry, Ireland.
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