5 Unconventional Ways To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day – In America, we celebrate this Irish holiday by donning a variety of leprechauns and clovers, attending festive parades, and drinking until until our faces turn a not-so-pleasant green. But, what happens when you are too young to legally drink? Maybe you hate parades, or the color green just doesn’t suit your style. Inspired by Flavorwire, here are 5 activities that will connect you to the Green Isle minus the icons, confetti, and beer.

1. Eat some Irish Barbecue. Tired of the Shamrock Shake? Is the Corned Beef and Cabbage getting old? Fire up the BBQ because Ireland has a big heart for grilling. According to the BBQ Brisket Blog, barbecue in Ireland relies mainly on the staples of Irish cuisine: meat, vegetables and potatoes. Their barbecuing methods are similar to those found in the US, UK, and Australia. Using a tomato-based sauce that is spread on the food while it cooks, Irish BBQ is similar to the Kansas City-style in the US. Ireland even hosts the annual World Cup Barbecue Championship in September, where participants can enter food into a variety of 8 different categories. Looking for recipes? Jump Into Ireland offers ideas such as spicy lamb cutlets, burgers with sour cream dressing, and portobello mushrooms for those who want to skip the meat.

Courtesy of KurtisK

2. Add some Irish flair to your movie time. According to Irish Central, Ireland has provided beautiful scenery such as County Wexford and The Cliffs of Moher for movies like Saving Private Ryan, Braveheart, and The Princess Bride. It is also the motherland to those who can be found on screen, such as Liam Neeson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Michael Fassbender and Saoirse Ronan. Grab your friends and host an “Irish Film” marathon!

Courtesy of Janice Heppenstall

3. Make a St. Patrick’s Day music playlist. What do musical acts U2, Enya, Van Morrison, and the Cranberries all have in common? They are 4 of the top selling Irish acts of all time! The list doesn’t stop there – My Bloody Valentine and The Script also hail from this musical isle. Surprise your friends and co-workers by making a Spotify playlist that ditches the stereotypical bagpipes and jig-inspiring tunes.

Courtesy of Va4lent

4. Learn some Irish slang. Why celebrate St. Patty’s Day if you can’t speak the local lingo? Speak the slang of Irish citizens young and old by learning a few words and phrases that you won’t hear in America. Similar to the United States, Irish slang varies upon region. According to Urban Dictionary, “Gob smacked,” refers to being completely speechless, stunned, surprised, and in disbelief. The slang word “fein,” can be referred to as the Irish version of “dude.” Well fein, what are you waiting for? Go study your vocabulary!

5. Play a game of Gaelic football. According to the Calgary Chieftains, this game can be summarized as a blend of soccer, rugby and basketball. Played between two teams of 15 players, a friendly game can be played among friends on a grass field. Object of the game? To score by driving the ball through or over the goals – if the ball is sent over the bar of the goals, you get one point. If the ball goes into the goalmouth, you get three points.

Ditch the parades and drinking parties! Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by immersing yourself in some contemporary Irish culture!

Featured photo courtesy of atu2

Homeschooler in the Real World

Emma Folts, a sophomore at Wheaton College, shares her experience about her transition into college and how homeschool has both helped and hindered her.
How has your homeschool experience benefitted you, especially in your transition into college?
I think the one thing that homeschooling did that was really helpful as I entered college was that it taught me time management. As a homeschooler I had the same freedom as a college student has to put things off during the day and go see a friend instead. Since I had that experience, I knew the cost of that.
Also, personal responsibility and accountability with assignments. I feel like a lot of the other students had more expectations for gentler grading and that the professor would give them retakes or extensions, but that wasn’t something that ever happened to me in school. That learning curve wasn’t added because I never had it the other way. I think another thing was that because I was homeschooled, I was familiar with the format of teaching and then studying on my own.
Did you see any issues with your transition socially?
I think that homeschooling had two ramifications for me socially. One was helpful, one was hurtful.
It was really helpful because as a homeschooler, I had spent a lot of time realizing and developing who I was as a person and learning to recognize people who were being themselves, and those were the people I sought out as friends. Friendship as a homeschooler takes a lot more investment. I knew I was choosier with my friends which made me a lot less anxious and a lot more content.
The only real negative impact of the social bit was that I was really used to getting to choose the time I got to spend with people. As a homeschooler I spent a lot of time with people, but that time was controlled by me. As a college student, I found that you can’t really control the time you spend with people and alone time is not really available. Learning to deal with that was a lot harder than anticipated.
Any last comments on homeschool and how it has affected your college experience?
I think homeschooling is really helpful, however it does take a slightly increased amount of advocacy with your peers when you’re entering into college. I think a lot of people come in with certain assumptions about homeschool, especially students. You’re going to get a lot of, ‘oh my gosh, you don’t seem like a homeschooled person!’ [You can’t] take that too personally and explain your experience so that friends can understand it’s an important piece of you, though it might not look like the homeschooling that they’ve seen.
My encouragement to anyone who is a homeschooler transitioning into college is to realize the benefit that you have having been homeschooled, and to realize that the bit of advocacy and explaining that you need to do with your peers is totally normal and that it’s not a big deal. Once they understand your experience, it’s not something I’ve experienced being looked down on for.