I - Inspiration

We’re all inspired by something, someone. We all have an image of the perfect life, the way things would be in a perfect world. I’ve had a lot of inspiration in my life, from those around me and characters in books and I too, have an image of the perfect life for me.

H - History

History just makes sense to me, in the same way that Irish just, doesn’t. I’m hardwired to English and other languages just go right over my head because when I hear people speaking anything that isn’t English, my brain decides to dwell on other matters. If I could make it stop, I probably wouldn’t, because that might limit my brain space for English. I remember before the Junior Cert, when I sighed and circled Ardleibheal for the box with ‘Gaelige’ in it, my brain traitorously suggested that I swap my knowledge of English for the equivalent in Irish, which was one of its weaker moments.

G - Goals in Life

Though many of my ambitions were far from realistic, amid the wistful thinking there was always one thought, standing strong despite being buffeted by every word that made me feel worthless, every teacher who looked at me like I was stupid. The word ‘author’ has been swimming around in the sea of my thoughts for years now. It’s only gotten stronger since my teachers started praising me and I met people who love the craft like I do and love what I do with words.

F - Family and Friends

I am gifted with a family that if I could, I would choose. That said, I’m only including my immediate family in that, seeing as if I could I would boot a few of my extended family members out into a different universe, and then turn them into goats or similar avatars that they couldn’t cause trouble with.

E - Emma

Whenever I grumble about my name, I’m assured by the nearest person that Emma is a perfectly nice name. Of course, they’re called something like ‘Natasha’ or something normal, but not very common. They don’t understand the annoyance of your name being called out by every stranger, making you freeze in mid pee in the toilet, or turn to look at someone, who gives you an embarrassed look and waves over your shoulder.

I may get to be named after a Jane Austen novel, but I could also have been named after a Spice Girl or any assorted person on the planet. Of course, to every teacher who reads the class roll, my name is unusual.