For all those who may not know, I am an Irish dancer. A lot of my family has Irish ancestry and we’re pretty proud of this. Cleveland also has a strong Irish community, which is nice. There are actually two Irish American clubs: one on the east side and one on the west. We haven’t always gotten along, but now we do. Side note: I’m from the east side (*cough* better side *cough cough*… kidding).

Now, as a member of this community of Irish enthusiasts, turns out that means St. Patrick’s Day lasts a whole month. I did not do this on purpose. It’s just how the world works sometimes and I realized it this week because on February 18th, I went to see Riverdance’s 20th anniversary show. Then I saw Gaelic Storm later in the week who is an Irish folk band and are really amazing if you haven’t heard of them. Last weekend, I went to my Irish dancing school’s annual fundraiser which is essentially dinner and a show that we call the ceili. Ceili is a  fancy (Gaelic) word for party where Irish music plays and we do traditional dances. This ceili also gives the students a chance to show their families what they’ve learned over the year so it’s a very fun event.

On top of just this past week, I’ve got more planned and definitely ending with the St. Patrick’s Day parade downtown. All of which is very exciting and I do love celebrating my family’s heritage this way. My family may be Americans (I’m at least 3rd generation American, we’ve been here a long time), but we will never forget where we came from. I appreciate understanding how my ancestors struggled so I may have the life I have now. Even though they’re gone, I would not be who I am without them. The beauty of the States is how we all have history defining us from around the world and such cultures deserve to be celebrated. All of them.