LAST UPDATE | 1 hr ago

NO ONE IS afraid of getting shot here in Ireland. I realised that while I came upon the recent protests in Dublin, watching tractors fill the streets and block the roads.

As an American who just moved here, I was a little nervous when I approached because my first thought was, ‘I don’t know where the exits are. Where would a shooter come from?’

Hi, I’m Sasha. I spent the last nine years in Idaho, USA, building something I didn’t know was possible. My parents had worked hard, but neither of them ever owned a home, so designing and building my own house, while a challenge, felt like an achievement. I curated every corner of that space to reflect my soul. 

American, with European roots

Leaving that house behind recently felt like leaving a piece of myself behind, too. But one day I looked around and realised the house was the only thing keeping me there.

My family lives in another state, and while the life I had built in Idaho was beautiful, it wasn’t quite mine anymore. Somewhere in the last three years, I felt a pull toward something I couldn’t fully name yet.

Sasha is documenting her new life in Ireland social media. Instagram Instagram

My mother’s family, on both sides, left Ireland in the 1860s like so many others. Her generation was the first in our family, dating back over 100 years, to NOT marry Irish Catholics.

Instead, my mom joined Club Med, travelled the world and married a French man. I grew up between two worlds, holding a French passport but living an American life. The daughter of an immigrant, I never fully learned French, but stepped in to translate for my dad at medical appointments when needed.

I worked hard, fought for opportunities, chased the American dream, and quietly drove my health into the ground doing it. The long hours, living on caffeine and sugar, travelling 200 nights a year, left me feeling empty as a human but with a full bank account.

Business mogul Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump arrive to a press event to announce his candidacy for the U.S. presidency at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015 in New York City. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The problem with corporate America is that they want your time, energy, dedication, loyalty – your soul, basically. But they would drop you in a heartbeat. And the years it robs you of living and enjoying the HUMAN things of life feel like an enormous sacrifice.

I’d spend my days advocating for more pay and flexible hours to accommodate employees under me........

© TheJournal