Life after the Leaving: ‘Going abroad to study has been insanely empowering’

Molly Fitzmaurice grew up in Saltmills, Co Wexford, and went to boarding school in Waterford. She says her CAO was filled with courses at Trinity College, and she got an offer to study philosophy there. She had a vague notion she might like to study abroad, so she also applied to two colleges in the Netherlands and five in London.

“I was quite positive that if I got into Amsterdam, I was going to turn philosophy at Trinity down.”

She is about to start her second year of a liberal arts and sciences degree at the University of Amsterdam. While she is focusing on literature and film, she has the option to study an array of subjects and is considering a minor in psychology or sociology. She is happy with the breadth of the degree.

“Liberal arts and sciences works for people who know what they like but not what they want to do.

“In Ireland it would have just been philosophy. It would have been intense, and I’m not sure I would have liked it. I did a philosophy course last year and didn’t love it as much as I thought I would, so I’m glad I didn’t choose that as a degree.”

Even though being alone in another country was difficult at first, Fitzmaurice recommends studying abroad.

“It’s really hard, but if you can get through the first term it all becomes so much more beautiful, and I have so much more pride in what I did.

“For me, going abroad has been an insanely empowering experience, largely because I did it on my own. I’m in an international environment. I grew up in a small Irish town, and now I have friends from other cultures. I’m learning more and more about what connects humans and cultures.”