Where to go from here.

Only a few years ago, i recall sitting in the James Joyce library reading up on the History of emigration in the past. The sorrow i felt for those whom through no fault of their own had to leave, was matched by the scenes of many young students going about their day seemingly happy and believing what their ancestors went through would never be repeated. I read chapters preparing for my exams assuring myself that we would never go through a period of mass emigration again. And yet a few years later it's likely many of those students i saw, had boarded a plane or boat and had left. Much worse many young people obviously didn't see any light at the end of the tunnel, and put an end to their own lives. Many of these young adults had qualifications, were educated and will now provide the nations they now reside in with all sorts of skills. To our detriment. Many of these young people would have had bright ideas, but what good are ideas when you cannot put them into action, when there is no funded available from the government or NGO's, or  more importantly that you simply cannot find work in order to survive. We shouldn't blame those who left these shores in recent years, there simply was no hope, no opportunities nowhere else to look, they exhausted all the avenues. Ireland's hope is that once our economy rebounds (and that will happen, have faith!) we'll appeal to those same individuals to return, we'll provide them with incentives to help build a better Ireland. I had never seriously contemplated whether in future i'd have to make a similar decision. I had assumed like many others that that day would never come, to pack    up those bags, and bid farewell to their nearest and dearest, and yet a question i would have never asked myself is now been considered. Will i remain in this country in ten years time? Now that i think of it, i'm not so sure, while in the past i'd have given a two word answer 'Of course', circumstances have obviously changed. It is quite astonishing how circumstances have altered though, at such a quick pace. At one stage we seemed to be awash with money with substantial government surpluses that we didn't know know what to do with it, and now were at a stage where we've become increasingly frugal, the economy is stagnant, and our mentality seems to be cripplingly negative. It's no wonder so many have left, if they indeed needed more reasons, then not simply not being able to find work, in order to do so. If it's one thing this recession has taught us (or should have) it's that we should never make assumptions about our future, and where we plan to be. Sometimes it's beyond our control. Do i hope to remain in Ireland? Of course, i'm a proud Irishman, if opportunities present themselves where at the end of it all i'll be able to live in relative comfort, i'll remain. I would hope that when i do leave this country, it will be for a simple holiday, and nothing more.