For as long as I can remember, my dad has always encouraged the Irish side in me to shine.

Now, it wasn't like he was going to make me dye my hair a crisp ginger and force-feed me Lucky Charms by the spoonful, but Mark Forrester is all about the Irish heritage. 

My dad lives and breathes the color green, and not just because of his Irish and English bloodlines. Whether it's the forest green suitcase he always travels with, the overfull collection of Notre Dame Fighting Irish t-shirts from his alma mater or the paddy cap that he purchased when we traveled to Ireland, he is the definition of the spirit of St. Patrick's Day.

But I had never embraced that Irish side in me. Sure, my last name couldn't be any more English, but half of my family is Hispanic — meaning I spent my childhood around homemade tortillas and Mexican wedding cookies. 

I decided it was time to put the fiesta aside, at least for a moment, and celebrate the other side of my family's history. And what better day to celebrate than on St. Patrick's Day.

To kick-start the day on the right foot, I put on my favorite green hoodie and wrapped my hair in a green claw clip  — just in case anyone was in the pinching mood — and headed off to class. On my way home, I blasted Ed Sheeran's "Galway Girl," and then I got some work done so that I was ready to jig it up later that night. 

After my boyfriend and I munched on the limited edition Lucky Charms Crumbl Cookie, we began our preparations to hit the pub. Luckily, the day before, I had stopped by Party City to accumulate the perfect accessories for the evening. With some shamrock beaded necklaces and a headband adorned with a pot of gold on top, we were perfectly dressed for the part.

The destination for the evening was O'Hara's Pub, which has been in the Orange Circle since 1976. We approached the entrance, the exterior of which is embellished with green paint, and discovered a line of about 40 other people in front of us. Each person in the queue was decked out from head to toe in green and eagerly holding their ID as they neared the bouncer. 

Once we secured our place in line, my boyfriend, who also has Irish in his DNA, brought along a couple of his fraternity brothers and their girlfriends. We all giggled as we decided which kind of beer we would get as our first drink and hoorayed together once we all got our wristbands to go inside.

Once we passed the threshold, we entered the Irish watering hole for the city of Orange. 

Green neon signs were reflecting throughout the entire room with pool tables and televisions playing "Wipeout" and "Impractical Jokers." Right away, we knew we had found the perfect St. Patty’s Day spot.

We also knew exactly what drink we had to order on this special occasion: a Guinness beer. With my boyfriend double-fisting two Guinnesses in both hands, I took the first sip of mine and felt utter bliss with the delightful foam glazed on top. I was instantly transported to when my dad and I ordered beer during every fish and chip excursion in London and to our Irish adventures in Dublin. 

Even though I would usually rather reach for a hard seltzer or a cosmopolitan, the dark and rich flavors of the beer felt right at that moment. Dozens of college-aged people danced around me as they chugged their beer and green-colored drinks and drank the night away. 

Once the clock turned to half past midnight, the bar started to become quieter as the holiday was coming to an end and reality began to creep back in. Cups that were once full of green beer were empty and piled on top of one another on the high top tables. But the memory of a stereotypically green St. Patrick's Day lingered on for everyone, including me. 

The Irishness in the Forresters does indeed run strong, and I'm truly grateful for my dad encouraging me to let that part of me shine — along with many thanks to O'Hara's Pub for setting the perfect environment.

Though, to be honest, I probably won’t have another Guinness until next St. Patrick’s Day.