“You must be Italian,” is usually the first thing someone says when they hear my name is Shannon O’Reilly. I usually give the obligatory fake chuckle and say “yea, real Italian.” Let me repeat, my name is Shannon KATHLEEN O’Reilly. Doesn’t get more Irish than that, so I felt it was my obligation to write this year’s St. Paddy’s Day blog.

As with most nationalities, there are a ton of stereotypes about the Irish (and they’re not all wrong).

• We drink too much
• We eat potatoes every day
• Michael Flatley is our national hero
• We love to fight
• At least one person in our family has red hair
• We go to mass every Sunday

Admittedly, I’m a pretty bad representation of Irish people. I don’t drink heavily, I loathe corned beef and cabbage, and I’d rather lie on a tropical island than go visit my homeland. I do, however, have a shamrock tattooed on my ankle, and some of my extended family can seem eerily like the infamous Gallagher family of Showtime’s hit show “Shameless.”

While most of my people will be celebrating in the streets of NYC at the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade today, I will be eating my favorite chicken parmigiana. Sláinte.