From the time of writing this, I returned home just a little over a month ago from a trip to countries such as Croatia and Serbia and Italy and Hungary. I have a lot I could say about my three-week-long journey, but I wanted to take this time to write about a lesson I learned above all else on the trip.

I want to talk about identity.

More specifically: national identity. Oddly enough, I had to fly across the ocean and explore other nations and their cultures for me to realize how much I identified as American. I think I came to this realization when another classmate of mine asked me about where my family originated from and all that genealogical stuff. I have some strong Italian genes in me, so I didn't really surprise him with that revelation.

We knew that one of the last stops on the trip would be to Venice, so my classmate put his hand on my shoulder and assured me that I would finally feel at home once I stepped onto Italian soil. I knew I wouldn't though and I didn't, and my stay in Venice was at a point where I just really longed to be back in my real home - America.

I stepped off our bus and onto the soil and I didn't feel the "overwhelming feeling of finally being home" that my classmate said I would. I did feel that feeling when the border patrol officer welcomed me back home as I crossed back into the States during my return post-trip, or when I saw the American flag flying outside of the hotel where my family picked me up.

Don't get me wrong, I love to research where my family roots are and all that family history. I think it's fascinating to trace how families move from place to place and end up where they are in the present. But home is where your heart is, and I can honestly say that my heart is with America.

And I think that's what it boils down to in the end? There's a lot of strife within the nation currently, and things may seem messy on pretty much every front but I'm worried about such issues because I care about my home - if it wasn't my home I wouldn't be worried.

For me though, I believe that America truly is the land of the free and the home of the brave. My family is here, and so is my future. I may have needed to cross an ocean to realize it, but this is my home. This is my identity: American.