I was simply a child when I was first enlightened by the guiding words of my Nonno, the Italian word for "Grandfather". While sitting at the dining room table, he would constantly remind me, "Never forget where you come from." He was the first person in my life that taught me to appreciate my Italian heritage by playing Italian music, watching Italian television shows, and coercing my mother to bring me to an Italian class at the YMCA. And yet, despite all my Nonno's attempts, it turns out that I did not learn his lesson until my first visit to Italy this past month.

I spent two full weeks in the country of my ancestors because my uncle was celebrating his 50th birthday celebration with all our family and friends in a small town on the Amalfi coast called Positano. You might doubt that I learned a whole lot about my heritage while touring Italy's most popular cities: Venice, the Amalfi Coast, and Rome, and that is fairly reasonable. However, what you may not know is that my experience was not centered around these famous cities and their history but rather I learned because of the people alongside me: my uncle, aunt, cousins, and grandparents.

Despite all our sight-seeing and exploration, the most memorable part of my trip was my uncle's birthday party in a restaurant overlooking Positano. Joined by our close family and relatives, we engaged in a night full of eating, dancing, and singing. What struck me that night was seeing a group of unfamiliar faces--a family of four and an older couple--enter the restaurant. It was not too quickly until my Nonno explained that these were his distant relatives from his hometown in Italy. After years of losing contact with his Italian past, my Nonno reconnected with these relatives in the early 1990s on his first visit to Italy. And now, nearly two decades later, they too joined our celebration.

On that night, I learned a multitude of important things. First, I embraced my Italian culture. After meeting my Nonno's distant relatives, I started talking in Italian to the youngest girl of the family of four. She was probably six or seven years old, and I asked her if she would like to dance with my cousin and I. As we danced, my Nonno whispered to us, "This is who you have got to keep in contact with. These are your roots." At that moment, I realized how important it was for me to never forget where my origins come from. This was a lesson that truly resonated with me, and being in Italy for the first time with my family allowed me to learn that the importance of my heritage is something I never want to forget, especially when I have my own family.

Second, I realized that being in Italy made me mindful of different lifestyles. I bet almost everyone can admit that Europe is pretty distinct compared to America, and there is nothing wrong with that. Instead, there is something that you can learn and appreciate about different cultures. Visiting Europe made me acknowledge such different ways of life that other people on the other side of the world live constantly. It made me admire the glass-makers of Murano, the gondola workers in Venice, and the waiters in Rome. My experience allowed me to realize that not everyone lives the life we choose and that life in America-the freedom I have in the United States- might be something that I take for granted.

And finally, I learned that visiting Italy is something I want my future family to experience. And this is not just something I want just because I threw my coin in the Trevi Fountain like Lizzie McGuire wishing to return to Rome. I genuinely want my kids to have the same eye-opening revelations as me the first time their eyes wonder at the Piazza of St. Mark's in Venice. I want my kids to visit my family's hometowns and learn about their distant cousins in Italy. I want them to see this country for the first time with their eyes and hearts wide open just like mine. I want them to see and appreciate the art, culture, and vast history that their homeland offers. But most importantly, I want them to understand why their ancestors longed, dreamed, and accomplished a successful life in America. I want them to know how much hard work and dedication it took them to arrive at the feet of Lady Liberty at Ellis Island in the early twentieth century. I want them to begin to understand why the life in America is what my ancestors not only wanted but also needed.

And I want them to understand this all because without them, I would not be writing this article today.