When I was little, I idolized Lizzie McGuire as only a child of the late ‘90s and early 2000s could (that admiration was only multiplied by the fact that I share a name with the title character). So naturally, "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" was a favorite of my childhood, and my head was full of dreams of going to Rome one day. Last summer, I threw caution and overthinking to the wind and lived for seven weeks in Rome, Italy. It was an incredible experience, and I thought I might share some of the things I learned.

1. People are not out to get you.

Because I’m a planner and like to be prepared, I did extensive research with the help of Pinterest and Rick Steves. One of the things Rick Steves spends many pages talking about in his guidebooks is watching out for thieves and miscreants. In his writings and several articles found on Pinterest, it seemed that the most dangerous thing a female could do was travel alone without a money belt, which is precisely what I did.

I spent my first few days in Rome really on edge around people, but then I realized: most people are just ordinary humans trying to go about their lives. It was a very freeing realization, and I enjoyed myself so much more when I stopped worrying about getting pick-pocketed or taken.

I'd still recommend avoiding the selfie stick salesmen, though.

2. Your magical adventure is not someone else’s idea of a magical adventure

I had my own idea of what my time in Europe would look like, and though there were many things I did not expect, I still stuck to what I was comfortable with. For me, it was spending most of my time in the city: wandering the streets, eating gelato, going to the park to read a book on a Sunday afternoon. Really I only left the Rome for a couple weekends-- once to go to Paris (which was enchanting and incredible), and a wine-tasting day in Tuscany (which was delicious). Meanwhile it seemed like everyone around me was going on adventures in Switzerland, Holland, Hungary, Spain, etc. etc. My wanderlusting heart grew pretty jealous, but when I gave it further thought, I knew I wouldn't have been happy running from one place to the next while trying to juggle class and research papers. I had my own version of a magical study abroad experience by getting to know Rome as well as I could on my days off.

3. You can handle worst-case scenarios anywhere

Murphy's Law: anything that can possibly go wrong will go wrong. It's a fact that my over planning soul has trouble dealing with, but I handle it much better now than I did before I left the country for 7 weeks. During my time abroad, I had to deal with a few textbook outcomes of Murphy's law, such as: boarding the wrong train to Caserta, not being able to find my class meeting point in the city, falling down stairs and spraining my ankle (and limping around the city for 2 weeks), and the coup de grace: having my flight home canceled at 3 a.m. the night before take-off. Surprisingly enough, I handled all of it: I paid the 10 euro fee to get the right ticket, I double-checked the syllabus before each following class, I went to a pharmacy and got what I needed to wrap my ankle (while speaking Italian, thank you very much), and I commandeered the hostel phone from the night clerk and rebooked my flights home at 3:00 in the morning.

Though I still hate it when things go wrong, I know that I can handle whatever disasters come my way now because I've dealt with them by myself before in a foreign country.

4. Say yes as much as you can

I am a fairly shy person (big shock, right?), so when I was across the ocean all by myself I was a little timid in regard to taking risks and meeting people and going out. When I went to Paris, I was so committed to seeing as much as I could in my 60 hours there that I almost kept myself from having an incredible time. Long story short, I met a group of backpackers from the University of Mobile, Alabama, and they invited me to come watch the Eiffel Tower lights with them one night. I almost said no, but then at practically the last minute I said to myself, "Screw it, why not?" and met them downstairs. That night is one of the best memories I have of last summer.

On another fateful night, two of my roommates asked if I wanted to go out to karaoke with them, and on a crazy whim, I went. We never did make it to the karaoke club, but we still had an amazing time meeting people and getting to know one another. A few days after that, I was invited with them to watch the sun rise at the top of Gianicolo Hill. If I had clung to my love of sleep and introversion I would have never seen such a beautiful thing. I totally fell asleep in class later that morning but it was worth it. A couple weeks later, at the end of the term I went out to dinner with these people that I'd met. The night ended with us walking to the Colosseum at 2 a.m.

I can't tell you how grateful I am for all the times I said yes on that trip. It's still true that one's magical adventure is not someone else's idea of one, but one should still remember to keep themselves open.

5. Writing is fun!

I've always fancied myself to be an artist of the performing kind, so writing never really seemed like my thing. Then, when I was getting ready to study abroad, I was working out a way to get a scholarship and credit hours in the Honors Program, and the Honors director told me the simplest way would be to blog my experience while I'm there. I was a little nervous at first that I would not be able to keep it up and that everything I wrote down would be ridiculous. But after the first couple of tries I started to really enjoy it and look forward to being able to document my days. Without my studying abroad experience it would have taken me much longer to find this hobby that I love so much, and I probably would not have been led to write here for The Odyssey, something I love doing.

Don't get me wrong, performing is still my strong suit, but I do love this gig.

6. You can handle being alone

The enormity of what I was doing that summer didn't really hit me until I got off the train from the airport and realized that I was actually in Rome. Rome, Italy. The eternal city that is an entire ocean away from every human and cat I know. That was an incredibly lonely realization, and I spent a few days feeling very lonesome and sorry for myself. As time went on, I did love staying in Rome, and I grew to like being by myself because I was the only one I had to look out for and please. I could do whatever I wished, see what wanted to see, do what I wanted to do, eat what I wanted to eat. All of this was within reason of course; I still did my homework and had a well-balanced diet of things other than gelato and coffee.

This lesson also ties back to the worst-case scenario one. I am not fearful of solitude; I overcame it in a foreign country.

And finally...

7. The Colosseum does not look anything like it does in The Lizzie McGuire Movie

I know this is kind of an instinctive one (movie magic and what not), but I think it needs saying as it is one of the first lessons I learned in Rome. So, here's Lizzie McGuire's stage for her legendary performance at the International Music Awards:

And here's the interior of the Colosseum (it's ancient structure could never support the equipment and pageantry needed for an international awards show):

Still awesome, but Disney fooled me for a long time.

So, if you are reading this article and considering possibly studying abroad during your academic career, do it. 10/10, would recomend. Seriously, it is just as rewarding as everyone swears it is. There may be no place like home, but there's also no place like the rest of the world.

*For a more extensive documentation on my study abroad experience, check out thelizziemcwassonmovie.wordpress.com