Studying abroad has to be one of the most exciting and scariest times in a college student’s life. For four months, you are leaving everything you know at home to embark on a new life halfway across the world. You are leaving everything close to you: your family, friends, house, etc. Moving across the world with people you don’t know, to a place you have never been, to study at a school you have never heard of, all for what? Why did this seem like a good idea when I signed up for this? At the time, it seems so strange, to leave everything you know for everything you don’t. But looking back at it now, studying abroad had to be one of the best and most rewarding decisions that I have ever made in my life, and I could not imagine my life without this experience in it.

At first, I didn’t believe that it was actually happening. I went through all the motions of studying abroad, not actually thinking that the day would come where I would have to leave. I knew it was soon, but didn’t really want to think about it. When the day finally came, I was overcome with emotions. I still didn’t think it was true. It didn’t hit me that I was leaving until I had to say the two hardest goodbyes of them all, to my Mom and Noni. Walking through security alone was when it hit me that I was leaving home for four months, alone. But what I did not know was that was the start of the best 4 months of my life.

Looking back, the memories and experiences I have had while abroad have been life changing. I have learned so much about others and myself; things that I never thought I would learn. I learned how to survive in another country by myself, forced to learn the culture of a foreign community. I learned how to live with complete strangers for the first time, from all over the world. I learned how to survive, and I am proud to say that I am a survivor.

I have been to places I could only have dreamed of visiting. The most beautiful views I have ever seen have all been seen in my last four months of life. The people I have met, the food I have eaten and the experiences I have been through have all been completely life changing.

To the people I have met, you are some of the most beautiful people I have met, both inside and out. We have all bonded in a way that is indescribable. We all faced our fears together, making memories that will last a lifetime. I will forever cherish all of the memories I have made with you. Because of you, I have grown as a person, and for that, I will be forever thankful. My time here in Italy is not done yet, but I know that the end is quickly approaching. I will never forget Italy, and when I leave, please know that I am leaving part of myself in this beautiful country.