It is Friday December 9th, and in the morning I will be leaving behind my Italian adventure. As cliche as it sounds, it truly feels like just a couple days ago I was crying in LAX and absolutely frightened to embark on this semester. Haha! How strange...why was I crying? Well, I had no idea how life changing the next four months would be.

I would like to say thank you to my mom and dad for giving me the world. You have sent me on the best adventure I have ever experienced and words will never express to you how grateful I am.

Prior to this semester, I was confused about who I wanted to become. To be frank, I became even more confused when I got to Rome. At times I felt like I had abandoned myself and I was lost. I felt like I was displaying the worst traits of myself (kind of dramatic but at the time I was confused). But I wasn't sad...just lost. But now I've found myself and it is because of my magical time abroad.

In Southern California, it is so easy to get stuck in a tiny bubble. This is precisely where my revelation began. To allow myself to get caught up in the meaningless things in life is so foolish. Instead I plan to explore, create, and love endlessly. Life shouldn't be about comparing yourself to others or living a superficially. It's about being vulnerable, but strong! It's about taking chances knowing it will be okay! It's about falling in love with the world because nothing bad can come from that.

The world is a special place, and we are so privileged to live in it. Every corner is just as beautiful as the last in its own special way.

To my beautiful Roma, thank you for the coffee. Thank you for the leather, for the alluring language, for the cobblestone. Thank you also for the lack of organization, the slow walking, and the cat calling. Though some of these things may seem maddening, I have come to appreciate and love every little strange trait Rome has shown me.

To my parents, thank you for this semester. Ti amo tanto!