I finally decided to start my blog!
I've wanted to study abroad ever since I found out I could do that in college... In other words, a really long time; I've known I wanted to visit Italy for even longer and here it is, my long awaited dream come true (which sounds incredibly cheesy and cliché, I know- but it's the truth, I swear it!) As you have probably figured out from the title, I'll be spending the Spring 2013 semester in one of the most artistically and architecturally gorgeous cities in the world- Florence!
Honestly, I don't think it's hit me yet. Sure, I've already sent in my visa application (along with the 304972 additional documents they required AND my passport... the wait continues), ordered a cell phone for European use (bye-bye texting!), and started freaking out about the amount of clothes I'll have to leave at home (I mean really, one suitcase and one carry on? How will I live?!), but I think part of me doesn't think this is real yet.
When I first found out about the program, I didn't even think it was a possibility for financial and parental reasons (Hi mom, hi dad!), but my scholarship came through and my parents supported my decision wholeheartedly. After I realized that studying for an entire semester in Florence was a realistic possibility, I completed my application... but not without my doubts.
I absolutely wanted to go abroad but I also couldn't imagine spending an entire semester away from my second family at Pitt- friends (HEEEY Y'ALL!) who I've grown so close to over the past few years, who I've shared countless extraordinary (and sometimes horrendous) college experiences with, who I plan on growing old with (we'll be 70 years old recounting all the fun we had, okay Christie?!) that I still have no idea how I'm supposed to survive without them! And they were probably the only reason I ever considered declining my acceptance into the program and staying at Pitt. I didn't (and still don't) want to leave my friends, and for the most part, it seems that they don't want me to leave either. I tear up a bit when I think about how I'll miss out on the weekend dance parties in 407, lunches with Greg and dinners with Cara, and congratulating Megan and Christie on their latest extreme couponing freebies, but I know that this will be an experience of a lifetime and that my family and friends will still like me when I get home (*crosses fingers*)!
And with that said, this blog will be a way for friends and family back
home to keep up with my European adventures! I plan on posting every few
days hopefully with a couple of pictures and stories of my trip- maybe
my picturesque walk to class, a beautiful piazza where I spent my lunch
break, or a delectable panino from a hole-in-the-wall café. Just
thinking about all of the life-changing experiences that await me makes
my heart beat way too quickly- here's hoping I don't pass out from a
heart attack before leaving for my destination!
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| The city that will be my home away from home. |
