Going abroad will allow you to reflect on life in general,
however Italy is so much more special to me than that.
P.S. - This post will be a little more than your casual 'Sunday read'.
Everybody loves to see new places and to be able to travel, and it may even be someones dream to travel around the world. As much as I like to have done that to an extent; I'm perfectly happy to stay in Italia. It's very hard for me to put into words how much sentimental and emotional value Italy really possesses for me - specifically, Florence, Italy.
I knew that after the month I spent there last year, it wouldn't be enough. It seemed to have gone by in a flash, and I was already yearning to go back before I had even left. When I returned to my beloved city, it was like, I was returning back home - like a piece of me had never left in the first place. As soon as my plane was turning, and I could see the city illuminated in the darkness of the night, both my lips and my heart were smiling in unison; my heart began to pulse through my chest, and my anxiety was on it's highest level. The three most common symptoms of 'Love' are dilated pupils, heightened blood pressure, and sweaty palms - I'm 120% sure I showed all of these. I was so happy to return to Firenze, after all this time.
I was happy to return to the sights, the sounds, the language, and the culture. I #always tell people, there's something around every corner; rather it be an orchestra concert, a street performer, or someone playing beautiful music in one of the piazza's. You would never get bored of walking around because all of the buildings and local shops were so wonderous to look at. It's purely shop after shop of everything; because everything is so close together. Since it is like that, someone can walk 12 minutes and be in a 100 different places - it's the best thing in the entire world to have that ability. You easily start to have favorite things to just go and do. I would go and sit on the bridge every night, maybe with gelato, and embrace the beautiful city that was surrounding me; or go up to the Piazza De Michaelangelo and take in the entire view of the city and be in disbelief that
this is the place of where you're at in the world, at that moment. Just walking along the Arno River was so peaceful and made you feel so content with life.
One day you might go spend it by visiting the open-air markets, including the infamous leather markets, or perhaps you'll be content with sitting in the Signoria, Santa Croce, or Duomo Piazza's - watching as all the people go by, enjoying their time here too. You could take a walk around random streets and get lost to find something new, or look at all the ancient statues and Greek or Roman monuments. Literally, there are an unlimited amount of things to do, just in this one city. While I was there, one of things I did most, was listen my iPod; because I didn't need wifi. Everywhere I walked, essentially everyday, I listened to it. There would be songs that I would be listening to that would suddenly click with me about the exact feelings that I felt for not only the city, but this time of my life.
Rather Be by Clean Bandit and
Heart Attack by Trey Songz, were the two songs that hit me most whilst being there.
"We're a thousand miles from comfort, we have traveled land and sea, But as long as you are with me, there's no place I'd rather be, I would wait forever, exalted in the scene, as long as I am with you, my heart continues to beat".
One of the happiest events in my life is meeting people, and especially, from all parts of the world. I can't express to anybody how amazing all of the people are that I've met. From North Carolina, to London, Germany, to Czech Republic, to Ireland - I've met people that I would never want to live a day without. Travelling is #always fun, but when you make those memories with other people, and when you meet them along the way,
that's what makes it an unbelievable experience. I can whole-heartedly say, that if it weren't for all the people that I've met, my experience would have never been as good as what I had. From having Alec, not only as a fantastic roommate, but also a travelling buddy along the way; to Annie & Chez in London; or to all of the new people that I met while going to Prague, Germany, and ULTRA in Croatia. The days that we spent drinking beer out of these absolutely huge mug glasses in Germany, whilst frolicking around some of Munich on a crazy-feeling European bike, would have never been nearly as fun without them. We were essentially Munich's new biker gang that rolled into town over-night. How about when we were all in Prague, and we were waiting for the bus, talking about panini's, and this ludacrous-looking guy, accused of being conspiracy theorists, and said that we were going to rule the world. Literally, the most blinding and shocking moment of our lives. This guy literally came out of no where and started accusing and cussing at us. There was a time when we were in London and we were so broke by the end of the last couple days, that we bought bread and peanut-butter and made that our breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Croatia was the time of our lives, when we went to the ULTRA Music Festival in Split. I wore my Italian flag like a cape during the festival and we partied with David Guetta, Amir Van Bureen, and artists like Freddy Le Grand. The atmosphere was to die for! Our nights consisted of fist-pumping, and dance moves you never knew you owned. Or when I was Cinque Terre with my best friends from back home, and we trekked 4 miles of beautiful Mediterranean-view cliffs. Going clubbing in Dublin and drinking pints of Guinness beer, or city touring & cave exploring of Killkenny and Glendalough. These kind of moments are the ones that you form the bonds that can never be forgotten in your lifetime. All of the people, all of the connections - this is one of the biggest reasons, why I love Firenze so much, because without coming here, I would have never met any of them.
Just think, just for a second, if you would have made
one different decision, your whole adventure, your whole experience, would have drastically been different. You would have met all different people, and had exactly different memories. That is just mind blowing to me. That's also the beauty of life - one decision, can mean the world.
Speaking of amazing people, my internship had become my temporary family physically, and permanent family emotionally. I cannot thank these people enough for everything that they have provided me, and for all the warmth that they have given me. They welcomed in a complete and foreign stranger, and made me feel like it was #always meant for me to be there. From feeding me every time I was hungry, to joking with me on anything you could think of, to taking selfies in the kitchen, to aiding me in learning the traditions and culture of Italy. There truly isn't any other group of people I could have asked to work with and spend the rest of my days abroad. When I think about them, it takes everything inside of me not to ball my eyes out; I sincerely appreciate every single moment I spent with all these people. I will see them again, before we all know it.
Florence has genuinely been the only place on Earth, where I have been in complete tranquility. It sounds completely cliche, but I truly mean it. All my life, I have walked with more than a steady pace, and there, I would calmly walk the streets without a single care in the world. I would go throughout the city, without saying a single word, and with a constant smile on my face. It's then, I realized, that I was truly happy.
Do you believe in Fate? Destiny? Things that are meant to be, will be? All my life, I have believed in things like that. It's hard to deny it, when there are so many little signs that point to you, that it was meant to be. I, in complete confidence, believe that I was meant to come back here. There were just so many little things that happened to work out perfectly, that it's hard to ignore. Like, how I was very low on money and couldn't spend money on food for the last few weeks - also happened to be the exact time, when I switched to my last kitchen, where they ended up feeding me breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Coincidence? Or how I just happen to have enough money to go on the trips I wanted, without budgeting for the most part; Or how when I passed a Kebab place, the sign had on it "A...B" - which in my fraternity, the thing we all say to each other is "A to B". There were just so many little signs along the way like that, that it seriously started to make me wonder. After experiencing so many, you can't turn your cheek to it.
For me at least, this city has a way of changing you. It could be that I am inlove with this city, or the fact that I was purely on my own for four months; but this experience made me be confident in who I am, what I like, and the things I do. I have never been fully confident within myself because of one thing I liked or one thing or another, but here I had a sort of revelation, that helped me gain the confidence I needed within myself, to be completely happy. In that moment, my personality matured, and since then, I've been in a constant state of holding my head up high.This place gives you the unmistaken ability to find out who you truly are, and being proud of it. Beyond that, I gained a new appreciation for the people I've missed back at home - My beloved friends, my Greek Family, my lovable dog, and most of all, my amazing mother. In my heart, I felt a spark re-lit with an abundance of gratitude and recognition. Being away from everything you took for granted, makes you acknowledge how much you truly miss and appreciate everything that you have, the opportunities that are given to you, & the people that love you.
This city has a certain, mysterious magic to it.
You can feel it, when you look over the sparkling waters of the Arno River at night.
There is truly something special about this place,
and there will forever be a place in my heart where I can #always find it.
It's not about the things you have;
but about the memories you earn, the insight you gain,
& the people you cherish.
"A man travels the world over in search of what he needs
and returns home to find it."
Life free. Be kind.
Stay loyal. Smile often.
#Always
Only a very select few people know this; but while it looks like I've been radiating this strong coat of confidence, or even that I'm put together most of the time - it wasn't until a few weeks ago that a revelation hit me to find and sport my true sense of confidence. I've #always been very nervous to do/say things around people in fear of them thinking I'm weird, or making the atmosphere awkward. As a result, I tended to hide my real thoughts on things or the wacky or whimsical tendencies I portrayed. Aloof to myself, I was subconsciously people-pleasing by hiding the authenticity that was me. Granted, it worked, but I wasn't genuinely confident and my anxiety at it's best was temperamental. It was really ironic for being a 'social butterfly'.
Whilst I was in Italy, and walking the streets of Florence one evening, I was walking by myself, so naturally I had lots of time to think. This night, I had a revelation, a palpable change of sense. It hit me... if people don't like you for a trait or for something you like, that's not something you should be concerned about because that's just one less person you have to worry about. You shouldn't have to hide your silly, nerdy, or altruistic self because of someone else' opinion. The people that know that you love to watch all seven Harry Potter movies at once, or that you have a Deathly Hallows necklace from the movie; or getting excited when the seeds you planted start to grow; are who you should truly be worried about and be happy with. These people should be in your circle. These are the people that will watch all the movies with you and be silly with you about ridiculous things. 
Yes, I love Harry Potter a whole lot. Yes, I love to grow plants and get excited when vegetables/fruit result. Yes, I absolutely love chemistry memes, and really just memes in general. Ask me anything about Nutrition or health and I'll tell you, and if I don't know the answer, I'll look it up. I couldn't go throughout the day without my bracelets, necklaces, and rings I wear, because they all have a special meaning to me about a person or specific memory. I have an addiction to Starbucks frappuccinos. I listen to all sorts of music, even if it is sung by the Spice Girls or T Swizzy; if it's catchy, more than likely, I will have it. I have an abnormal obsession for The Kappa Sigma Fraternity and for the University of Michigan. I am a freak for Social Media; I probably have an account on almost every social media site available. I easily have a different pair of aviators for every occasion. I should probably have my own VIP table at Applebee's by now because I go so much. ----- These things are a lot of who I am, and I'm damn proud to own every one of them.
Nobody has to like you, and everyone probably won't like you. That doesn't mean that you should realize this and start being mean to the public. It just means that everyone is different from you, and some people will be exact opposites, and you just won't get along with them. That's fine, you just keep flowing on throughout life and be happy to meet the next person that comes along. There are an indefinite amount of people in this world for you to encounter, to be sad about one other person not liking who you are. You are who you are and who you are ever going to be. Nobody should ever influence you to be someone else. #Always have confidence in yourself and what you do.
