With, For, In Love

She looked at me and asked if I wanted the two tickets. I had made plans for tonight already. But forget those plans, I was going to see The Pope! I was walking across the bridge from my bus stop to my school over the beautiful Tiber River when I had that feeling. The feeling I got when I tripped over the cobble stone street, when I had to wait 15 minutes in the cold for my bus, when I spent $4 on gelato. The feeling that I was here; I was in Rome.  It seems like a silly realization. Of course I am in Rome. But I think back to when I first received the email for studying abroad and laughed at myself because I knew it would never happen. Yet, here I am in one of the most indescribable places in the world. Looking out over Italy Usually I am not a fan of One Republic because their songs make me sad and I have a strong aversion to anything sad. Before I left I heard the song I Lived. Every time it came on the radio I would change the channel. One time I listened all the way...

I couldn't be Italian if I tried. My hair is naturally blonde and I'll pay you $1 million if you see a natural blonde who is Italian. I always walk like I'm 10 minutes late everywhere even if I'm early. I check my watch too often. I constantly need to be doing something. I eat dinner at 6 pm which seems like a reasonable hour. More than anything else, I think it's beautiful weather here. The Italians look like they live in Antarctica. In the past week I learned how grateful and disgusted I am that I am American. I love our big showers, cozy beds, expansive grocery stores, and large cars. I hate our fast food, pollution, busyness, and constant worrying. I've realized one word sums up America: excessive. I suppose in Italy it's not so much about the things or size of what you have but rather the experiences you gain. It's about eating dinner for two hours starting at 8 pm. It's about meandering the gorgeous streets at a leisurely pace. It's ...

Every year at the annual Christmas Eve party my family goes to, there ends up being four or five families still partying at 10:30 pm. Eventually, we round everyone up and sit in a circle. There, we each go around and say our hopes and dreams for the upcoming year. A dream is far reaching and a hope is a realistic goal. My dream is to meet the Pope. I mean how cool would that be? How could I meet the Pope you might be wondering. That leads me to my hope: to fall in love. The love I'm looking for in 2015 is not a romantic type of love, although I'm open, but it is rather an agape type of love. The type of love that just makes you smile because you are alive and present. I hope to fall in agape love with my surroundings, what I am doing, who I am with, and who I am. With that, I am heading to Rome for four months. I'll be studying abroad and taking my normal business classes but experiencing so much more than just the inside of a classroom. I will be experiencing Italy....