I can’t believe it’s been over a week that I’ve landed in Seattle. Somehow travel always entails countless dramatic events. After all the adventures, I know I have to return to my life at the university and reestablish a sense of a student’s “normalcy.” I miss the Roman sun, the glorious weather in the dead of winter. I miss the relaxed lifestyle, lazy pace from morning croissants to afternoon gelato. I miss the adventures, from Florentine dreamland to Neapolitan realities. Each step was a journey to a closer understanding of Italy, its people, and more personally, the growth I experienced as a person learning about different cultures. The lives people lead through the values they cherish, the conditions they live in, and the professions they hold all contribute to my appreciation of the differences in people and help me build a wider definition of the way life could be lived.
This growth cannot be defined in one instance, or a snapshot of a certain time of realization. Rather, it is a growth that has been developing for some time now. Ever since my first exchange abroad to China, I’ve began this journey of self-questioning and realization. I was so focused on the structure of my life—everything seems to be planned out, knowing exactly what I needed to do to achieve my career goals. Through my last program, I began to question what I really want, who I really am. I was changing then, but I didn’t realize that change happening until I left and was back in Seattle. I know I’m not finished with this development, so by returning I felt as though I put a halt to this self-discovery. I felt compelled to go abroad again, to rediscover that change. This time, I would be ready, ready to realize and reflect on this growth. I can take advantage of this new awareness of self-transformation and fully capture the change the moment it occurs.
Rome was the place I committed to build this independence and self-awareness to nurture my growth. I needed to interact with other people, very much different than I. That translated to exploring neighborhoods outside of Campo de’ Fiori and talking with the residents (Italians and immigrants alike) of those neighborhoods. If you were to ask me for a certain picture from my camera to represent my time in Italy, I wouldn’t be able to provide. My experience is not a concrete picture of a place or person. Rather, it is a more symbolic depiction of the journey, the transformation I cultivated throughout my travels abroad. Italy heightened and even cemented this awareness. So if I had to translate my experience in Italy into an image, I would choose the winding cobbled alleyways of Rome. My interactions with different people started with me walking around by myself. I love my walks. It clears my mind to think about my stay in Rome, but, at the same time, I also stop to observe my surroundings in more detail. I watch the people, admire the architecture, and soak the “Italian” culture through the sounds, sights, and smell. I miss those solitary walks though sometimes “interrupted” by welcomed conversations from passers-by.
I used to believe I needed to “escape” home—Seattle—to continue my growth. However, I’ve come to realize that I need to remember how much I have changed and grown and should continue this process at home. It is hard to do so when everything is so comfortable, so familiar. One would be tempted to adopt one’s old behavior and ways and retreat to the self pre-transformation. This is tempting, but I know I cannot always rely on traveling to “discover” myself. I must take what I learned from my experiences, and through reflection, as I am doing now, establish what I want to change and develop. Rome provided me with that realization. My previous exchange made me hunger for more self-discovery through leaving home, whereas experiences in Rome made me realize that I’ve grown and will continue to do so at home (through increased exploration and reflection of my values and experiences).
My bella Roma, I will always miss you. Thank you for a life-changing experience and all the memories!
Alexis
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