THE LAST WEEK IN ROME AND THE LAST WEEK OF MY STUDY ABROAD!!! I’ve been avoiding writing this post for over a month… I think I just haven’t wanted to admit that it is all over!!! In reflection on my last week…
We wrapped up our schoolwork by visiting some more amazing art history sites. We spent most of our time focused on Baroque churches, architecture, and art. We also got to visit the Borghese Gallery which became one of my favorite museums in all of Rome!! The whole week was so bittersweet. As we finished up our assignments, personal textbook and final essay, I couldn’t help feeling nostalgic and a little sad. The most amazing 3 months of my life were almost over, and I was about to have to say goodbye to all of my amazing new best friends!!!
Thinking back on my time here, it’s been everything I wanted it to be. I saw places I never dreamed I’d get to visit. I met a whole new group of amazing people, and learned so much about the world as well as myself. Saying goodbye was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do, but I feel so lucky to have been able to experience it all!!!
To my friends and peers who might be in similar situations, if you have the opportunity to go on a study abroad, SEND IT! I remember being really skeptical and unsure about it because I thought I would be a semester behind and miss out on important things happening at home. I was also a little (okay maybe a lot) nervous about living so far away from home for an entire semester. I promise nothing happening at home will even compare to everything you get to do abroad!! You can make up classes you missed and there’s no need to rush through your education. Before you know it you’ll be back home in your same routine. But you’ll never get the same opportunity to immerse yourself in another culture the same way you get to on a study abroad. Living and learning abroad taught me so much about the world as a whole, and myself as an individual: who I am and who I want to be in the future.
I came home with a renewed sense of self, and a completely new perspective on my everyday life at home. In all honesty, my time abroad made me love life again. I would do it all over again if I could, and I’ll be encouraging everyone else to study abroad every chance that I get.
I was able to travel to Malta after the program ended, and then I met up with my family and also got to see Barcelona, Zurich, Lucerne, Venice and Rome again!! Definitely the adventure of a lifetime!!! I guess this is my last chronological post on my study abroad experience… I don’t even know how to feel. Sad that it’s over, but so happy I was able to have such an amazing experience!!!!! The end of an era. xoxo AM
