All This Thanks To Italy

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Back in 2012, my grandparents took me and two other cousins to Italy for us to meet our Italian family and learn more about our heritage. Until that moment, the only place in Europe that I ever really visited was France. Until that moment, I thought of Europe as a place to go visit family, not learn about new cultures or discover new countries. But that summer in Italy, right after my college graduation, changed my life entirely. 

Our days were spent in Tuscany, visiting different towns and learning more about the history. We visited Volterra, Cinque Terre, Siena, Florence, Lucca, Pisa, Rome, and many other cities. Each day was a brand new adventure and I fell in love with the lifestyle. 

When I got back from Italy, I immediately told my mom that I wanted to travel to France again soon. It had been ten years since I had went to France and seen family and I was finally ready and excited to go back. Thanks to Italy, I had this huge spark that made me want to rediscover what I knew and discover things that I had not yet even imagined. So in 2013, my mom and I went to France and it was wonderful.

I came back from France wanting a change in my life. I wanted to move abroad and since I loved my experience in Italy so much, I thought that I wanted to move there. This encouraged me to take my first ever solo trip, something that I never imaged that I would ever do. I spent one week in Florence and Rome, learning how to travel on my own and deciding whether or not I should live abroad

I came back from the trip excited about my future and quickly made plans to move to France. At least I knew the language and could easily find a job and apartment there. I decided to spend one year and then go back to the US.

That year in France was amazing and crazy. Every weekend I had some sort of adventure, and whenever I could I planned a trip to a new city or new county and visited a total of 20 countries in one year. My lifestyle was completely different than I had ever imagined and every time I went to a new city, I couldn't help but think about how Italy changed my life for the better.

After my year in France, I couldn't fathom the idea of not living in Europe anymore. So I moved home and saved up some money so that I could move to Europe once again. In that year, I still visited new countries and new cities because my travel addiction could not be cured.

Finally in 2016 I moved to Finland to start a master's and the rest is history. I learned even more, I lived in an amazing country, and I met some incredible people. If it wasn't for Italy, I might have never ended up here. I may have never left the US and I may have never gained so much knowledge and experience. I am forever grateful to my grandparents and to Italy for giving me a life I never imagined.