To my pre-Florence self,

Everyone says that you will learn a lot about yourself, and you will. . . just not in the ways you might expect. You won’t necessarily learn the meaning of life or anything like that. Instead, you learn about if you actually like Italian food, how many steps you can walk in a day, and instead of marking things off the bucket list . . . you will add more.

It is so important to have a good balance between structure and spontatneity! I found this balance by staying curious and learning as much as I can about the places I travel. Even if it’s skimming wikipedia and a few blogs, it’s better than nothing! By having some historical and geographical context, you are able to appreciate the place and the people so much more. If anything, it provides more opportunity for spontaneous adventures because you are more aware of what the location has to offer!

What I didn’t expect, but is probably one of my favorite study abroad takeaways, is how close I became with my roommates. I knew them well before coming, which is a little bit rare. Because we were already friends, transitioning into roommates was so smooth. Through the ups and downs of this experience, our close living quarters, and quite literally travleing the world together, we’ve become a little family and while I am leaving Italy soon, I am leaving with my new best friends.

I will leave you with this – keep saying yes. Study Abroad is the time to try new things unapologetically. Oh, and when you are “getting out of your comfort zone”, it actually will be uncomfortable but that should not make you hesitate!

You’re going to have a blast!

– Brooke