It is so crazy to realize that this program is almost at its end! Being in Florence and traveling around Europe has been a surreal experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. Before this experience, I had never traveled internationally by myself or lived far away from my family. Sprinkled in throughout some of the most beautiful and amazing experiences of my life have been moments of discomfort  and the need for growth. Here are a few things that I would tell my pre-departure self:

There will be a period when you get here that is going to be difficult and a time for adjusting. When you first get to Florence, it will be overwhelmingly beautiful and amazing to be in this city, but it will also be disorienting and confusing to unpack and realize that you will be here for the next four months. This dichotomy of feelings that are opposite but exist at the same time will be a constant and will get less intense as you become more comfortable in your surroundings. Finding comfort in somewhere that is not home and forming a new routine will teach you that you can live anywhere and find your way. I wish you would’ve known at the beginning of this experience that there will be hard moments along with the beautiful ones, and that doesn’t make you any less grateful to be studying abroad. It is normal to feel uncomfortable in a new place and sometimes stressful to navigate. I would also let myself know that Florence has many places to explore that make the weekends at home a lot of fun. I wish I would’ve known how rewarding it is to learn how you like to travel and if you are on the more adventurous side or like to relax more, and how this affects people traveling in a large group. I’ve been most surprised by the amount of Pitt students I am meeting here and getting to know better in an entirely different country. I am so happy that I get to continue these friendships back in Pittsburgh! I was also surprised by how many cities I’ve been fortunate enough to visit while I’ve been here. Going to London and Paris were not originally on my mind before I got here, but they’ve ended up being some of my favorite places that I have visited! This experience will make you grow in ways that you can’t when you are in your comfort zone at home, and for that I am forever grateful!