Wow. My four-month study abroad journey is officially coming to an end. This is a time that four months ago I truly never thought would come. I know I have said it 100 times, but this experience truly surpassed all my expectations and taught me more than I ever imagined it could. This time has changed me more than I ever could have imagined and has helped my grow significantly as a person. I don’t think I really understood how big of a deal doing something like this was. Studying abroad has been a huge leap out of my comfort zone from feeling like I’m in control of nothing to traveling every weekend it has been a lot at points; however, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I have seen so much growth in myself personally from better accountability to increased awareness. I have had to plan trips many different times which is something completely new for me and booking something for 6 people takes a lot of websites looking and a lot of planning and accountability. Travelling from city to city has also taught me a lot because I am always aware of my surroundings. Being in a new place like Morocco or Norway you never want to be the loud American and you always have to be aware of pickpockets, so it has taught me to become much more aware of my surroundings. Both professionally and academically I feel that learning about international business has been a huge asset for me. I also think this experience has made me more workplace ready because of the awareness and accountability I mentioned before. I feel more responsible with my time now as well which will prepare me professionally to make better use of my time in the workplace and in school which will help be more productive with my time. Above any specific aspect of growth, I have seen myself grow as a person in general. I feel more confident in unfamiliar interactions now and I feel like I have just generally grown and matured. I believe that I can use the time management skills that I have learned while abroad in my classes next year at Pitt. I know I am going to have a tougher courseload compared to what I am taking here so managing my time is going to be a huge focus for me. This combined with my accountability skills will also help me in my future career and will allow me to work better with all future coworkers as well. 

Before I sign off on my study abroad blog post journey, I just want to say a humongous thank you to all the donors that helped to make this experience possible. This experience has been unlike any other and I don’t think I can say thank you enough times. I have developed true and lasting friendships during this period, and I have been able to travel that world in a way I never imagined was possible. Study abroad has been an experience I have grown so much from, and I look forward to applying the skills that I have learned. So, thank you to the donors, thank you to Florence, thank you to my family, and thank you so much to my friends here, you guys have truly made this the best time ever. Ciao Firenze.