Dec 14th, 2018
There was always another adventure just around the corner, another exam or another location to visit. That’s why it feels beyond unreal that I’m writing this from my last night in Rome. To some degree, I feel a sense of relief that I made it, and I’m really looking forward to being back home to celebrate the holidays. It will be nice to breathe and enjoy the calm. The crazy thing is that looking back I wouldn’t trade a single moment. The frustrating times running to catch a train pulling from the station, or better yet getting on the entirely wrong train in the first place. Each experience merges to create one amazing journey, that exists in my memory and in who I have become along the way.
I feel so grateful for this experience. It taught me how to give into the chaos, and reduced my control freak tendencies. In the beginning of the semester, every day was planned out from start to finish. Research handled which train, taxi or bus would get us from point A to B. I had so much anxiety about the unknown that I had to plan, worry and stress. By the end, I had learned to accept the process and enjoy the moment more. Landing in another country and just figuring it out as we go. I learned how extremely capable I am, and not in an egotistical way, but in the way that every person is so capable! Sometimes you just don’t know it yet.
Adjusting to another culture is hard, but it made me appreciate home so much more than I ever could have. There is so much convenience in America that I had been taking for granted. Like being able to dry your clothes in 30 minutes instead of taking an entire day of hanging. Or being able to drive yourself wherever you want whenever you want. Or the biggest one for me, being able to shop in a department store that has literally everything you could think of needing.
I also learned just how few products, clothing items, and knick knacks I really need. Packing light was not only easier on my body to carry around and easier for our planning in case we couldn’t find luggage storage, but it was easier to know what to wear. I am by no means a minimalist, but I definitely realized how frivolous I had been with my beauty products and clothing items. Why on Earth did I think that I would need multiple back up outfits for a one weekend trip? Thats like 5 entire outfits for 3 days!
There’s a level of calm in my perspective when looking back. I don’t judge myself for being frivolous or naive, but instead appreciate that I’ve had the opportunity to learn and change. I am overwhelmed by awe and gratefulness. I’m also proud of myself for handling all of these changes. There were hard times of adjustment and growing, and a lot of tears and breakdowns along the way.
So what does this mean for the travels of tara, now that my traveling around Europe (for now) has come to an end? Well, I don’t want to stop sharing my experiences. I hope that there can be a new meaning for “travels” that now includes all of the life moments along my journey. You can expect to hear more from me, on my last semester of college, on searching for an internship, and then a full time job, and all of the fun in between and after. Thanks for joining in on this adventure, now we’re on to the next.
