I love Italian.
Aside from the fact that the modern tongue is directly developed from some of the greatest writers in Italian history, and regardless of the evolution of the language from individual regional dialects to the Tuscan and mostly Florentine vernacular becoming the prominent common language, and despite my bias because of how much I love Florence… I love Italian.
There are so many things about this language that are more beautiful, more creative, and more romantic than English could ever hope to be. How can you not love a language in which dinner is a verb?! Io ceno, I dine.
My new nickname is buona forchetta, which literally means ‘good fork’ but is their way of saying one has a good appetite. I consider it a compliment.
The Italian class I am taking this semester is more than overwhelming. I am doing a semester worth of second level Italian in four weeks, and then intermediate Italian for the remaining two months. I felt like I was having a heart attack in my brain today when my teacher tried to explain the difference between in and nel in relation to place, but then I learnt the word for hug, abbracciare, which literally means ‘embrace her’ and I fell in love with the language all over again.
Making a simple word more exciting by adding –issima to the end is, well, exciting. Bravissima! Bellissima! Or, one that I have become particularly well acquainted with in my short time here in Tuscania, Freddissima! (which means really f-ing cold).
Cado innamorato is a much more beautiful way of saying ‘fall in love’. It makes me almost believe that when one falls in love in Italy one never hits the ground. (A lot to expect from a language, I know). To say mi trucco, or literally ‘I trick’ instead of ‘to put on makeup’ is much more lavish, and funny that Italians refer to makeup as a trick, a distortion of natural feminine beauty. Buonanotte sounds more musical than a simple goodnight, and sogni d’oro, dream of gold, is quite possibly the most romantic thing I have ever heard. Who doesn’t want golden dreams?
Sono innamorato con questa lingua, e voglio imparare l’italiano piu e piu.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Tuscania
At the beginning of last semester my advisor recommended that we write a letter to ourselves saying our first thoughts and feelings about Florence. We then gave the letters to her and she returned them at the end of the semester so we could see how we grew and if we met our expectations. This semester I’m doing it again:
Dear Tara,
I- you- arrived yesterday. Even though I had a 4am flight and even though I waited at the airport for 5 hours for the provided transportation to take me from Rome to Tuscania and even though it’s freezing cold… I love it. Tuscania is beautiful. The kind of town you could get lost in, in many senses of the word. It’s so small yet so maze-like within the ancient city walls that one wrong turn could take you 20 mins from where you are trying to go (and that could be the best 20 minutes you’ve ever spent). But it’s also the kind of place you could get lost from the world in. It would be easy to come here and never leave. But I’m glad I am. I’m glad that in one month I’ll be packing my bags again and heading off to Rome. Nothing excites me more than the thought of how amazing this semester is going to be, how different each city will be and how much I’m going to learn. I am already excited for the next chapter. I’m worried this will go too quickly. I will admit I’m guilty of living with my head in the future. I’m already sad about the end of this adventure that has only just begun. I can’t help but miss certain people and wish I could share this beautiful place with them. I’m frustrated by technicalities that are ruining my excitement about being here. But though my mind is plagued by these worries I refuse to take a minute of my time here for granted. I hope that Tuscania will be the true Italian experience I’ve been seeking. I hope that no one will speak to me in English and that I will make friends with local people. I’m hoping I will get lost here, everyday, but I hope that after one month I’ll be able to find my way around with a blindfold and without a word of English. I’m looking forward to the complete opposite in Rome. I want the big city feel with the Italian touch, I want the history mixed in with the nightlife, I want the freedom… and the fast internet. And Venice, no words can describe how excited I am for Venice.
As for now, I am lucky enough (again) to have roommates I can see myself being good friends with very soon. I’m lucky enough to be able to get by with the little Italian I know thus far. I’m lucky enough to love what I’m studying. I’m lucky.
Dear Tara,
I- you- arrived yesterday. Even though I had a 4am flight and even though I waited at the airport for 5 hours for the provided transportation to take me from Rome to Tuscania and even though it’s freezing cold… I love it. Tuscania is beautiful. The kind of town you could get lost in, in many senses of the word. It’s so small yet so maze-like within the ancient city walls that one wrong turn could take you 20 mins from where you are trying to go (and that could be the best 20 minutes you’ve ever spent). But it’s also the kind of place you could get lost from the world in. It would be easy to come here and never leave. But I’m glad I am. I’m glad that in one month I’ll be packing my bags again and heading off to Rome. Nothing excites me more than the thought of how amazing this semester is going to be, how different each city will be and how much I’m going to learn. I am already excited for the next chapter. I’m worried this will go too quickly. I will admit I’m guilty of living with my head in the future. I’m already sad about the end of this adventure that has only just begun. I can’t help but miss certain people and wish I could share this beautiful place with them. I’m frustrated by technicalities that are ruining my excitement about being here. But though my mind is plagued by these worries I refuse to take a minute of my time here for granted. I hope that Tuscania will be the true Italian experience I’ve been seeking. I hope that no one will speak to me in English and that I will make friends with local people. I’m hoping I will get lost here, everyday, but I hope that after one month I’ll be able to find my way around with a blindfold and without a word of English. I’m looking forward to the complete opposite in Rome. I want the big city feel with the Italian touch, I want the history mixed in with the nightlife, I want the freedom… and the fast internet. And Venice, no words can describe how excited I am for Venice.
As for now, I am lucky enough (again) to have roommates I can see myself being good friends with very soon. I’m lucky enough to be able to get by with the little Italian I know thus far. I’m lucky enough to love what I’m studying. I’m lucky.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Thoughts on a stormy day
It’s a stormy day today. I slept late and woke up to the sound of the wind chimes outside my bedroom window. The wind had caught them and agitated them and they were calling out for help. As I went outside to relieve the wind chimes from their unwanted energy one of the large plants on my balcony caught the wind as well and blew right over. It’s lying on the floor now, resting on its side like me in my bed.
It’s a stormy day today. I just tried to write a poem and all that came out was
‘the storm clouds in my head have crawled into the sky,
now the world and I can see eye to eye’.
I can’t seem to turn my thoughts off. I often think too much.
It’s a stormy day today. I’ve found that recently I haven’t been writing anything I find worthwhile. I wrote one poem I like last week, and six that I don’t. I started a blog post yesterday but never finished it. I can’t condense my stormy thoughts to coherent rhythmic words on a page. This is the best I can do.
It’s a stormy day today and I’m worried. I’m worried that the rain will dampen the clothes I’ve put out to dry. I’m worried the sky will stay so dark I’ll need to turn on the lights before the sun even sets. I’m worried I don’t know what to pack. I’m worried about going back to Italy (mostly excited, but worried too.) I’m worried about my future.
It’s a stormy day today, but it may not be tomorrow. I have no way of knowing if it will be stormy tomorrow; either in my head or in the skies. I can only hope for sunshine. I need to learn that I can’t control the future. I can make decisions- hopefully the right decisions- that will determine certain things. But I can’t know what will happen before it happens. I can’t know what to do before I do it. I can’t hop in a time machine and turn the dial to five months from now or five years from now and prove to myself that everything will be ok. Maybe it won’t, maybe nothing will be ok. Maybe nothing will be as I expect. But maybe, just maybe it will. Maybe my dreams will come true and my worries will prove to be pointless. Maybe five months from now I will be the happiest I have ever been. I can only hope for sunshine.
It’s a stormy day today. I just tried to write a poem and all that came out was
‘the storm clouds in my head have crawled into the sky,
now the world and I can see eye to eye’.
I can’t seem to turn my thoughts off. I often think too much.
It’s a stormy day today. I’ve found that recently I haven’t been writing anything I find worthwhile. I wrote one poem I like last week, and six that I don’t. I started a blog post yesterday but never finished it. I can’t condense my stormy thoughts to coherent rhythmic words on a page. This is the best I can do.
It’s a stormy day today and I’m worried. I’m worried that the rain will dampen the clothes I’ve put out to dry. I’m worried the sky will stay so dark I’ll need to turn on the lights before the sun even sets. I’m worried I don’t know what to pack. I’m worried about going back to Italy (mostly excited, but worried too.) I’m worried about my future.
It’s a stormy day today, but it may not be tomorrow. I have no way of knowing if it will be stormy tomorrow; either in my head or in the skies. I can only hope for sunshine. I need to learn that I can’t control the future. I can make decisions- hopefully the right decisions- that will determine certain things. But I can’t know what will happen before it happens. I can’t know what to do before I do it. I can’t hop in a time machine and turn the dial to five months from now or five years from now and prove to myself that everything will be ok. Maybe it won’t, maybe nothing will be ok. Maybe nothing will be as I expect. But maybe, just maybe it will. Maybe my dreams will come true and my worries will prove to be pointless. Maybe five months from now I will be the happiest I have ever been. I can only hope for sunshine.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Two Thousand and Eleven
2011 has been a great year.
A year of fun, accomplishments and achievements, a year of hellos, goodbyes and reunions. I left some good friends I had seen everyday for years, I saw some old friends I hadn't seen in years and I met some of the most amazing people of my life this year.
I played Carnival, played with dolphins and played in parks. I graduated high school, I was in a fashion show, I lived in Italy. I've been to ten different countries. I've learned so much this year. I've loved so much this year.
As 2011 is quickly drawing to an end I recollect my best memories, my greatest moments, my strengths and growth, my pride in myself for this year past. I also remember my low points, the times I cried myself to sleep, the times I walked through the city alone, the times I let my thoughts rule me and bring me down. And I remember how I overcame all that, and came out for the better. I know I am a better person today, this 31st of December than I was on the 31st of December 2010. I am one year older and one year stronger.
I've had more fun and been more continuously happy this past year than I have for as long as I can remember. I have so much to be thankful for, so much I am thankful for.
And it's only just begun.
I'm excited for 2012, eager to see what it will bring, ready to overcome whatever obstacles are thrown my way and happy that I am healthy enough to face this year head on. As everyone does at the end of a year I am beginning to plan my resolutions for next year. I do this every year and I have not kept a single New Years resolution in my life. Sometimes I write them down, sometimes I forget about them the next week, but this year I am sharing them with the world so I have no excuses. That being said…
1. Stop making excuses
I am so good at convincing myself why I shouldn't do something, focusing on the consequences or the discomfort, I often forget to think about all the good that can come out of taking a leap of faith and forcing myself to do something even if I'm trying to talk myself out of it.
2. Be better at long distance communication
For me Skype is pretty much reserved for my sister, and I have friends all over the world, from Australia to America to Holland to Trinidad to England, Scotland, Finland, Ireland, and so on and so forth. I need to stop closing myself off to the people I can't see everyday and make more of an effort to communicate with all of my wonderful friends.
3. Stop being so lazy
This is going to be the hardest by far.
4. Accomplish at least one thing on my bucket list.
http://memoirsofarat.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-bucket-list.html
5. Allow myself to get hurt
Because it probably means I took a chance, risked breaking out of my comfort zone and fell hard. But at least I would have hit something great on the way down.
(Unless I fall down the stairs, there's nothing great about falling down the stairs.)
I hope you all have had a great year, and that 2012 is good to you in more ways than you can even imagine right now.
Happy New Year!
A year of fun, accomplishments and achievements, a year of hellos, goodbyes and reunions. I left some good friends I had seen everyday for years, I saw some old friends I hadn't seen in years and I met some of the most amazing people of my life this year.
I played Carnival, played with dolphins and played in parks. I graduated high school, I was in a fashion show, I lived in Italy. I've been to ten different countries. I've learned so much this year. I've loved so much this year.
As 2011 is quickly drawing to an end I recollect my best memories, my greatest moments, my strengths and growth, my pride in myself for this year past. I also remember my low points, the times I cried myself to sleep, the times I walked through the city alone, the times I let my thoughts rule me and bring me down. And I remember how I overcame all that, and came out for the better. I know I am a better person today, this 31st of December than I was on the 31st of December 2010. I am one year older and one year stronger.
I've had more fun and been more continuously happy this past year than I have for as long as I can remember. I have so much to be thankful for, so much I am thankful for.
And it's only just begun.
I'm excited for 2012, eager to see what it will bring, ready to overcome whatever obstacles are thrown my way and happy that I am healthy enough to face this year head on. As everyone does at the end of a year I am beginning to plan my resolutions for next year. I do this every year and I have not kept a single New Years resolution in my life. Sometimes I write them down, sometimes I forget about them the next week, but this year I am sharing them with the world so I have no excuses. That being said…
1. Stop making excuses
I am so good at convincing myself why I shouldn't do something, focusing on the consequences or the discomfort, I often forget to think about all the good that can come out of taking a leap of faith and forcing myself to do something even if I'm trying to talk myself out of it.
2. Be better at long distance communication
For me Skype is pretty much reserved for my sister, and I have friends all over the world, from Australia to America to Holland to Trinidad to England, Scotland, Finland, Ireland, and so on and so forth. I need to stop closing myself off to the people I can't see everyday and make more of an effort to communicate with all of my wonderful friends.
3. Stop being so lazy
This is going to be the hardest by far.
4. Accomplish at least one thing on my bucket list.
http://memoirsofarat.blogspot.com/2011/12/my-bucket-list.html
5. Allow myself to get hurt
Because it probably means I took a chance, risked breaking out of my comfort zone and fell hard. But at least I would have hit something great on the way down.
(Unless I fall down the stairs, there's nothing great about falling down the stairs.)
I hope you all have had a great year, and that 2012 is good to you in more ways than you can even imagine right now.
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
"Today is a gift, that's why it's called the present"
Today is the 21st of December 2011. It's been four days since I left Florence. It is four days before Christmas day, and 10 days before a New Year. I should be writing my college application essays, and therefore anyone who knows me or has been reading this blog for a while will know that means it is time to procrastinate.
Today I slept late, my sister made me a yummy omelet for breakfast while I messaged my roommate and good friend from Florence, I made an entire playlist on my iPod devoted to how much I miss the tourist infested beautiful ancient little city. The first song on the playlist is called 'This City' and my favorite part of the lyrics say "This city is my city, And I love it, yeah I love it, I was born and raised here, I got it made here, And if I have my way, I'm gonna stay" I know I wasn't born in Florence, but I feel as though I came out of my experience there a new person, a better person, and I like to think a new me was born and matured in the small streets and cosy little apartment I shared with three amazing girls. Today has barely begun for me, though it is almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon. I do not know what I will eat for lunch, or what I will do this evening, or who I will see. I could finish all my college applications today (though I'll admit that is not likely), or I could simply watch the season finale of Doctor Who with my sister. Today is unknown, and at the same time it is familiar. Today is the present, and as I promised myself and my roommates I am living in the present. I can't help but reflect on the past, however, and I wanted to bring you on this time travel with me. (I've been watching way too much Doctor Who…)
Exactly one week ago was my last day of exams for the semester. I only had one exam, Italian, at 9am, and I think (I hope) I did quite well. It was my last day of classes, my last official day in Scuolo Lorenzo de Medici for the Fall 2011 semester, and the mark of the end of my time in Florence. It was a sad day for me, but also a reflection on the happiness I had experienced for the last three and a half months. It was a good day.
Exactly 6 months ago was four days after I graduated from high school. I hadn't spent a summer in Cyprus yet, I had never been to Florence yet, I hadn't learned what I know now, or seen what I've seen. I was excited, scared, anxious, and hopeful. I couldn't speak a word of Italian yet. High school feels like years ago now, not months. But six months ago I was saying goodbye to the people I had known and seen everyday for four years of my life. Six months ago I began my journey, and took the first steps towards the rest of my life.
One year ago I was sailing through the Grenadine islands with my family and the family of one of my best friends. I was opening myself up to the idea that maybe Christmas didn't have to be terribly sad to me, as it always had been in the past, maybe I could have fun this year, maybe I was luckier than I ever appreciated before, because I had that opportunity and I was with people I loved- then and now.
Two years ago my family changed once again. I was confused, upset, selfish, skeptical and young. Two short years ago I seemed so young. That was a very dark time in my history, not just that Christmas but that year was hard for me. I cannot remember exactly why now, though it seemed so important at the time. I was struggling and very unhappy. Two years ago I wish I had known I would be as happy as I am today, as lucky as I have come to appreciate, and as wise as I have become. Two years can be so short, yet see so much change. I'm glad to say that I am a different person from who I was two years ago. I like this version of myself much better.
Where were you one week, six months, one year, and two years ago? What were you thinking, feeling, seeing? I dare you to think back, look at a calendar and travel time. You don't need a TARDIS. I hope memory lane is as rewarding for you, and makes you appreciate who you are today, because today is the most precious day of your life. Live in the present.
In the wise words of Henry David Thoreau; “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their islands of opportunity and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.”
Today I slept late, my sister made me a yummy omelet for breakfast while I messaged my roommate and good friend from Florence, I made an entire playlist on my iPod devoted to how much I miss the tourist infested beautiful ancient little city. The first song on the playlist is called 'This City' and my favorite part of the lyrics say "This city is my city, And I love it, yeah I love it, I was born and raised here, I got it made here, And if I have my way, I'm gonna stay" I know I wasn't born in Florence, but I feel as though I came out of my experience there a new person, a better person, and I like to think a new me was born and matured in the small streets and cosy little apartment I shared with three amazing girls. Today has barely begun for me, though it is almost 3 o'clock in the afternoon. I do not know what I will eat for lunch, or what I will do this evening, or who I will see. I could finish all my college applications today (though I'll admit that is not likely), or I could simply watch the season finale of Doctor Who with my sister. Today is unknown, and at the same time it is familiar. Today is the present, and as I promised myself and my roommates I am living in the present. I can't help but reflect on the past, however, and I wanted to bring you on this time travel with me. (I've been watching way too much Doctor Who…)
Exactly one week ago was my last day of exams for the semester. I only had one exam, Italian, at 9am, and I think (I hope) I did quite well. It was my last day of classes, my last official day in Scuolo Lorenzo de Medici for the Fall 2011 semester, and the mark of the end of my time in Florence. It was a sad day for me, but also a reflection on the happiness I had experienced for the last three and a half months. It was a good day.
Exactly 6 months ago was four days after I graduated from high school. I hadn't spent a summer in Cyprus yet, I had never been to Florence yet, I hadn't learned what I know now, or seen what I've seen. I was excited, scared, anxious, and hopeful. I couldn't speak a word of Italian yet. High school feels like years ago now, not months. But six months ago I was saying goodbye to the people I had known and seen everyday for four years of my life. Six months ago I began my journey, and took the first steps towards the rest of my life.
One year ago I was sailing through the Grenadine islands with my family and the family of one of my best friends. I was opening myself up to the idea that maybe Christmas didn't have to be terribly sad to me, as it always had been in the past, maybe I could have fun this year, maybe I was luckier than I ever appreciated before, because I had that opportunity and I was with people I loved- then and now.
Two years ago my family changed once again. I was confused, upset, selfish, skeptical and young. Two short years ago I seemed so young. That was a very dark time in my history, not just that Christmas but that year was hard for me. I cannot remember exactly why now, though it seemed so important at the time. I was struggling and very unhappy. Two years ago I wish I had known I would be as happy as I am today, as lucky as I have come to appreciate, and as wise as I have become. Two years can be so short, yet see so much change. I'm glad to say that I am a different person from who I was two years ago. I like this version of myself much better.
Where were you one week, six months, one year, and two years ago? What were you thinking, feeling, seeing? I dare you to think back, look at a calendar and travel time. You don't need a TARDIS. I hope memory lane is as rewarding for you, and makes you appreciate who you are today, because today is the most precious day of your life. Live in the present.
In the wise words of Henry David Thoreau; “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their islands of opportunity and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.”
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Firenze- Fall 2011.
Sono triste perché io bisogno partire. Non voglio dire addio a Firenze! Non voglio dire addio a miei amici! Non voglio partire. Ma, sono felice perché io sono vivuto a Firenze per tre mesi, e sono le più fortunata ragazza nel mondo. Sono innamorato con Firenze. Sono più felice qui.
Mi mancherà vivere in Firenze, mi mancherà parlare in italiano, e mi mancherà miei amici! Firenze é mio posto preferito nel mondo. Ho visto David di Michelangelo, sono salito del duomo di Brunelleschi, ho visitato di palazzo di mecidi famiglia e più e più.
Ho visitato molti posti. Ho visitato Capri, Sorrento e Pompeii, e ho visitato Munich per feste di Ottobre, e ho visitato Svizzera, e Milan e Cremona per il compleanno di mio nonno e ho visitato Perugia per il feste di cioccolato, e ho visitato Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Cracovia e Praha, e poi ho visitato miei amici a Londra. Ma, dopo di tutti, mio posti preferito é ancora Firenze.
Sono fortunata ho incontrato tutti bravi personi. Loro voglio bene tutti.
Sono felice io ho crescuto. Ho diventato una brava ragazza! Arrivederci Firenze, e arrivederci a miei amici.
(This is not a translation, simply a continuation of my thoughts and feelings about Florence:)
Climbing Brunelleschi's Duomo, walking past Ghiberti's golden doors of paradise, saying goodbye to Michelangelo's David… I am the luckiest girl in the world. Sitting behind Michelangelo's sculpture of David, staring at his perfectly curved rump and strong powerful hands I cannot help but get more than a little bit emotional. This perfect sculpture of the perfect man is the pride and joy, the symbol of Florence. My Florence. And therefore he is a symbol for me. He reminds me that I came here to find relationships and somewhere along the way I found myself. David shows me that I don't need anything more than a stone figure to make me happy, because just like him I can conquer anything I set my mind to. When I came to Florence I was young, I was eager and hopeful and terrified. I didn't know what life would throw at me for the next three months and that was hard for me. Now I don't want to leave. I want to stay here, in this place with these people for as long as I can. Not just because it's fun, and not just because I like it, but because I have never been so proud of myself, and never felt so good in my own skin. Florence brings out the best in me, as do the people I have shared my life with for the last three months. I feel more at home here, and happier here than I ever have in my life.. I'm going to miss David as much as any of my friends here. I'm going to miss Florence. I'm so fortunate, not only for my 3 months in Florence, but for my life up until this point, and for my family and friends, and for my appreciation of everything around me. I love Florence, I love my life. And this sadness that i feel now, this heavy heart I carry, is simply proof of how much joy and love I have been lucky enough to experience, only a side effect of my good fortune and my time here. Though I hate saying goodbye I'm glad to have to, because it means I had a hello in the first place, and a magnificent 3 and a half months in between those two fateful words.
Mi mancherà vivere in Firenze, mi mancherà parlare in italiano, e mi mancherà miei amici! Firenze é mio posto preferito nel mondo. Ho visto David di Michelangelo, sono salito del duomo di Brunelleschi, ho visitato di palazzo di mecidi famiglia e più e più.
Ho visitato molti posti. Ho visitato Capri, Sorrento e Pompeii, e ho visitato Munich per feste di Ottobre, e ho visitato Svizzera, e Milan e Cremona per il compleanno di mio nonno e ho visitato Perugia per il feste di cioccolato, e ho visitato Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Cracovia e Praha, e poi ho visitato miei amici a Londra. Ma, dopo di tutti, mio posti preferito é ancora Firenze.
Sono fortunata ho incontrato tutti bravi personi. Loro voglio bene tutti.
Sono felice io ho crescuto. Ho diventato una brava ragazza! Arrivederci Firenze, e arrivederci a miei amici.
(This is not a translation, simply a continuation of my thoughts and feelings about Florence:)
Climbing Brunelleschi's Duomo, walking past Ghiberti's golden doors of paradise, saying goodbye to Michelangelo's David… I am the luckiest girl in the world. Sitting behind Michelangelo's sculpture of David, staring at his perfectly curved rump and strong powerful hands I cannot help but get more than a little bit emotional. This perfect sculpture of the perfect man is the pride and joy, the symbol of Florence. My Florence. And therefore he is a symbol for me. He reminds me that I came here to find relationships and somewhere along the way I found myself. David shows me that I don't need anything more than a stone figure to make me happy, because just like him I can conquer anything I set my mind to. When I came to Florence I was young, I was eager and hopeful and terrified. I didn't know what life would throw at me for the next three months and that was hard for me. Now I don't want to leave. I want to stay here, in this place with these people for as long as I can. Not just because it's fun, and not just because I like it, but because I have never been so proud of myself, and never felt so good in my own skin. Florence brings out the best in me, as do the people I have shared my life with for the last three months. I feel more at home here, and happier here than I ever have in my life.. I'm going to miss David as much as any of my friends here. I'm going to miss Florence. I'm so fortunate, not only for my 3 months in Florence, but for my life up until this point, and for my family and friends, and for my appreciation of everything around me. I love Florence, I love my life. And this sadness that i feel now, this heavy heart I carry, is simply proof of how much joy and love I have been lucky enough to experience, only a side effect of my good fortune and my time here. Though I hate saying goodbye I'm glad to have to, because it means I had a hello in the first place, and a magnificent 3 and a half months in between those two fateful words.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
My Bucket List
At the beginning of my semester in Florence my roommates and I climbed to the top of Piazzale Michelangelo together, drank a bottle of wine, and wrote out a Bucket List of things we hoped to achieve from our time here. We had just met, we were still new to each other and I for one was still new to Florence, but after that night I knew we were the four best possible people to live together. We share similar views, similar goals, similar outlooks on life but we are each still our own person with very different backgrounds and most probably very different futures. I am the luckiest person in the world to have had the privilege to live with these three amazing young women for the time that I did, but I digress…
We are quickly approaching the end of the semester and thus the end of my time in Florence. With final exams in one week and my history for overly exaggerated stress around exam time I know that these last two weeks will be a blur of stress, studying, and a lot of eating. My roommates and I plan to find sometime amidst all that to climb back up to Piazzale Michelangelo and check our progress on the Bucket List we made together. Ever since that first night, and increasingly so now that the time to re-vist the list is approaching, I have been thinking about my own Bucket List for life, everything I hope to accomplish before my time comes to an end.
Nothing is set in stone, some things I have thought about for years and some I am just making up as I go along, but I know that I hope to look back on my life fifty, sixty or seventy years from now and say I at least tried to complete each one of these things:
1. Go to Venice- not only for Carnivale (which is a must!) but to learn, to be inspired, and to write.
2. See the Northern lights
3. Go to Australia
4. Decorate my very own apartment
5. Celebrate each Carnival around the world
6. Ride the Orient Express train through Europe
7. Publish a best selling novel ;)
8. Live in an apartment with my sister
9. Get my British citizenship
10. Become fluent in a second language. And then become fluent in a third language.
11. Learn how to play an instrument
12. Meet my favourite author
13. Create one work of art of which I am proud (I should mention here that my artistic talent never really progressed beyond macaroni picture frames in kindergarden)
14. Do a night dive and a wreck dive
15. Travel in Space
16. Make a profit at a casino
17. Sleep under the stars (ignore the mosquitoes, the discomfort, and all the monsters obviously hiding in the shadows)
18. Go on a road trip
19. See my favourite musician perform live
20. Found a charitable organization
21. Travel to Antarctica and see the Penguins
22. Sponsor an endangered animal and travel to wherever it is in the world to meet it
23. Sing karaoke in front of a crowd and not be ashamed (alcohol will most probably be a necessity...)
24. Make a positive difference; in one person's life, in many peoples lives, in a town or a country or the world
25. Be remembered for something great
They are not in order of importance, each of these things is equally important to me (though some will be easier to accomplish than others). I admit that I did my research and borrowed some of these great ideas. There are many more things I cannot think to add to the list now, and many more I haven't even thought of yet, but for now, this very moment in time, this is my Bucket List.
What's yours?
We are quickly approaching the end of the semester and thus the end of my time in Florence. With final exams in one week and my history for overly exaggerated stress around exam time I know that these last two weeks will be a blur of stress, studying, and a lot of eating. My roommates and I plan to find sometime amidst all that to climb back up to Piazzale Michelangelo and check our progress on the Bucket List we made together. Ever since that first night, and increasingly so now that the time to re-vist the list is approaching, I have been thinking about my own Bucket List for life, everything I hope to accomplish before my time comes to an end.
Nothing is set in stone, some things I have thought about for years and some I am just making up as I go along, but I know that I hope to look back on my life fifty, sixty or seventy years from now and say I at least tried to complete each one of these things:
1. Go to Venice- not only for Carnivale (which is a must!) but to learn, to be inspired, and to write.
2. See the Northern lights
3. Go to Australia
4. Decorate my very own apartment
5. Celebrate each Carnival around the world
6. Ride the Orient Express train through Europe
7. Publish a best selling novel ;)
8. Live in an apartment with my sister
9. Get my British citizenship
10. Become fluent in a second language. And then become fluent in a third language.
11. Learn how to play an instrument
12. Meet my favourite author
13. Create one work of art of which I am proud (I should mention here that my artistic talent never really progressed beyond macaroni picture frames in kindergarden)
14. Do a night dive and a wreck dive
15. Travel in Space
16. Make a profit at a casino
17. Sleep under the stars (ignore the mosquitoes, the discomfort, and all the monsters obviously hiding in the shadows)
18. Go on a road trip
19. See my favourite musician perform live
20. Found a charitable organization
21. Travel to Antarctica and see the Penguins
22. Sponsor an endangered animal and travel to wherever it is in the world to meet it
23. Sing karaoke in front of a crowd and not be ashamed (alcohol will most probably be a necessity...)
24. Make a positive difference; in one person's life, in many peoples lives, in a town or a country or the world
25. Be remembered for something great
They are not in order of importance, each of these things is equally important to me (though some will be easier to accomplish than others). I admit that I did my research and borrowed some of these great ideas. There are many more things I cannot think to add to the list now, and many more I haven't even thought of yet, but for now, this very moment in time, this is my Bucket List.
What's yours?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)