This summer I took one of the biggest leaps of faith in my life and signed up to study abroad in Italy with the Joseph S. Bruno program. I signed up on my own without knowing any of the other participants, even without any real understanding of Italy or the area in which I would be living for 3 months. For me I was hoping this summer would be a new experience and provide a fun last summer before graduating college. I had never taken a class in the college of human sciences so far at auburn, as I am a neuroscience major and thus far have pretty much focused my interests solely on that area of study. Therefore I had no idea how much the actual classes we would do here would impact me. There were so many connections to things that I had already studied that I was least expecting and so many new things to talk about that have really opened up my world to so many possibilities. This entire blind jump into the classes here has been beyond impactful to me in my future professional life in ways that I never thought of.

This entire program honestly has been full of surprises and altering my expectations. As someone who tends to crave adventure and a high pace, joining this program has been such a life reforming experience that in ways that I was least expecting. Before flying to Italy this May I was expecting an action packed summer of wild stories and bold adventures however now as the summer is wrapping up I find myself pleasantly surprised with the gifts that this program has given me that were far beyond my dreams and expectations.

While this summer has been full and I think that I have experienced most everything that this area had to offer and then some, I found it to be more of a grounding and calming experience. I learned how to be in the moment. How to put the lists and plans out of my head. How to truly engage with the others around me on this trip through Italy’s characteristically long meals. How to just enjoy the gifts and the beauty in front of you rather than looking for the next thing.

The lifestyle here in Ariccia taught me how to slow down and enjoy the task. At home, in Auburn and even in my hometown of Boston, I find myself thriving off of the stress and wanting to have a full to do list. I would never enjoy the idea of learning. Because it was a task and a burden on me. However being here I am reflecting on the fact that I have learned so much through the program without even realizing. That is because there are ways to learn not as a task but as just being immersed in the world around you. Talking to people, hearing their stories, actively seeing the sites that work with the concepts we talk about in lecture, and being lectured by those who have a deep passion for the material, makes learning so extremely fun. This is something I have found that Italians are exceptional at. Having the mindset that a career is something that they live to do. Many Italians feel passionately about their jobs. They often aren’t something they just do to get by. The people in this town talk about their jobs as something they actually love to go to. They have fun at work. Being in a career isn’t a burden, just as education isn’t.

So while I cannot go home and thrill my family with crazy stories of skydiving and scaling mountains, I can tell them about the perspectives I’ve gained. The beautiful places that I have seen. The people that I have met in this little town who have changed the way that I approach my own life.

This next year as I am graduating college and venturing out into my hopeful career in the world of medicine I hope to think of what I have learned here to shape my choices and put me in the place that allows me to continue to have gratitude for the blessings that there are in life just as I have learned here in Ariccia.

-Meghan Cannon, Neuroscience ’25