It’s hard to believe that we started Week 9 this week, and it’s the beginning of July. It’s truly starting to feel like I live here, in Ariccia, Italy. At the beginning of the second half of our program, after break, students who have had friends previously attend this program described this half as us “gearing up to go home”. This put a bad taste in my mouth, and began to discourage me. I didn’t think I was ready to “gear up” or even think about home, because once you start you can never stop thinking about it. I never thought I would have to deal with homesickness abroad in Italy. I chose this to fill my summer, and I chose this program for very specific reasons. So, why would I ever doubt myself while here? I have discovered that no one understands the struggles one faces while abroad, unless you have been abroad, especially as a college student. Each girl here in the Joseph S. Bruno program chose to study here in Italy for numerous reasons, personally I chose it because I am an Apparel Design major in the College of Human Sciences and we base our studies on all subjects within that college here. Also, I am the first student from a different university, the University of Alabama – Auburn’s rival. However, I have never felt for a second that I was on the outside or different from the rest of the girls. Through the struggles, the up and downs of being abroad, I can truly say I couldn’t have not done without these 24 girls that I’m sharing this experience with. We come from all different backgrounds with different interests, but we all came here to experience something spectacular and it shows that that has been a success. I’m blessed to have experienced it with all of them.
By: Elle Darby