Last Minutes of the Teen Years

So, I'm about to be 20.
Two.Zero.
No more "teen."
I blink, and two decades are gone.

I'm an adult.

Okay, well technically I became an adult at 18; however, the ever-present "teen" and the fact that I was still in high school begged to differ. With the "teen" disappearing from the picture, the whole "adult" concept is suddenly staring me in the face.
Tomorrow, I won't feel any different. That's not how it works with birthdays.
Today, sitting here typing, re-typing, and staring at the random picture of the New York bridge on the wall across from me, two decades are yearning to burst free, to spill onto this page. That would definitely get real boring for you, real fast. Let's keep it plain and simple for a hot sec.

My life has been so blessed.

Honestly, it almost brings me to tears contemplating all the names of those that have touched my life. The person I am isn't made up of my accomplishments, my grades, my work, or anything along those lines. It's the people, the conversations, the dances, the adventures, the hugs, the tears, the silences, the car rides, the hikes, the love.

Two decades are gone, but the people that filled those years won't be forgotten. Even here in Rome, I think of all of you back home. The adventures through the city are incredible, with gorgeous buildings left and right. It's not that I'm not loving it here,because believe me I am. Have you seen the pictures? The view from the Castel Sant'Angelo left me speechless. However in all the splendor, at the end of the day, I remember home.

After 20 years, even though I am nowhere in finding a career path, at least I have the best people surrounding me to see me through it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Week of Firsts

Image
When you study abroad, you tend to rack up some firsts:  FIRST time out of the United States. FIRST "Scusi, Scusi!" as the tram jolts to life and I stumble into an unsuspecting Italian woman. FIRST Italian pizza. FIRST gelato (of many). FIRST glass of Italian wine. FIRST Italian coffee . FIRST Sunday with Pope Francis. The typical and definitely delightful firsts are all there;  however, the unexpected ones nudged themselves into my week as well: FIRST  time  walking to school. FIRST  time  getting hopelessly lost..alone. FIRST  time  cooking  real  dinner (without a microwave). FIRST  orange. FIRST  time making an omelette. FIRST  time hanging  all  my clothes to dry.  FIRST  time using Face time .  Some of those are pretty ridiculous, I do admit. Yes, I haven't eaten an orange before (well technically since the golden days of kindergarten). No, I have only ever made scrambled eggs. When I look back on a day, a week, a month, or a year and realiz
Read more

The Land of My People

Image
When you think about studying abroad, especially in Europe, you start to make a mental wishlist of the places you want to see, the places you want to go.   I didn't have much expectations coming here except for good Italian food. I knew I wanted to travel, but where this semester would take me was up in the air.  Everywhere and anywhere was an adventure. But there was one place that I did dream of going, one place that seemed to be only a dream. Croatia .  As I looked up and booked my many adventures, Croatia was always on my mind. However, getting there was the problem. Planes didn't travel to Croatia until the summer. The only other option was by train and ferry, an expensive and arduous journey. Then, Bus2alps made it all happen. Bus2Alps is a traveling agency that caters to study abroad students, planning trips to hot destinations and events like Springfest and Carnivale in Venice.  As I began to lose hope of ever seeing Croatia, Bus2Alps had a day o
Read more

On to another adventure

Where did the time go? That's a common question getting asked these days, days like ... Graduation. Sometimes a Monday can feel like ages, a week like eternity. And then years just zip on by without a care in the world. *** I started this post at around 6:30 a.m. Now it's 3:30 p.m. and I'm graduated. Undergraduate no more. Do I feel different? How do I feel exactly? Well, the speech is done and over. There's relief there. There's a background sense of accomplishment, completing undergrad and all. Honestly, I mostly feel humbled and loved. Those that I care about took time out of their day (some, even their work day) to come and support me. Others have messaged me or will see me later tonight. I couldn't have done ANY of this without all of you. Thank you, thank you truly. This day is as much mine as it is yours.
Read more