College is an experience we originally feel is centered around sleepless nights, countless exams, and a very unhealthy caffeine based diet. Though much of this is true, college allows for so much more. It allows us to learn how to work hard to reach our goals, how to do things we were once afraid to do, and also to become the people we want to be. That being said, I want to invite you to hear the story of the biggest adventure of my college career and life, thus far.

Exactly one year ago I boarded a plane with about 20 other students to Italy. Even after a year, saying it still seems surreal. We got on our plane, situated our belongings and began our journey. Hours upon hours went by getting us closer and closer to our destination. When we landed we were exhausted, but no one seemed to care.  Our feet left the plane and grounded deep into Italian soil. I was breathing foreign air and taking in strange surroundings. The adventure begins.

I spent the next 10 days immersed in a different culture, a different world. Everything was strange and new, ancient and beautiful. So much history swirled around me with every step I took. I could tell you every piece of art I saw, every delicious meal I ate and every landmark I went to, but none of it would do justice to what I experienced. I didn’t just see, eat and walk. In that breathtaking place I dove head first into the greatest adventure of my life. Tasting the culture, feeling the emotion of a masterpiece, and crying in front of the most beautiful structures I had ever seen.

People can tell you all they want about the “college experience”, but for me, during this moment of my life, it became a moment where I learned to let go, get fully engulfed in elegance and to experience the feeling of being alive. That is what our college years truly teach us, to grow, fear the unknown but go for it anyway, and to always chase the feeling of being alive.