Everyone has an origin story—an experience that shifts life’s direction. For me, it was the fall of 2014, during my semester in Florence, Italy. That was the moment I truly realized how accessible the world is, and how much I needed to see it.
Growing up, I always dreamed of what the world outside of my own backyard looked like. Being from the Midwest, my summer vacations were filled with pontoon boats, sand dunes, and Great Lakes. While I still love all of those things, I wanted more. I will never forget the amount of time my best friend and I spent sitting in her room theorizing on all the places we wanted to go, and staring at the posters on her wall. The Pyramids, the ruins in Rome, the sunny beaches of the Mediterranean, and the jungles in South America were all on the list.
After high school, she started traveling on extended mission trips to places like Ecuador, Peru, and the Galapagos, while I went off to college. Although I was sad not to go with her, I'm grateful she did, because it inspired me to look for ways to finally see the world. If you know me, you know that once I get an idea in my head, I make it happen. One day, I simply decided, “I think I’m going to study abroad for a semester.” Not just a spring break or summer trip—no, I would finally see the world by moving there. I couldn’t even begin to tell you how my parents felt about this, and honestly, I’m not sure they believed me. But I moved forward quickly, and they were along for the ride. Before they knew it, I was up, up, and away!
Italy, and especially Florence, was a sensory overload. As one of the most touristy cities in Italy, there were people EVERYWHERE. Not only was I dropped headfirst into a country where I didn’t speak the language, but I was often surrounded by many others as well. However, I had a wonderful group of roommates in an absolutely beautiful apartment, and the school itself offered many ways to ease us into the culture.
While I participated in many things that labeled me as just another American studying abroad (such as going on bar crawls and hitting up dance clubs on the regular), because of the length of time I was there, I was able to connect to the city and a new culture in a way I never expected. I made friends with locals, picked up the language, and developed a deep appreciation for travel. And suddenly, what separated me from the rest of the world melted away. While we may come from different places with different languages and traditions, we are all so remarkably similar. I am not over exaggerating when I say that studying there completely changed my worldview and approach to life on this planet, and I think that is beautiful.
And this is where my love of seeing and caring for the world comes into play. The world is truly amazing. The ruins of Pompeii, the Sagrada Familia in Spain, the clear waters of the Mediterranean, the rolling hills of the Alps, the cliffs of the Cinque Terre. I mean, how can you see these places and not feel an obligation to care for them? I believe that these experiences are what have fostered my deep connection to the world around me.
After that, I was officially bitten by the travel bug, and that turned into a backpacking trip with my best friend, which became weekend trips around the U.S., which led me to climb mountains with my husband, which has now turned into a home abroad in Sweden. Would my life be different if I had not studied abroad? Absolutely. While I believe that there are things that are out of our control, I can’t help but recognize the path I am on now and how it is all interconnected, all because of the decisions I made early on. Travel is a privilege I am happy to have worked hard to become a citizen of the world.
