And so, here it is. The end of a beautiful, all-consuming chapter of my life at 21 years old.
I have traveled a lot in my lifetime, but nothing will ever top dropping everything to go and live in Italy for four months and study at John Cabot University. I must thank my amazing parents, because without them this wouldn't have been possible. They endured four months without me, and likewise I was completely on my own here. I made it, though.
I am wiser, I am smarter, I know a third language and I can tell you every last thing there is to know about my Rome: The Eternal City. It's not just about living in Rome, it is the feeling of being here. Rome is a feeling, not a place. I'm in love with the life I live here.
I have grown so much, met incredible people along the way, and done all that I wanted to do. Even studying here has been different and new and exciting. Everything is unique in a way I've never felt before. I can really say I have seen it all, traveling every weekend to a different country and picking up my life so quickly and moving it just for a few days. Nothing is more thrilling. Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Vatican City, the Netherlands and Prague: you have shown me the brighter side of life!
I am a different person in all of the best ways. I am cultured. I adapted to a whole new life in Trastevere, I tried countless foods, I ran my own life here, I picked up my luggage and said, "I'm gonna book this and go", and more importantly I proved myself. It is so bittersweet to sit here and type this in my kitchen on my last night. Tears come to my eyes. There's just this thing about living here; it's so easy. I feel as though I was meant to be in Rome and after waiting 21 years, I realize it. I never saw myself touring Europe in my young twenties, yet here I am.
And if you travel far enough you meet yourself. Rome, you will forever hold a piece of my heart. Che bella vita da vivere. To a bright and balanced future and the definite intent to return, ciao for now.
Savannah Benedetto
Psychology Major
Rider University - Study Abroad Fall 2016
Hometown: Mountain Lakes, New Jersey
