Positive Reinforcement: How did I get so lucky??

I know I said I was going to try to write in this every day, and I really truly am going to get back in the groove, but life has been crazy busy and moving in a very positive direction, sooooo I'm finally feeling caught up :)

I decided I'm going to (finally) start writing in my journal in response to Oprah's Life Class questions. I wish I could watch the show every day but I can't so this is the next best thing.

The fourth question is what inspired me to write this blog post. It asked "What choices have you made that are genuine expressions of who you are and in alignment with what you want from life?" I knew even before I was done reading the question, what my answer would be. ITALY ♥

So why? Why was my choice to move to Italy for a semester, a genuine expression of who I am?

1. Travel - always has been and ALWAYS will be my most favorite thing to do, so given the opportunity to travel around not only Italy, but Europe, was beyond a dream come true.
2. Independence - I've always been quite independent... this was just another step.
3. Food - um, must I even explain this one? Especially with my LOVE for Italian food.
4. Friendship - I love my friends, and the friends I made in Italy are more than friends, they are sisters. And I could not have dreamt of meeting better girls. I also made a point to talk to people, as many people as I could (in as much Italian as I could, meaning, hardly any Italian, ha!) and create "friendships" or a common bond with Italians. When my friend Kristen came to visit, my gf's in Italy asked if I always talked to everyone that I passed..."Same girl, Different Country" :)
5. Learning - I love learning and I always want to be in the process of learning new things. For as long as I live. Living in a foreign country, you are ALWAYS learning.
6. Growth - This goes almost hand in hand with learning. As long as you learn, you are growing as a person. I've said it once (ok many times) and I'll say it again, it's not until you stop learning & growing, that you get old :)
7. Memories that will last a lifetime - I love having a good time, and making memories that I'll always remember. 5,000+ pictures later, and thousands more memories, Italy gave me some of the most amazing moments of my life, that I will never forget.

I seriously pray that all of you reading this, takes the time at some point in your life to go to Italy. I'm slightly biased I know, however, I traveled to many places in Europe, and Italy always felt like home. It's the most amazing and beautiful country and I cannot wait to go back. (If you would like a personal tour guide, call me!)

Now I ask the same question of you. What choices have you made that are genuine expressions of who you are and in alignment with what you want from life?

And just for fun...

Here are some of my FAVORITE memories from my four months living in Italy.

Learning to cook my FAVORITE Italian dish, Spaghetti Carbonara

'Jersey Shore' Night, this was one of our first nights out together!

A little further into my time there, all the essentials I forgot to pack. Thanks to my AMAZING big brother.

My Valentines Day pic of the Duomo and the Balloons look so perfect by it :)

Standing on the Ponte Vecchio. How is this real life??

A picture of the Arno and part of the Ponte Vecchio. It blows my mind how beautiful Florence is!

Well, can you tell they don't like their Prime Minister?? This was a big protest...I mean HUGE protest!

The guys at Gusta Pizza love us :)

My first of three trips to Roma. Ohhhh I loved Rome. SO much history.

Carnivale in Viareggio, SO fun. Confetti, vino and crazy costumes everywhere!

We went to Milan for Fashion Week. What did we do?? Fed the birds and ate Burger King :) ok and toured the city a bit to see all the amazinggggg stores!

My first trip to the top of the Duomo in Florence. Its 463 stairs, but the view is worth every single step!

our first family photo. Oh I just love these girls :)

Standing in Awe. It is SO much bigger and more beautiful than even I expected!

My last picture up by Piazzale Michelangelo. My heaven.

Last night out with the girls before heading back to the states. Wahhh!!!

The COOLEST gift EVER. My roomie made these keys for us in her jewelry making class. It was inspired by our key to our bedrooms, and the top part of the key is a fleur di lis which is a common symbol for Florence. It also has a '2' on it which was our apartment number and Via dei Tavolini which was our sweet little street's name!

Birthday dinner at Acqua al 2. Ah-maz-ing.

Seriously in love with Cinque Terre.

Girls will be Girls :) In Athens at the Olympic Stadium.

I love Italians so much. They are so dramatic. These kids looked straight out of an adult soap opera, and they were only five years old! The drama of kindergarten.........

This is in my cooking class. We learned to cook 3 Italian dishes a week and at the end we had to cook our favorite dish to be graded. We chose Pumpkin Risotto. Sounds a little weird, but it's SO delish!