My Milano

“Don’t call it uncertainty- call it wonder. Don’t call it insecurity- call it freedom.” -Osho

As the countdown begins for when my journey here in Milan will end, I feel frantic questions swirling in my mind. How am I going to be happy with the life I was making back home? What if I never get the chance to come back? What if I forget all of the Italian I’ve learned? How am I ever going to eat pizza in the states again? And geez, what am I going to do about coffee??

As my roommates and I walked through Piazza Duomo yesterday, we felt as if we were seeing everything through rose colored glasses; that we had taken the breathtaking Duomo for granted. As we got on the metro, we thought about how weird it was going to be to hear english everywhere we go again, to not be surrounded by signs that we have to stare at for ten minutes to understand.

To sum up my feelings, I am definitely going to miss Milan. From the crowded metro to places closing at lunchtime. As I have a broken conversation with my apartment’s doorman (who doesn’t speak english), Willy, I think back to my first day here. When I didn’t know that the closet looking thing was an elevator, when my roommates weren’t my best friends, and when I couldn’t find my way around my neighborhood for the life of me.

It’s the little things that I am going to miss. The take-away bar my roommates and I stop at every morning before class, where the owner refreshes his English and we practice our Italian. The grocery store where we go everyday just around the corner from where we live, where practically all the workers know us by sight (and probably sound). My daily metro ride to work, which ended up turning into my daily “meditation”. This is my Milano.

What I am really going to miss though. Finding myself in the most unsuspecting place. Anyone looking to study abroad, Milan or elsewhere, should take advantage of the chance to have a fresh start, be who you are at your core, make mistakes, make people smile, find what makes you smile. The time goes by fast while you’re here, but don’t ever get too busy to explore, never let the excuse of being tired stop you from doing something worthwhile. Run on caffeine and fumes, go to sleep late, wake up early, because you don’t have forever.

I like to think that I took full advantage of my time here. From getting caught in the rain in the middle of Piazza Duomo, to having “family dinners” and learning to cook authentic Italian food. To becoming a “regular” at multiple places and becoming closer to friends here than I ever expected. Only you can decide how your experience will effect your life and I suggest you take a left where you would usually go right, be curious instead of scared, and don’t be afraid to love too much or too often.

Ricordate, la vita e bella. <3 Ciao and happy reading!