If I were on my way home from Rome and thinking back on how this experience has changed me I can only imagine how different I will be. In this first week we have already seen so many different things and have been submerged into their culture and I would hope that I would have a deeper understanding of these things when I leave.
One way I believe I'll be changed is my daily fashion choices. At home I would wear sweatpants or athletic pants almost everyday. Maybe it's because most days I don't leave my house or because it is so cold outside sweatpants just seem warmer but I do not think i will be doing that as often when we go back home. Reason is because here we are expected to dress nice or fairly nice every day so it will possibly be out of habit. Secondly i think it could be because in Rome no one really cares what other people think of you or what you're wearing. They have such confidence in their fashion no matter what it is, I'm hoping their confidence will rub off on me.
Another way I believe I will change is my crave for travel. The reason I wanted to come on this trip was because I wanted to see something totally new. I also have always wanted to go out of the country to see how people in a different part of the world live. Coming from a small town where hardly anyone leaves after graduation I didn't want to just live in a place my whole life and never see other parts of the world. I would feel like I wouldn't be a well rounded person if I never left the states. After this experience I think I will definitely want to travel to more places and probably back to Rome.
One last thing I think will be different about me when I leave is that my personality will be different. Not only my personality but how I do things in everyday life. for example I will probably take some of the Italian culture and find a way to work it into my own. Whether it be having coffee two, three, or four times a day or teaching my family Italian words they can use on a day to day basis. I want Rome to forever be apart of my life.
I may not know for sure what will be different about myself when we leave whether it be my clothes, my weight, or my new addiction to coffee. What I do know is that I will be changed by this experience, it will be a stepping stone in my life to grow and help me with different experiences later on in my life. Whether it be traveling abroad again, or helping someone within the social/mental healthcare system who only speaks Italian, this experience can only help me grow.
