Ciao All!
This blog post is going to be more like a list of things I either have been reminded of or I have learned in Italy so far on this trip. Here we go...
1. I actually like my natural hair color. (Who would have thought!)
2. I don't need the "essentials" I thought I did to feel beautiful.
3. You don't need to speak the same language as someone to know the essence of that person. Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
4. You will find overwhelmingly kind and helpful people everywhere you go.
5. Italians are LOUD.
6. No matter what country you are in, middle schoolers are middle schoolers.
7. Conductors do not check if you have in fact bought a ticket on a regional train. I have now gotten one free ride.
8. I am much better at improvisation than I ever thought, I am able to come up with an activity on the spot in class.
9. I love black tea.
10. Exercise will always be a necessary outlet for me, and the investment in my gym membership has been one of the best decisions I've made since being here.
11. Food is not the enemy.
12. Carbs are not the enemy.
13. Pizza is it's own food group.
14. Trying to explain English grammar rules sometimes feels like teaching a fish to walk.
15. Italian teachers never kick their students out of class, no matter how disruptive they are. They just yell louder.
16. I am my mother when I get frustrated.
17. Special needs kids will always have a very special place in my heart.
18. Travelling alone as a woman can be both the most empowering thing in the world and the most terrifying.
19. Italians do in fact eat an ungodly amount of pasta... EVERY DAY.
20. My family will always be number one to me, and have such a giant piece of my heart.
21. I am much more introverted and self-sufficient than I ever gave myself credit for.
22. Positive affirmations can strengthen belief in yourself.
23. I talk fast?
24. I rely too much on my phone for entertainment purposes at home.
25. I don't know half the things I thought I knew to be true.
26. Just because people do something differently doesn't mean it's wrong.
27. Almost everything bought in Italy is made in Italy, which is why they are able to be so successful as a country and the reason why there are civilizations who have been here for centuries. They have to be doing something right.
28. I do not need even a quarter of the clothes I own.
29. The things that were important in my adolescence were so very superficial.
30. I am of service to the world.
Ok that's it for now. Love you all!!
Linsey
We all need to put aside our cell phones, computers, TVs and video games long enough to make our own lists in order to determine who and where we are in our lives. You remind us that we need to take our eyes off of our little screens and look around us. If we are not alone, we need to make an effort to include the people we are with in our thoughts and activities through genuine conversation. I think that a lot of us are missing out on what used to be "dinner table" conversation because we use our electronic devices to do our talking for us. I'm no exception and your beautiful list reminds me of that.
ReplyDeleteI have become a fan of the TV show, "Blue Bloods" starring Tom Selleck. It's one that your Grandpa and I watch every night while we are having dinner. As you know, he lives for his TV in the evenings, and I join him for a few hours after dinner before heading back to my computer. While he's watching his football and basketball games, I work on a jigsaw puzzle or some other project that doesn't involve my computer so that we can at least be together in the same room.
One of Blue Bloods' main themes is the closeness of the family who sit down for Sunday dinner each week and actually TALK to one another. It's funny, as I read over this, our behaviors don't match my respect for what the characters are doing on TV... we are watching a show while eating rather than turning it off and talking with each other over our meal. We could always record those shows to watch together later, but we don't. I don't know if that will ever happen, but just reading your list allowed me to start thinking about my own.
Thank you, Lins!