It’s interesting how life pans out. Italian started off as an interest, and furthermore, as a quest to gain back a language that had been lost in my family. It ended up becoming a passion that kept me wanting to learn more and made me want to push myself to see how far I could go. I was recently looking back at my agenda from last year. On September 8, 2010 I had written Organize plans for moving to Italy in Sept. 2011. Although I had already applied for the Fulbright grant at that time, a large part of me didn’t think I would actually get it due to its competitive criteria. I was mentally set on moving to Rome regardless of receiving the award. When I looked back at that day in my agenda I said out loud in utter disbelief, “What is my life? I can’t believe this happened.” God has blessed me even down to the details of the Fulbright Commission placing me in Rome. I could have been placed anywhere throughout Italy, but I was placed in the exact city I wanted to be. Being accepted as a Fulbright scholar has further proven to me how a certain aspect of our outcome in life is determined by our own actions and daily decisions, but the rest is pure destiny. Through my university studies I have gained a deep appreciation of academia and the opportunity Fulbright has given me will be more encompassing in experience than what I could have done on my own. I feel honored to call myself a “Fulbrighter” and I am excited to see what this next chapter in my life has in store for me.
