The Renaissance

August 22, 2016

I wake up with a smile. As the sound of my alarm brings me to full consciousness, I look at my phone and see that it is in fact August 22, 2016, the day I leave for my year in Rome! I can't believe this day is finally here, and I couldn't be more excited. In a rush, I get dressed and head downstairs to follow the smell of pancakes wafting up to my room.

"Good morning honey! Ready for your big day?" my mom greets me in the kitchen with a huge smile on my face. My dad is fact over by the stove, making blueberry banana pancakes which happen to be my favourite.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I say, hugging her.

"You're going to have the most amazing time, Alex! I'm so thankful you're able to have an opportunity like this," she says, squeezing harder.

She's right, this is basically a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I'm so glad I was able to make this happen. My school, UCLA, offers a study abroad program to third and fourth year students, but the application process is insanely long and on top of that you have to make sure the partner school you want is a good match for your program, and that you can still complete all the required courses. Luckily for me, the school "Sepienza Universita di Roma" in Rome just partnered with my university this year and has apparently one of the best psychology programs in Europe. I've also been dying to go to Italy basically my entire life, so how perfect is that?

I scarf down about five pancakes (I seriously love pancakes) and run upstairs to finish last-minute packing before I have to leave for the airport. I look at my bursting suitcase and wonder if I packed too many clothes like I usually do, but decide that since I'm going for a year, it's better to be safe than sorry! And I don't want to feel like I have to buy a bunch of clothes since I am definitely a very broke student.

As load all my stuff into the car, I take one last look at my house. I've spent my whole life in this home, and have experienced some of life's most important milestones here, from my first birthday to my sweet sixteen, and most recently my twentieth birthday. Sure I've moved away for school before, but I won't be able to come home on the weekend when I want to anymore. I'll be on the other side of the world! It was really nice to be home for the summer though, especially since I got to make a good amount of money working at a beach rental shop. Unfortunately I still need to make a lot more to pay off school, but every little but counts!

I barely even notice the drive to the airport. I'm lost in my thoughts the entire way there. Consumed in wondering what could be awaiting me this year. I feel like this could possibly be the biggest year of my life, like I'll make some huge discovery about myself. Sometimes not entirely knowing what is going to happen is exciting. I know that I'm going to Rome for a year; the rest is a mystery.

I break out of my daydreams as we pull into the LAX parking lot. "We're here!" says my mom from the front seat. I grab all my stuff and my way to the check in counter. That's when I see my friend Charlie in line waiting for me.

"You're actually on time for something!" I say jokingly.

"I couldn't be late for probably the biggest day of our lives!" he says.

"Look at you guys, so grown up, leaving me behind and taking off on your own adventures," my mom looks like she might start crying. "Please be careful, okay?'

"Oh, Helen, they'll be fine! They aren't little kids anymore," my dad laughs.

Charlie and I have been best friends for basically our entire lives, and we've been through everything together. Starting middle and high school, learning to drive, supporting each other during petty breakups, and now travelling across the world.

"I know you guys'll be fine. But please keep it touch!" she hugs us both, a little too tightly. "You guys better get going to security!"

I say goodbye to my parents, grab my bags, and head to the security area. I've always hated going through security, and silently pray that nothing goes wrong. With a deep breath I step through the metal detector, and thankfully nothing happens! But about two seconds later I hear the alarm ringing in my ears. "Seriously?" I sigh.

Charlie turns around. "Do you still have your belly button ring in?"

"No, I took that out," I say, confused. I notice a scary-looking man coming over to me with a handheld detector. "Alright miss, let's see what weapons you're hiding."

"What!?" I say in alarm.

"I'm just kidding, calm down," he says chuckling. He moves the detector over me, and pauses over my pocket where it starts beeping. Even more confused, I reach in and pull out what looks to be a silver necklace. I examine it carefully. It has a bright emerald pendant, with something inscribed in Latin on the back. "Umm, this isn't mine..." I say, looking up at the man.

"Hmm, maybe you picked it up by mistake. I can put it in the lost and found. It looks pretty valuable," he says, taking the necklace.

With that, Charlie and I collect our bags and make our way over to our gate. "That's really weird...I've never seen that necklace before in my life."

"Really? And you didn't even notice it in your pocket?' Charlie asks.

"No, I swear I took everything out," I say. I decide not to think about it anymore, since I have bigger and better things to think about, like going to Rome!

After about half an hour, we hear the announcement that our plane will start boarding. "Flight 113 to Rome, Italy will began boarding," the attendant says.

"This is it," Charlie says optimistically.

"Time to start the best year of our lives," I say, unable to mask my excitement.

Our plane is pretty big, with three rows of seats and a total of four bathrooms. We find our seats and get settled in for the eight-hour plane ride. After listening to the extra cheerful flight attendant go on and on about safety and what not, we finally start making our way down the runway. As we lift off the ground, I look out the window and smile, thinking of all the adventures awaiting me in Rome.