What were you grateful for this week? GELATO.

What was the most challenging part of this week?It’s unrelated, but I worked through some emotional TRAUMA this week hahahaha. It was good though, I feel lots better.

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. I woke up early to say goodbye to my host daughter because she went on a school trip to Florence.

Tell us about your week!This week was probably the hardest week of my stay here, as well as the most joyful and rewarding. It was entirely unrelated to being here, but being here played a role in how it all turned around.I left the United States pretty emotionally battered. There were a lot of unhealthy things going on for me at the time, and I didn’t feel like I was leaving so much as running away at times. I tried not to think about the past and just enjoy my time here, but it affected every area of my life negatively. I constantly felt inadequate and uncomfortable. Even though my host family is amazing, I felt like a burden to them. And I felt so incredibly alone.On top of that, my bank locked my card, so I couldn’t do anything until late in the week. So this week I took things a little slower. I did a lot of meditating and praying and soul-searching, and I came to see that I couldn’t avoid the emotional issues anymore. Facing the negative emotions and letting myself feel them was terrifying, and painful. But working through them was empowering. During this process I also learned how to be deeply grateful, and that made me feel so good.I also went to Genova with some great girls. They were so much fun to be around and very supportive of my love for aquariums. Especially touch tanks!! And so being around them was extra healing. I felt like I could really be myself. Genova is beautiful as well, the Cattedrale di San Lorenzo and the Museo di Culturale Mondiale were highlights for sure. I also got to do a quiet walk around Genova by myself, and that was important. I took my camera and took pictures of whatever I wanted without thinking about if it would look cool for Instagram. Overall, I feel like this week has changed my entire outlook on life. I’m learning to be more authentic, and to see more good, and that is perfect to me.