Now that Milan has officially come to a close and I am comfortably in the US with Chipotle back in my arms (where it belongs), I have had the chance to really look back at my entire experience and see that the whole was greater than the sum of its parts.
(featuring some pictures from my Rome adventures) I also want to apologize from my little hiatus from blogging, I have been feeling lost regarding what to write about. I have gotten such heartwarming feedback about my posts that I fell victim to the pressure to make sure the next thing I write is more interesting and better than the last. But when I think back on the last couple of weeks, my memories are centered on the people I was with rather than what we actually did together. A couple of weeks back a bunch of my family came to visit me from home. A few weeks after, I spent the weekend in Barcelona with friends of a friend who I connected with over Facebook and I felt part of the family in just two days to the point where I felt bad for leaving. And lastly, this weekend I visited my best friends from home studying in Rome and we just were laying around enjoying each others company.
(before reading please reference Drake's Hotline Bling video to understand the backing of this blog) I’d like to dedicate this specific blog post to the release of Drake’s music video for Hotline Bling because I think it really sums up the way I am feeling at this point of my Milanese experience. To put them in laymen, the lyrical value of the song can be confused for something sad because Drake is lamenting about the girl that he knew before he left “the city” and now she’s off doing whatever and he feels like he doesn’t know her anymore since she no longer calls him. But when I saw the video—with the curvaceous women, bright colors, and Drake’s relentless Latino dad dance moves—I realized that the moods didn’t match and the song could actually be about letting go of your past and taking advantage of that moment to evolve into the self you want to be.
(pictures of my time in Tuscany can be found at the bottom) I am rapidly losing track of how much time I have been in Italy, which I guess can be both a good and bad thing. I am spending my time doing a lot of stuff, but this is making time go by much faster. So last week I talked about having the courage to speak your mind despite any potential fears because, as quoted by my friend Matt Mignogna, “You don’t have the responsibility to say nice things.”Happy fall everyone! Grab something pumpkin spiced and get ready for blog post four!
So just general updates before I delve into the specifics:
A short visual update on what went down in my short trip to the depths of Sicily. From an expressive fish market to classic Sicilian male fashion. Luckily for you, you don't have to experience the 100+ degree weather that was endured to get these pictures. Enjoy! Buongiorno amici! I have survived my first week in the city in Milan, but the city put me through a bit of an initiation process even before I got here. After getting on my flight from JFK, I found myself sitting next to a group of girls on their way to Israel to follow a sedentary lifestyle, which was interesting at first until they decided that they were not going to sleep on the overnight flight—meaning I was also not sleeping on the next 8 hours. When I finally landed in Milan the next day after a solid two hours of sleep, I was greeted by only one of my two suitcases, to find out that the other one was placed on a different flight. Finally, once I sorted out where my luggage should be shipped, I hurried to jump on a train and broke my watch as I took off my backpack. Ti amo, Milano. You have such a great sense of humor. But on a more serious note, I have had such a great time after the first week despite my rough first week. I live in a residential area in an older part of the city. It had a worldly charm since no one in the cafes on the neighboring blocks spoke very much English—which is both a good and bad thing for me. Also, the people of Milan are fueled by concentrated caffeine rather than the energy from carbs, contrary to popular belief. I walk to class in the morning and spend my night going for apertivo with my friends. This past week was orientation and we went to Lago di Guarda and stayed in a hotel with a thermal spa. My program has gone above and beyond any expectation I had before I arrived and I am excited for whatever comes my way next. I have also been scouting the fashion scene and I can’t tell you how quickly I have had to adjust to the European caliber of the art of dressing oneself. I start my Menswear design class in two weeks and I interview for a position in a showroom on Wednesday. For now, I think I am ascribing to the mock turtleneck and all black look with accenting jewelry but we will see what happens once fashion week come around. Stay tuned for a review on Milanese street style and food. Before you start reading, I would advise that you reference my about page that can be found here or in the navigation bar up top. First I must say that I miss you all very much and it killed me to see everyone talking in the group chat on the first week back…but back to business. Please excuse me for such an overtly cheesy title, but sometimes my dramatic side gets the best of me. As it comes down to the last couple of hours before I hop on the plane to spend the next four months in Italy, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on not just my summer, but also the last two years of my life since tomorrow marks the official midpoint of my college career. Unfortunately, I also decided to wait until the last minute to pack for said four months in Italy, so here I am sitting next to two open suitcases—belongings strewed across the floor—blankly starting at the screen grasping for thoughts on how I can verbally explain what I have achieved over the last two years. So you could say I am feeling a bit stressed. Actually, I wouldn’t say stressed. I think the real word I am looking for is rushed. Rushed about making decisions that affect my future career path, where I should be looking to get my MBA, and what next steps I need to take to make myself better than I was yesterday. I am not saying that I do not want to do these things, but I have spent the last two years in an accelerated mindset and haven’t taken the time to actually enjoy and celebrate the journey. My most recent adventure was going out to a farm in Chimacum, Washington—a little town with one intersection about a two hour commute from Seattle. I stayed with a dear friend and his aunt and uncle in their bed and breakfast on their 33-acre farm that had a garden, an orchard, and a barn with chickens, pigs, and sheep. Very much not Asia at all. But being there gave me a luxury that I have not experienced in a long time. I was able to pause and just be in the moment. That particular moment included me feeding some very excited pigs, but nonetheless. I was able to say, “Hey Asia. You are the f****** bomb! You got into the Honors College, you’re going to Milan as a representative of the US Department of State, and you nailed internship!” And that is a pretty radiant feeling. 1 I have noticed that among my super supportive, and highly driven friends (seriously guys, you all are the best) that we don’t take the time to slow it down and remind ourselves that we are awesome, and other people think so too—and I think that is a problem. So what do I deem the solution? A hiatus. (Tada! That’s where the name comes from!) A break from the chaos that is the everyday struggle of a college student, or even a seasoned professional, in order to feel empowered by the things we have achieved rather than concerned about the stuff we haven’t done yet. A couple of minutes. A day. A week. In my case four month. Shoot, take what ever you need because if you don’t feel awesome about the things you have done (that deserve it) then you won’t see awesome about the things you will do later! So that’s my plan for Italy. Taking it in stride and loving every second of it as I document things here and there. I hope you all will follow me with my journey and I always want to hear about what’s going on with yours. We all need to support each other—end of story. Shoot me an email or reach out to me through any other means. |
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