(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.”
The word “opportunity” has been reiterated to me to reinforce the idea that there are moments that are meant for growth and self-discovery, but that does not mean that every opportunity is equal nor all of them should be taken advantage of. The opportunity I had been personally struggling with recently had to do with my internship here in Milan. I did not feel as if I was learning, and even more so, I did not feel as if I was adequately utilizing the resources Penn State provided me to create the best opportunities I could while in Italy. So I voiced that—it wasn’t heard the first couple of times, but I continued to let it verbally be known and eventually it was. Opportunity is not always supposed to work in your favor, sometimes you have to overcome an obstacle before you reach a chance for opportunity. Which leads me into my next realm of exploration: the power of yes.
People like to say, “You should try everything because you are abroad.” Like being abroad is an excuse for curiosity and courage. But whether you are abroad or in your hometown, you never know what might be waiting for you right around the corner, so a healthy sense of curiosity should always be fostered. I am realizing that all of the people that I have met are the reasons why I have been having such a uniquely unbelievable time in Milan. And each of those experiences that I have directly affects the next one.
For example, a couple of weeks back during fashion week my friend invited me to an invite only showroom of a designer from New York. It was raining heavily that day and I hadn’t eaten, so overall I was in a not-so-great mood and I wasn’t very motivated to go anywhere but my bed. But I thought,
People like to say, “You should try everything because you are abroad.” Like being abroad is an excuse for curiosity and courage. But whether you are abroad or in your hometown, you never know what might be waiting for you right around the corner, so a healthy sense of curiosity should always be fostered. I am realizing that all of the people that I have met are the reasons why I have been having such a uniquely unbelievable time in Milan. And each of those experiences that I have directly affects the next one.
For example, a couple of weeks back during fashion week my friend invited me to an invite only showroom of a designer from New York. It was raining heavily that day and I hadn’t eaten, so overall I was in a not-so-great mood and I wasn’t very motivated to go anywhere but my bed. But I thought,
“This would probably be some good bonding time since they took the time to invite me and if I don’t enjoy it, hey, at least I get to say I participated in fashion week.”
So I said yes. When we were there, we met a guy who was really into the fashion scene of Milan, and after chatting with him for a bit, he invited us to go with him to the official Givenchy Party two days later, where Nicki Minaj, Naomi Campbell, and Joan Smalls where on the guest list – from literally showing up to a showing and striking up conversation with someone. So of course we said yes and two days later we were at the party dancing with male models.
Working at the modeling agency, it came to be that I had finished my work and they asked me if I wanted to just hangout with the models. Yes, hang out with 10 male models in one room. Of course I internally cringed at the thought of being in the presence of perfect beings and embarrassing myself in one way or another, but then I remembered hanging out with models at the Givenchy party and realized they were just people, too—most of them the same age as my friends from home. So I said yes. And we had great conversation and we all follow each other on Instagram and are friends on Facebook.
All of this happened by not panicking about what could go wrong, but just the curiosity of what could happen from saying yes. Also most of these things happened because I took the time to create a friendship, and friends won’t forget the things you do for them, no matter how far you are. Currently, I am being featured for an article in Valley Magazine thanks to a dear friend at Penn State. So invest in your friends, time and love, and they will return in ways you could not imagine.
And don’t be afraid to say yes—it’s something you have to practice—but try to remember,