“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I
would not have a single bit of talent left and I could say, ‘I used everything
you gave me.’” – Erma Bombeck
Choosing to travel across the world, to a country I have never
experienced, to be with people who speak a language I do not understand, and
agreeing to live there for eight weeks, was not a decision I took lightly. Traveling
to Italy has been on my imaginary bucket list for as long as I can remember,
but finding out that I actually had the opportunity to make it a reality was a
completely different story. Italy! It was the image of “new” and “fresh” and “exciting.”
It represented a kind of adventure that my life had not included up to this
point and I think that’s why I couldn’t imagine saying no. Now, don’t
misunderstand - I am grateful for the
life I have been given; perfectly content with the decisions I have made and
the relationships I have built. Part of me wondered why I even had the desire
to do something so different from anything I have ever done before, because I know
I have been so blessed with my extraordinary life already. Part of me worried
that saying yes meant also saying that was unhappy with the life I have been
given. Barzini writes about these kinds of travelers. Those who leave their
home countries that are filled with their own wonders and adventures in order
to experience what Italy has to offer them. He asks, “What do they seek that is
better than what they left behind?” Something I have asked myself quite
frequently over the past few months, but so far, have been unable to answer.
Barzini however, does offer an answer. He suggests that the
travelers are simply looking for something more in their lives. Unlike the
Italians who he says never become, “satiated with their sights, climate, food,
music, and life” because “familiarity never
breeds contempt in them,” these travelers grow tired of their daily lives.
Until coming across this idea, I was unsure as to what exactly was driving my
desire to travel to Italy, but I feel as though it may be directly related to
this philosophy on life. I want to learn how to become more like the Italians
who never seem to go blind to the beauty that exists around them. I ask myself
how they can live in the same place for their whole lives and never lose
passion for their homeland, and hope that I can somehow learn to do the same. I
desire to learn how to live without being perpetually content.
Complacency is the epitome of an unsatisfactory life. Take
for example the Maples, the husband and wife from Twin Beds in Rome. Their trip to Italy was taken as a last effort
to save their marriage from their own complacency with life. And what better
place to rejuvenate their outlook on life than in the most romantic place in
the world? I can only imagine that experiencing something so different and new,
must give you a whole new appreciation for the little things in life. The trick
though, is finding lasting results. Like the Maples, it takes truly changing
one’s own life.
The experiences and knowledge I will gain though this trip
will be innumerable, but more than anything, when I finish this adventure, I
hope to remember this trip as the time I accomplished something I never thought
I had the guts do: change my life. I hope I learn how to never settle for complacency
and to learn and find something new in every single day. I hope that by the
time I arrive back home in America, I can honestly say that I pushed the limits
of what I knew and proved to myself that I can handle whatever God adds to this
wonderful journey of life.
