Sweet Reunion

I am back. Back where my heart is happy.  Back where I felt so at home.  Back where my soul felt at peace.

Back smelling the familiar smells- sweet rain on pavement, flowers blooming, pastries baking, waffle cones crisping, pasta sauce simmering, spicy new leather and yes, unfortunately, cigarette smoke wafting through the air.
Back walking the cobblestone streets and minuscule sidewalks.
Back hearing the vespas, rattly little cars, bike bells and chains clanging, horses clip clopping, people passing, and the Italian language flowing.
Back seeing the sights I had hoped and prayed I would remember- the walk to school pass the Palazzo Pitti, the hundreds of little shops with their window displays, the Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo della Signoria, the over the top wedding dress shop, the bakeries, leather markets, and of course, the Duomo.

Nothing has changed.
The same gypsies roam the Ponte Vecchio and Duomo.
The shops still have the same window displays.
The vendors still call out, "Cioa Bella!"
The sunsets are still spectacular.
The vastness of the buildings still shock me.
The age of the statutes and building is mind boggling (from 1000 AD!!!)
The markets are still some of the best in the world.
Mothers still usher their children into the preschool by my house.
Men still try to get you to buy their light up toys and wilting roses at night.
The Ponte Vecchio is still amazing.
The Duomo still took my breath away.

Nothing has changed expect for me.
I am so happy and appreciative to be back in this magical place. I know what I have gotten myself into this time and I know it is going to be another indescribable adventure.  I know how fortunate I am to come back and live in Italy for another 2 months.

After two years of hoping, wishing, praying, and planning, I am back in Florence.  And I am so so very happy.

Forever a Seminole

**Warning- this is a picture heavy post**

It's hard to believe how quickly four years can go by.  It honestly seems like last week I was packing up my room to move to Tallahassee to start college but somehow, four years have passed.  They have been four great, great years.  College was so much more than I thought it would be.  I had no idea how great it was as a little freshman afraid to move two hours away from home. From football games, to living in Italy for four months, making new forever friends and keeping close with ones from high school, and from discovering how much joy middle schoolers can bring to taking classes I never knew existed, my four years as a seminole will be ones I look back on fondly for my entire life.

I took my very last final of my undergraduate career on my birthday and then graduated that Saturday, May 4, 2013.  My family and grandparents came up on Friday night.  We all went out to dinner and Beth and Logan joined us.  The ceremony was nice and our speakers were actually pretty interesting.  Our main speaker was some man who creates nature documentaries.  At first, I thought that it was going to be super boring but he actually spoke about his life.  He grew up Amish and at the age of 16 ran away.  He spoke about the gift of education and how important it is.  He also kept it short and sweet.  After he spoke, they began to read the names of the graduates.  Luckily, I was in the first quater of names called but after my name, it become very boring very quickly.  I think the poor man reading names read for over an hour and a half straight.

It hasn't hit me yet that I've graduated. I don't think it will until I am off to my new adventure getting my masters in Colorado and I don't return to FSU.  But I do know one thing, I will always be proud to be a Seminole.