I am on my way to Siena, Italy as I am typing this! I have been thinking about this since before I started college in 2016, and I can’t believe it’s finally time for me to go. I heard about the specific program I am going with in one of my first classes at UT, but I never believed I would get accepted and end up going! I hope to update weekly, but for now I wanted to have a list of “goals” written down so I can look back on them afterwards and see what I was thinking before I left. Some of these are more expectations than goals, but I thought goal was a good blanket term!
1. Become more responsible
Okay, I am generally a pretty responsible, put-together person, but I would be lying if I said I don’t have my moments when I have a near-crisis or almost lose something or leave something behind. I am hoping being in Italy on my own will help me learn to have it more together than usual. Since moving to Knoxville, I have become much more responsible than I was two years ago, but being in Italy will hopefully help push me to the next level of independence.
2. Think internationally
One of the biggest topics discussed in current PR classes is ethnocentrism, which is basically a big word for the thinking “America Is the best country on Earth, and no one else even comes close.” While patriotism is great, stepping outside of the familiar to learn and accept how other countries do daily activities is so important, especially for Public Relations. I have never had a
chance to truly test my cultural acceptance before now, and I am setting a goal for myself to always think “how neat!” over “how weird!” when it comes to learning about practices in Italy. This thinking will help me specifically in the Public Relations sphere as well!
3. Be thoughtful
Since learning I was going on the trip, I have been daydreaming of the food, the places, and the people. Surprisingly, what is taking up a lot of my daydream time has been presents! I am a huge gift giver. My mother has raised me to be instinctively thoughtful when it comes to what people would want in a gift, and I hope to put that thinking into action on my upcoming travels. I hope to pick up souvenirs that my friends and family will truly love and enjoy for years to come.
4. Learn more about my future profession
My main reason for studying abroad is to learn about Public Relations. I am so excited to take two classes revolving around my major! Learning about different cultures will help me curate information with an international mindset and consider various viewpoints. I believe my instructors have arranged field trips for us to participate in on off days, and I couldn’t be more excited for those!
5. Get better at photography & Grab the best photos
For the past several years, I have become more interested in snapping cute photos whenever the opportunity presents itself. Honestly, there aren’t many girls my age who aren’t interested in getting unique shots right now! I recently got a polaroid camera for my birthday, and I want to use it a ton in Italy. I hope to journal and include a polaroid of what I am talking about beside of the description! I am expecting there to be many picturesque places in Tuscany!
I have several other hopes and expectations for my trip to Italy. I can’t wait to see what traveling abroad is really like and experience my first airplane ride. Hopefully, I can keep the blog updated almost weekly while I am traveling and learning!
