This past weekend, we headed to Sperlonga, a small beach town forty minutes outside of Rome. Having spent several weekends exploring cities, an easy day spent by the water was incredibly ideal. 

Since this marked two weeks until the end of my study-abroad experience, the need to pack everything into every hour has certainly caught up. Time between classes has consisted of museum visits, trying new restaurants and participating in anything we postponed this semester, thinking that we had “tons of time” left.

Knowing there will never be a time in my life when travel is as accessible and frequent as it is now, it was difficult to feel fulfilled by everything we’ve done so far. When I shared this sentiment with my parents, they laughed in my face.

I have been wrestling with this over the past few days. Even interstate travel in the United States has always required far more intensive planning than the trips I have taken so far.

Surrounded by lush mountains and at the edge of the Tyrrhenian, I felt a sinking sensation in my stomach. 

These thoughts may come off as ungrateful, and that is surely not my intention here. Going abroad has been an aspiration of mine since middle school, and there is this lingering sense of guilt that I didn’t do enough.

This weekend, particularly, while necessary and restful, felt almost wasteful.

Let me stress that financially, it’s not feasible to flee your home base every single weekend. At least, for myself. Nevertheless, scrolling on Instagram and seeing my friends’ adventures in places I could not make it to reminded me just how temporary this experience really is.

Although I feel as though I’ve left Rome too much. The city is massive, and there’s quite literally something new around every corner. 

I was immensely thoughtful in my decision about my study abroad destination. Using several pros and cons lists, I settled on Rome. After months of being caught up in the excitement of flexible European Union travel, I feel as though I haven’t accomplished nearly enough here.

However, as I’ve talked to many of my friends here, it seems as though the sentiments are pretty universal. The phrase “once in a lifetime experience,” despite all of its clichés, has become bitterly understood. 

For so many of us, it’s the first time the gravity of this phrase has ever actually been felt. Sure, graduations, jobs and coming-of-age events of all sorts have been experienced, but for me, the uniqueness of this semester has been unrivaled. 

As I continue on the last 14 days of my time here, I am trying to spend much more time reflecting on my own semester than comparing. 

This upcoming weekend, I will be headed to Malta for my final trip.

Until next time,

Emma