“You are too shy!” I’ve always been told since I was a little kid. “You need to change if you want to do something in your life”, this is what family and friends kept telling me over and over. I was a good student, but my score in oral tests has always been low because I was too shy and anxious. I was 17, I was tired, and I decided that I wanted to make a change, for myself. Leaving Italy and studying abroad has been the hardest, but the best decision I ever made. I was still in High School, and I decided to spend my junior year as an Italian International Student in a small town in New Hampshire, USA. I remember that year as the best year of my life. I left my family, friends, school and I started a completely new life. Learning English, living with a new family, making new friends, and being the “new girl” in a different school challenged me. It was hard sometimes, but I made it. My shyness suddenly disappeared, my confidence increased, and I became a completely different person.
My parents came to visit me during my winter break, and they were happy to see me changed for the better. Of course, they fell in love with the States as well, and my father started daydreaming about a new life.
I finished my junior year, got back to Italy and graduated a year later. My final oral exam went amazing! I had to talk in front of ten professors (this is how it works in Italy. It’s crazy, isn’t it?!), and I did great!
In all this, my father’s dream became true. He stared working for a
company here, in Florida! In August 2015, my family and I finally moved to Dunedin, Florida. This is where my journey with St. Petersburg College began. I enjoy going to class every day. All the professors I had made everything interesting, and I could feel their passion about what they taught. As an Italian International Student, I now work in the Center for International Programs, and I could not be happier. I love to promote studying abroad and letting students know about this great opportunity that completely changed my life.
I have to be honest; it has not been easy at all. My family and I had a lot of difficulties, we had to get to know the area, to make new friends, to find new jobs, but it has been worth it.
We love it here now. I go to St. Petersburg College, I am about to get my Associate in Arts Degree, and I will transfer to a new school soon for my Bachelor Degree in Interior Design. Since I moved here, my life has improved. I am now more independent and open minded, I can follow my dreams, I met amazing people, and St. Petersburg College has definitely contributed in this. I cannot wait to see what great things this life has in store for me.
The Moon Cake is the special food of Mid-Autumn Festival. On that day, people sacrifice moon cakes to the moon as an offering and eat them for celebration. Moon cakes come in various flavors according to the region. The moon cakes are round, symbolizing the reunion of a family, so it is easy to understand how the eating of moon cakes under the round moon can evoke longing for distant relatives and friends. Nowadays, people present moon cakes to relatives and friends to demonstrate that they wish them a long and happy life.