Rome as a city has incorporated a mix of people from all around the world and let them become a part of their culture. Because of this, it may have led to the fall of the Roman Empire, but it has allowed the city to become what it is…something that has evolved from glorious ruin, and something that continues to succeed despite their challenges because of the way the city evolves with change. It seems to become more of its own as time passes, unique, blended in layers of history and ancient architecture filled with stories that long to be remembered. Since the fall of one of the biggest empires known in history, Rome has evolved into a blend of culture and religion that may have changed throughout time, but has never seemed to have been forgotten. Age had caressed the buildings through time and so many of them still stood strong. As a culture that has gone through so much change, yet has not lost its roots entirely despite facing ruin, Rome gives visitors the feeling that they are in an entirely different world.

I was happy to be awoken by the music of distant church bells at 6:55 in the morning rather than due to an alarm set for a later time. I’d hear scooters bump along the cobblestone roads from my apartment while the riders shouted “Ciao!” to people outside as they passed by. I’d leave my window open at night so the warm summer breeze could flow through my bedroom while music and guests at the restaurants below me lulled me to sleep every night. These things alone enabled me to embrace this otherworldly city as my own and to begin to blend in. I was more than eager to make this city my home for a month. I grew accustomed to the romance and the beauty of the country lost in alleyways of time. I fell in love with the foreign culture, the language I could barely understand, and the history that seeped from every wall of Rome. As time passed, I felt myself transforming into someone I am much more proud of than before visiting this city.

I had decided on the first day of 2017 that I was going to save up to study abroad by following my passions to earn money for it: through writing and photography. As romantic as that sounds, I find it quite fitting for the country itself, full of art and creativity. Never had I been so bold with my decision making before, and this alone helped me begin to transform into who I am now, after studying in Rome. This trip showed me that I can in fact make money doing what I love and be successful. In three months of saving, I was able to purchase my transportation to get there, and after five months of saving, I had enough money to be able to spend cash on food and souvenirs while I was there and live comfortably enough to travel to other cities while I was there. Before traveling to Rome, I was more hesitant, less willing to take a risk for the sake of doing what I loved versus being successful.

And Rome did not disappoint in what it offered—the literature and pieces of art that we studied during our time there not only depicted feelings very familiar to my own, but it also inspired change. In a city that has embraced so much change and a mix of different cultures throughout time, it is hard not to change a little bit yourself after visiting—or at least be impacted by it.

Since Rome is a city so inspired by art and has gone through so much change over the centuries without losing its story, it instead gains upon its reputation. While this culture has been through a lot of change, it has not been lost despite once being the top empire of the world, then falling and going through a time of being pillaged by barbarians, and growing into the city it is today. Rome gives visitors the feeling that they are in an entirely different world. The city transformed me not only by its beauty, its constant surprises that were revealed by a turn of a corner or a walk down an alleyway, what I studied during my time there impacted me in a way that has changed my life and made me into who I am today.