By Your Side

The other day I read a quote that really struck me. "God wants you to get where God wants you to go, more than you want to get where God wants you to go" (M. Batterson). This made me think a lot. Not only about faith but also about myself and my time here in Italy. I can remember before even starting at CUA thinking about studying abroad. And I can remember saying to myself, "No way would I ever study abroad. I would be way too homesick and there is no way I could live in another culture". As time went on and the option became more real, my mind opened up a bit to the idea. I thought, maybe I can do it. Maybe it would be good for myself and for my career as an architect. I am so used to "American" architecture and what it means to design within the borders of the United States. What would it be like to learn first hand, about the buildings we have studied for so many semesters. Then the thoughts came back of no... I could not be away from the comforts of home and CUA for that long of a time. It was a constant battle back and forth with myself about taking advantage of the opportunity that laid before me. The more I contemplated the idea, the more I started to think that I would be ok with going abroad. As the time became closer to making the decision, I went from being ok with the idea to being excited about it. And now look at where I am, writing a blog from Roma, Italia!

There was a lot of praying that went into this decision. I was nervous. I was leaving the known and heading into the unknown. Now grant it, this is nothing of the third world country sorts where I would not have the conveniences and similarities to home but it was still a new culture and I had no idea what to expect. I truly believe that it was not all me making this decision. If I go back to the quote, "God wants you to get where God wants you to go, more than you want to get where God wants you to go". It was part of God's plan that I am here and experiencing this awesome opportunity. I knew deep down inside that I wanted to study abroad however we always question the decisions we make. From complex decisions to simple decisions such as should I go left or should I go right. Trust me it's hard to decide to go left or right especially on these small Roman streets. But all along, as I was agonizing over whether or not to study abroad, God knew what was best. God wanted me to get where He wanted me to go more than I wanted to get where He wanted me to go. So from first hand experience, if you might be wrestling with a tough decision, give it to God. Let him take control and just like me, you will not regret it!

I think by taking this opportunity, it helped solidify my place as an architecture major and even better my future as an architect. Or at least that's what I think now... 

Yesterday, a few of us climbed to the top of the Aventine Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome. From our dorm room window, we can look out at the Aventine. We always see people at the very top looking out or from our window, it kind of looks like they can see right into our room. So we decided let's explore a bit. As we climbed to the top, I realized I never put a memory card back in my camera so no pictures from the Aventine. But the struggle of the hill was well worth it in the end. The view is breath-taking. And the other good thing is that you cannot see into our room! We visited three different churches on the hill and apparently, the Pope will give Mass from one of the three churches on Ash Wednesday. I love exploring Rome.

Now we have our week long trip to Istanbul to look forward to! Now that is going to be a change of culture.