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Hi Friends!

 My name is Ally and I am a freshman in Exploratory Studies. When asked "who am I" I tend to forget every facet of my personality that makes me unique – so I am going to share with you how some popular personality tests have defined me. My Holland Code is SEA – Social, Enterprising, Artistic. These attributes fit me well as I love meeting new people and keeping up with old friends, and I enjoy creative endeavors. Some of my strengths via StrengthsFinder are Positivity, Empathy, and Responsibility.

Being in Exploratory Studies, I've thought a lot about what I want to do with my four years of college and the rest of my life. I've become very aware that I only know what I have been exposed to. As such, I am who I am today based on my experiences. My personality and worldview has been shaped by the people I've met, experiences I've had, and goals I've accomplished. Knowing that, if I don't strive for new experiences, how can I continue to grow and enhance my current perspective? That is why I want to go to Italy — to be able to grow through a new and unfamiliar encounter with the world. Therein lies, to me, the value of study abroad. Personal and professional growth is something that cannot be forced, but leaving everything you know behind for a while, whether it is for a week or a semester, and transporting yourself to a new country with new customs and worldviews seems like a pretty effective catalyst. I've never been to Italy, I don't know anything about the culture, nor have I studied Italian (all the Italian you see on my blog I looked up on google translate, YouTube and WikiHow).  

I have briefly visited other countries, but as a tourist. For this trip, I am looking forward to being a scholar, engaging in what we see and do and attempting to see past the surface level and uncover the truly remarkable history and significance of the mark that the renaissance and Leonardo DaVinci made on Italy and the world.

Another facet of this study abroad that I am particularly enthusiastic about is the interdisciplinary aspect of it. It would be a mistake, perhaps even impossible, to attempt to study Leonardo DaVinci within the confines of a single discipline. Aside from the subject matter we are flying across the globe to explore, interdisciplinary academics is just not something that is heavily emphasized in our modern American education system. Reading the more "STEM" Leonardo articles and synthesizing that knowledge with the more "Humanities" articles has already helped me understand more of Leonardo's brilliance and significance as well as providing me with the breadth of knowledge that I crave in an education. We've got two halves of our brains, might as well use them both!

 I look forward to learning, growing, and exploring Italy with all of you.

 --Ally

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