From the time I was a little girl, I had heard stories this magnificent country. People I knew would speak of how it changed you as a person, and that whatever perspective you may have used in the past would change forever. Obviously, I had very high expectations coming into Rome, as well as doubts. What if the city wasn’t everything I’d imagined? What if TV enhanced it to the point where nothing was authentic? What if the art didn’t move me? Gladly, I can safely say that all of my expectations were met. In fact, they were completely blown away; never in my life have I felt so immersed, especially in a country to which I’ve never been. Strangers were kind and patient with me. The food was unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before, richer in every way. Every building looked as if it were taken from a painting, and the real paintings from Heaven itself. The entire atmosphere felt different, almost though a warm blanket had fallen upon the Eternal City. I have Italian ancestry myself, but I never truly appreciated what my great grandparents had until this very moment. I’m now imagining what it must have been like to wake upon Rome every day, and I realize it must have been a beautiful life. I feel grateful to have experienced the days they spent walking among the pillars of an empire. Perhaps one day I will return with others from my home who wish to understand real beauty. For the first time in a long while, I can say that I do.