I firmly believe that every single being on this planet has a place where they feel so completely “right”, your soul’s home if you will.

My trip to Italy was an awakening of sorts. I was thrown out of my comfort zone, and my country, at a time when I didn’t think I could handle it. But it’s true to say that the things you want, and ultimately need, are just past your boundaries. This trip was scary at first, slightly frustrating as well, but in the end so needed.

Florence had a special impact on me. Immediately I felt at home, I felt safe, I felt like I was one with the city. I could go on and on about the sites and the history, but that’s besides the point. The point is that even when I was lost, I wasn’t afraid. And I felt at home with myself there. I let my hair go natural in big curls and ringlets. I went out with minimal makeup and cared about being healthy in my skin. It was freeing to feel so accepted being my absolute self, and the positive reactions of total strangers reassured me.

Leaving was difficult. After finally existing in a place where I felt so genuinely myself, it was hard to come back to the U.S. where school and social pressures awaited me. I was scared to lose this discovered part of me and the last thing I wanted was to just blend back in to the crowds. As a solution I created this journal and filled it with pictures, tickets, business cards, anything and everything of my time in Florence. With those physical pieces I’m going to write down the memories associated with them. This is my way of holding on to that piece of me and my time there. I still have a bit to go and a lot to write, but it feels more than worth it to relieve each moment spent there.

Personally, this idea has helped greatly. I don’t exactly journal… ever, so completing a daily list of the aspects of my life that make me happy is intimidating. Instead I just compile all of the memories, the quotes, the ideas that make me smile in one place at one time and then whenever I feel negative I can read through each moment. It’s easier, and a bit more sentimental/composed than my emotional tangents.

So please, tell me what your book would be about and why! You know I love to hear from you…

XOXO,  Marin