For my very last fall quarter of college, I chose to come to Florence, Italy, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision.
This isn’t the first time I’ve been to Florence. I visited once, the summer before college, but only for one day. Even in that short time, Florence left a big impression on me. Coming from big and busy cities like Los Angeles and San Diego, I was amazed by Florence’s history and old-world charm. The streets are narrower, the buildings are older, and the city feels like stepping back in time. That trip made me want to return someday, and, now, I’m finally here.
In Florence, I am also completing an internship. I help archive and digitize very old documents from the Medici family, who were important leaders during the Renaissance which was a period when art, science, and ideas flourished in Europe. My work involves helping preserve their writings by turning them into digital files, so people today (and in the future) can still study them. It’s exciting to feel like I am part of keeping history alive.
Being here is especially meaningful because of my love for art history. In my classes back in San Diego, I studied Renaissance paintings and sculptures. However, now that I am in Italy, I can walk into museums, churches, and piazzas (public squares) and see the real works of art with my own eyes. That makes everything I’ve learned feel much more real and powerful.
Outside of school and my internship, one of my passions is music. I love to talk about how music shapes our everyday lives, how it makes us feel, and how it connects people. Music can cross languages and cultures, and I think that makes it very special.
