Staying

I often talk about leaving, saying goodbye and be ready to move to another Country. Not this time. This time I want to talk about staying.

Who chooses to stay knows already his place in the world and has a real personal direction for the future. There's a feeling that the city where you live, and often where you were born, is part of you. You can see yourself in 40 years still living there with the family you've built, the professional achievement you've reached and the hobbies you've cultivated with your friends from high school.

Maybe the idea of going abroad to have a more exotic experience may have crossed your mind, but then your family business or your true love keeps you strongly attached to a place.

There's nothing wrong in it, as soon as you're sure it's the right thing for you.

Sometimes I ADMIRE my family and my Italian friends, the ones I've been knowing for ages. I admire your stability and your balance, you have the privilege of controlling your routine and what surrounds you, you can create longterm relationships and you can physically be there one for the others.

When I started travelling abroad for working experiences, I immediately knew that that my place in the world was still waiting for me to be discovered and that my eyes are too curious to see the same things for too long.

I consider myself very lucky for what I had the chance to do in these recent years. All these different experiences helped me to build my personality and to discover myself deeply, in all my strengths and weaknesses. But I haven't stopped, not even for one moment, to think about who I have at HOME, who brings me to the airport for a last hug, who wants me to send tons and tons of pictures once abroad, who finds the time for a video call to hear the last updates and to see if I'm really happy, who does the countdown every time I am about to come back to my beautiful Italy.

I share with you my life abroad because I am aware that not everybody has the chance to see what I am exploring; because I want you to know that I am really happy when I'm travelling, despite the little inconveniences, typical of every adventure; because only in this way, I can make you travel with me all the time.

Even if you build another routine abroad, it's important never to forget who stays.

Who stays knows you from the beginning, supports you no matter what you decides to do and how many kilometers of distance. My mom's daily message, friends vocal notes of 4min, group video calls with my Victoria's, my grandma's good morning pictures (so grandma's style!), but also weekly or monthly updates from someone who's thinking about you in a precise moment, an unexpected 'I miss you' from one of the Ciospe, a stupid picture from The Jungle, Mimi who calls me Cocci, Ge and Rossy always so curious, Lolli, Sandrita, being about to cry when you can reach Bibille on the phone, Bennina, listening to little Matty learning new words, my younger cousins that grow so fast and so on.

This all reminds you of the importance of who stays.

Not to mention the moment at the airport arrival hall, when after a long flight you can't wait to hug your family and you see your father hiding his tears of joy, your brother pretending he hasn't missed you at all. And believe me, it doesn't just happen in movies.

Travelling changed me, it makes be a better person and it will continue to do it forever.

I owe my FAMILY everything. They gave me the possibility of living the life that I love and they accepted the distance between us, the fact of not having me everyday at home just because they prefer to see me happy and satisfied.

I can't explain the feeling of knowing that your FRIENDS will always be there for you even on the other side of the world, asking to have constant updates, reminding you common adventures and waiting for you to come back to spend time in your presence.

Travelling, for me, is not about escaping from a reality that I don't like or I underestimate. It's being eager to discover how the world is, learning its differences, it's enlarging your horizons and feeling alive, feeling part of it.

Coming back home has now become for me a sort of holiday and this gives me the possibility of enjoying every single simple detail of it, because I can see it from the outside. Travelling makes you aware that the place where you grow up, your family and relatives, your true friends, they will all have a special place in your HEART, forever.

I can only thank you and be grateful for being surrounded by amazing people.

I miss you.

See you very soon.