Ciao America!

Hi Everyone! I’m currently waiting for my flight to Italy to take off. Chances are if you’re reading this you already know me but I’m going to do a quick recap anyways. My name is Krista and I’m 25 years old. I’m from Kansas (hence the blog name). Thus far I’ve called the towns of Olathe, Lecompton, Overbrook, Arkansas City, Kansas City, Overland Park, and Lawrence home. I kind of love Kansas a lot, and while I’ve traveled to many places, living in Italy will be my first time living out of state.

So What’s in Italy? Why Italy? Why Now? I know these are questions you’re dying to know the answer to (or maybe not).

What’s in Italy? KU law offers an amazing opportunity to third year students. KU has exchange-type programs with several universities. One is at the University of Trento in Trento, Italy. As second year students we can apply to the University of Trento and study law for an entire semester during our last year of law school. The focus of the program is international and comparative law.

Why Italy? I won’t get too much into this since I already addressed why when I made my initial announcement but basically, I’m Italian. My maternal grandfather is an Italian immigrant and I grew up surrounded by the culture. Of all the places I could visit, Italy was at the top, and I did visit Italy in 2015 with my family. While there I met my Italian family. When I found out about the program I thought to myself…this is perfect, it was meant to be… and apparently it was. Now I’ll be able to go live in Italy for an entire semester and reconnect with those family members. It doesn’t get much better than that.

Why Now? This is a longer story (BUT A GOOD ONE, so bear with me), and it may have started prior to this BUT I can pinpoint it to almost exactly one year ago. Last year, a friend asked for my help promoting a newly formed dance team. I said yes. Shortly after helping with this promotion my then boyfriend and I broke up…if we hadn’t of broken up I probably would not be writing this blog post. That break up set in motion the most AMAZING chain of events.

When my relationship ended I decided that no boyfriend meant more time for dance. I reached back out to the team and auditioned for a spot. I made the team and met a coach that was instrumental in getting me to this point.

About a month after I started dancing again a close family member was diagnosed with a glioblastoma (brain tumor). The news hit me like a sack of bricks. When I received the news, I was interning in the KU Medical-Legal Partnership. On my very last day as an intern I was asked to speak with a potential client about her current situation and legal needs. The client was close to my age and had also been diagnosed with a terminal illness. I was tasked with gathering information regarding her last will and testament. When I looked into this client’s face, and spoke to her family members, I saw my own family member who is still fighting cancer. In that moment, the recognition of my own mortality truly surfaced. When I think about those two moments my stomach still drops. Life is fleeting, and death, death is unforgiving. It creeps up on all of us slowly whether we see it coming or we’re gone in a blinding flash of light.

That day I decided I would no longer be a spectator to my own dreams. I thought about my dreams, dreams I’d had for a while but never truly pursued and I leapt. With the encouragement of my coach and others I auditioned for the Chiefs Cheerleaders. This was one of the scariest, most surreal experiences I have ever undertaken. During the audition, the Director told us all that if this wasn’t our year it was because there was something else we were meant to do or experience. I didn’t make the 2017-2018 team and I was absolutely crushed. I allowed myself to be sad, but only briefly, because I realized what the audition process had given me. The process gave me confidence in myself.

Less than a week later I opened my school announcements and saw an announcement about the Italy study abroad program. I thought to myself maybe this is it…this is the something else. I reached out the program coordinator and here I am…. about to leave for the semester.

Timing truly is everything people, but more than that is the ability to say yes, to take those leaps into the unknown, to realize that our time is very short on this earth and the worst thing we can do is waste it when so many others are literally dying for another minute, or day, or week.

I encourage you to leap with me, in your own way, as well as follow me as I embark on my semester abroad in Italy to study law.

(my other posts WILL be shorter)

Carpe Diem.