By Stacey Valentin (UC Los Angeles)

Editor’s Note: Did you know you can study abroad before your very first quarter or semester on a UC campus? Stacey participated in a special UCEAP pre-freshman Global Start program in Italy, during the fall before starting her freshman year at UCLA. Here is her story on taking the leap early and carrying the adventurer mindset back home.

The Runway Departure

When my plane was taking off the runway at Rome’s international airport heading back home to California, I cried as though the world was ending. I am sure the poor people next to me thought I was insane, but the end of this chapter felt like a part of my new identity was ending, too.

Though only a few pages in my broader story, the freedom of travel and the joy of connecting with people abroad altered the plot of my future. I was crying because I loved who I became during my three-month stay in Sicily, and I was afraid of how different my days would be when I returned home.

Let me paint you a picture of my time on Italy’s best island (in my opinion) before starting as a freshman at UCLA.

Daily Life in Italy’s Best Island

On school days, I would wake up around 8 a.m. to enjoy a sweet breakfast of croissants and coffee with my new friends. We would laugh together about the latest happenings in Ortigia, the historical center where I lived.

I would get dressed, throwing on a mix of clothes from home and pieces I picked up from Italian thrift stores. I was usually running late (which I do not condone!), but the general atmosphere there is very forgiving. The Sicilian mindset is that life happens, and better late than never. The sun usually shone on my walk along the Mediterranean Sea to class, where you could see fish gnawing algae off the rocks.

Turning toward the study center, I wheezed up cobblestone streets that people have traversed for centuries. As a history major, knowing that I was one small part of Sicily’s millennia-long story was incredible. Class was held in a building owned by a real baron, and my teachers were patient and fun.

After a few hours, my free time usually involved trying a new gelato place or walking through the historic center. I would take a few extra minutes to chat with the owner of the arancini place (my favorite Sicilian snack) or grab a tea and study with my classmates. I often caught the view as the afternoon sun turned the sea into gold. I will endlessly defend the idea that some of the world’s most beautiful sunsets are in Sicily.

Weekend Wandering Across Europe

Once class wrapped on Thursday, my long weekend started. I would return to my residence to grab my bags before catching the bus to the airport. Friday morning might be spent in Rome, and the next Saturday in Athens. I will never forget a Sunday in Paris where I was the very last person allowed into Notre-Dame for the day!

Monday usually involved an early morning flight back. One week, I returned from Naples on Tuesday and flew off to France on Thursday.

On these mini-trips, I met an Athenian gentleman who showed me the 20th-century Olympic stadium, a sweetshop owner in Taormina who always threw in an extra treat, and a taxi driver in Bologna with a fantastic playlist going at 4 am. Getting to know endless new people was such a delight.

The Unfiltered Reality

Of course, this lifestyle is impossible to maintain forever, and by the end of my stay, I was on my last limb.

I ended up getting sick in the Paris rain, almost lost my phone on the bus coming back from the airport, and accidentally canceled my own debit card when I falsely believed someone tried committing fraud (the flagged charge was actually mine).

For a few restful days after returning home, I was grateful to be tended to by my parents and relieved of the exhausting job of managing my own affairs.

Bringing the Adventurer Mindset to UCLA

Yet soon following my reentry, I realized that staying in one place surrounded by the same routines would never be enough. Three weeks after landing at San Diego International Airport, I moved into UCLA for my very first college quarter.

I could not be prouder to be a Bruin, and I adore everything about my life here. But it became quickly apparent that as lovely as my new home was, I did not want to grow complacent or stay stuck on campus.

My body was in my beautiful home state, but my mind was back in Italy every minute. I wanted to hold onto the version of myself my peers knew abroad: the explorer, the translator, the voyager, the globetrotter. Out of my cohort, I was out traveling the most often—probably to the delight of my roommates!

Feeling the Roman pavement disappear below the plane’s wheels felt like the bell tolling on the best three months of my life. I wondered if I could remain an adventurer since I finally realized what that label actually meant.

Finding Adventure in My Own Backyard

Keeping a habit requires energy and effort toward something you are passionate about. When my tears dried, I resolved to keep taking myself to new places and forming new connections.

Having grown up in San Diego, Los Angeles was almost completely foreign territory to me. My student transit pass gave me access to the city’s public transportation, so I set a goal to visit one new place every week.

On my first weekend, I checked out the nearby Getty Center. It was bittersweet seeing Renaissance art without Italian captions above the English ones.

The second weekend, my dad came to visit—something he could not easily do when I was in Italy. Times got lonely in Europe, and being close to family again reminded me how valuable that proximity is. We visited the Griffith Observatory, a dream of mine ever since watching La La Land.

The third weekend brought another art museum. The feeling of wandering somewhere new is irreplaceable, and it does not require an expensive plane ticket.

Forever an Adventurer

Living abroad was so impactful that I immediately signed up for the next opportunity I could find. I will be spending a month studying in Paris, and I plan to return to Italy later in the year on my own to continue exploring.

If my fall quarter in Sicily taught me anything, it launched a lifelong personal goal: doing everything in my power to stay eternally the adventurer.

Learn more about stepping outside your comfort zone and embracing the unexpected abroad:

• Valerie Elizabeth Cruz (UC Irvine) turned initial uncertainty into a lifelong path by making Dublin feel like home as a first-generation student.
• Monique Evdokiou (UC Berkeley) shares five actionable steps to break out of routine traps and adopt an adventurous mindset in Rome.
• Rebecca Mendoza (UC Berkeley) discovered new passions and local community in Barcelona simply by saying yes to spontaneous opportunities.