It really is a wonderful life.

So I just got home for Christmas break about say, four hours ago? It's fantastic and everything, but then I remember how much work I actually have over this break.
I have to figure things out for an apartment next year.
I have to spend time with my family (I mean, obviously...) and friends I haven't seen in months.
I have to catch up on my shows (Thank God for DVR)
Christmas. DUH.
Most of all, there's this thing:

For those of you who don't know, it has been my dream to go to Italy since I was a kid. My grandfather, Frank, traveled over to America in the early 1900s with his brothers and sisters. I was always fascinated by his story, how he spent the first three years of his life in a small town in Calabria and one of his first memories being of the Statue of Liberty. Nobody in my family besides some of his siblings have gone back since.

That, of course, is one of the many reasons why I want to go. I've always loved ancient Roman culture, the humanities and the stories that came out of that era. Most recently, I've wanted to visit the Vatican. 

Recently I found that I had the opportunity to go there for 6 weeks in the summer and study the language. So what if I'm not the best speaker? That's what studying it is for. This blog was meant to capture my life when I did go (if I did...), but I felt like I wanted to capture the moments before it - the times I spent with my friends, the studying, the blood, sweat, and tears... Okay, maybe not that last part. But just the things I am thankful for in my life right now: sitting with my parents going through pictures on my Facebook account of the things I've been doing while watching saved episodes of Top Chef on my DVR and eating pizza from the little family-owned business down the street. Thinking about the people I spent the last few days with and the people I'll be seeing in the next few. Why capture a little bit of my life when I can capture the whole thing?

My favorite Christmas movie is a classic: It's a Wonderful Life. I always have that wonder of what life would be like without me, or without x person or y person. The little things - petals in your pocket, a drafty house filled with the warmth of a big family, and of course pizza and fancy food game shows - are what make life worthwhile... what makes life truly wonderful.