As I stood atop the cold stone mountain, hugged by its wind, I saw a small village of homes, that speckled its valley like wildflowers. In that moment, I thought to myself; there is nothing more beautiful.
This is a memory I have when I was nine-years-old, experiencing Italy for the first time on our family vacation. I’ve been dreaming to go back since the day I left.
Well, guess what? Now I am here! I have finally arrived in Florence just a day ago. My father and I first flew into Rome, where we spent a couple of nights, and yesterday we took the train up to Florence.
This Wednesday I will be starting my classes at Florence University of Arts, where I will be taking three studio art classes (photography, painting, and drawing) and an Italian language course. I have never been more excited to start school!
To give you a little background information about myself, I grew up in a two-story yellow brick house, on the west side of Dearborn, MI. Now as a third year Central Michigan University student, I have gotten used to, and enjoy the small town feel of Mt. Pleasant, MI, but have been yearning for an adventure abroad. I’m majoring in special education with a cognitive impairment endorsement and I plan to minor in both reading and art. In my studies as a special education major, I have learned that the arts drastically enhance the lives of people with special needs, thus my desire to minor in art. My ultimate goal is to use art as a tool to help student's learning by incorporating it into their daily lesson plans. However, I am not studying to be an art teacher. There is a difference in teaching art and using art to teach.
All in all, there couldn’t be a more perfect place to study art but in the heart of the Renaissance, Florence Italy.
