"Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get"

This is one of my favorite quotes. It is taken from the movie Forest Gump, staring Tom Hanks. I find this saying extremely applicable to everyday life situations.

For me, chocolate boxes are definitely luck of the draw. I was known back in my younger days to eat one bite of a chocolate and then put it back in the box, as if someone else would actually want to eat it later. My parents always told me not to do it, but I continually "taste tested" all the chocolates in the box until all that was left were mere remants of the pieces I did not want.

Unfortunately, life does not work this way. One cannot simply take a bite of a situation, decide they do not like it, and simply and put it back in the box to forget about their current dilemma. Instead, one must commit to the action and follow through with the consequences; in more simpler terms, one must eat the disgusting chocolate piece (such as cherry... yuck!) and (hopefully)learn from the experience.

I can definitely relate this quote to my everyday trials and tribulations being abroad. Overall, the experiences or "chocolates" have been delicious and enjoyable, however a few bad experiences have temporarily let me down. I have learned not to dwell on the small things being abroad; I tend to get very hung up on the "small stuff" but than I miss out on other great experiences because I was too focused on the negatives around me. I also have been forced to relie on myself for my complete happiness. My year in a foreign country is truly a once and a lifetime experience for me, and I must treasure every moment that I have before its gone. I often wear my emotions on my sleeve because I am a very sensitive person; being completely indepedent in a culture so unlike my own has put me in a vulnerable situation that has made me a more flexible, adaptable, and open person. I am extremely greatful for that.

One thing that I found to be ironic is the plane flight that all my friends were scheduled to go on to Amsterdam got canceled this morning due to weather problems (perhaps snow?). Now, Lillian and I are most likely responsible to find another place to stay tonight, as my friend Jen is going to cancel the group hostel package (unless she can still manage to reserve two spots in the room). Also, we had to change our flight because Lillian and I were idiots in scheduling our flight to Amsterdam out of Milan, instead of Pisa. We found out that we would be traveling from two in the afternoon today until 9 or so in the morning on Friday due to layovers in trains, etc. Like the saying goes, life really is like a box of chocolates with no predictability. Often times you can asses the outside of the chocolate and be confident it is the flavor you want, and although many times you are correct, once and awhile you get an unfavorable taste that you want to spit out. This is what makes life interesting though; unpredictability. Often times things work out better in the end after struggles occur. The fact that the future is unforseeable is frightening yet exciting at the same time. If we always knew what lies in our future, where is the fun in living?

I will leave it at that. Those are my thoughts for the day... I will post later this weekend or when I get back on Monday.

Ciao Ragazzi!