I guess that I'm specially lucky because I have several best friends, all spread out in the world. I feel that I can trust each one of them blindly, so that's why I chose lyrics from "Never let me go."
I'm bored, so I decided that it's time for another challenge! This one is called the "18 Day Music Lyrics Challenge." For those who are curious, or want to join along, the rules are simple, you can only answer the following questions with lyrics from one band. I pick: Florence and the Machine.
1. Describe how you feel today.
2. Describe your best friend.
3. How many times have you been rejected?
4. Tell us the “story of your life”.
5. How do you act when you are around somebody you like?
6. What did you do today?
7. What has been the craziest thing you have ever done?
8. Describe your favorite concert.
9. Describe how you react when you hear your favorite song on the radio.
10. How many siblings do you have.
11. Complete: I am addicted to _____________
12. Complete: My favorite singer makes me ______________
13. How many people have you kissed in your life?
14. How do you feel about drugs?
15. Complete: I constantly _______
16. Complete: I am _________
17. When people wake you up in the middle of the night you? (what do you do) ________
18. Describe your favorite movie.
26 songs for my 26 years... If I had to pick the soundtrack of my life up to this point, this is what it would look like. Sure, it's mostly pop songs, but hey - any romantic comedy has mostly pop songs in its soundtrack, no? (And yes, I think my life would make a great romantic comedy! lol) Most of these songs remind me of specific people (who are or were important to me), some remind me of places (where I've lived or have traveled to), and a few remind me of particular time periods. Let's see how well you know me, eh? Can you guess who/where/when? hehehe
I have been fortunate enough to have had the possibility to
meet people from all walks of life. My dreams and ambitions have taken me to
very different parts of the world, where I have been blessed to meet wonderful
individuals who, for whatever reason, have opened their homes and hearts to me.
All of these people have been completely unique, and yet at the end of the day,
they all have something in common. Something that they share with me, you, and
everyone else on this planet. As different as all of our lives may be, we’re
all just seeking to find company, to be heard, to be loved, to be understood.
This isn’t meant to be taken as some form as an excuse for
who I am, or how I treat others, but circumstances in my life had led me to be
very wary of others. In general, I’ve learned to be fearful of males (not
really being myself around them) because I fear rejection, and I’m also careful
with other females because I’ve experienced firsthand how competitive and cruel
we can be. Also, as hard as it is to admit this, I tend to think that people
approach me because they have a hidden agenda, because they want something from
me. I know this is something I have to work on, and trust me; I have been
trying to let all these thoughts go. Eventually…
Trips are meant to open our eyes, to help us experience
things that we wouldn’t normally experience if we stayed in our corners of the
world. And as my Italian adventure is drawing to a close, I have to say that I’ve
learned a lot about human interactions. There are selfish and evil people out
there. That’s just the way it is. There are people who will pretend to be your
friends, who will try to become intimate with you, but at the first moment of
difficulty, will leave you stranded and feeling even more alone than before. Sometimes,
it just happens that the people who you think are the closest to you (and who you
believe have your best interest at heart) are the ones who treat you in ways
that you don’t deserve to be treated. There are also times when life will lead you in
opposite directions from the people you love. And as hard as it is to say
goodbye, sometimes you just have to accept it and believe that it’s for the best. However, there are also other people who
will be kind to you for no reason at all. There are people who you may be
afraid of trusting, afraid of letting into your life, but that at the end of
the day, will become individuals who you want in your life forever. More than
anything else, I’ve learned to accept that life works in mysterious ways. We can never really tell how a certain person's absence or presence in our lives will affect us. I’ve
once heard that people come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a
lifetime, and now more than I ever; I feel that this is true.
I've been in Italy for almost 2 months and this is my first post... How disappointing, eh? It's not that I don't have anything to say, it's simply that 1) I'm always busy; 2) I feel that anything that I'd write about Italy and its lovely people would never do them any justice.
I was lucky that I had friends here prior to my arrival, so I knew that I wouldn't be completely on my own. That said, never in a million years would I ever have imagined that they would be as hospitable and generous as they've actually been. Grazie. I'm sure that once I'm back on my side of the world, I'll write in-depth descriptions of the lovely characters that I met here, but for now I'll just them simmer in your imagination.
I actually don't even have much time now. I have to get my day started: take a shower, get dressed, meet my friends for lunch, go to MediaWorld (the Italian equivalent of Best Buy) to purchase a new battery for my BlackBerry, meet up with another friend for gelato, and possibly go out tonight before heading to Venice tomorrow at 8am!
That said, I just wanted to write a brief post about my favorite Italian word so far: "incantevole," meaning charming/enchanting. Italy and its beautiful people are very "incantevole." Also, Incantevole is the name of a song that I've been listening to nonstop for the past week (which, given my highly musical nature, I will share with all of you.)
In any case, I hope you're all doing well. I'm almost certain that I won't find the time to write in the next month or so (I have to plan my trips to Florence, Rome, Genoa, etc) so bear with me. Much to my dismay, I'll be back in my corner of the world soon...
Se leggera ti farai
io sarò vento
per darti il mio sostegno
senza fingere
se distanza ti farai
io sarò asfalto
impronta sui tuoi passi
senza stringere mai.
Se battaglia ti farai
io starò al fianco
per darti il mio sorriso
senza fingere
se dolore ti farai
io starò attento
a ricucire i tagli
senza stringere mai.
Fuori è un giorno fragile
Ma tutto qui cade incantevole come quando resti con me
Fuori è un mondo fragile
Ma tutto qui cade incantevole come quando resti con me
Se innocenza ti farai
io sarò fango
che tenta la tua pelle
senza bruciare.
Se destino ti farai
io sarò pronto
per tutto ciò che è stato
a non rimpiangere mai.
Fuori è un giorno fragile
Ma tutto qui cade incantevole come quando resti con me
Fuori è un mondo fragile
Ma tutto qui cade incantevole come quando resti con me
Fuori è un giorno… fragile
Fuori è un mondo… fragile.
Fuori è un giorno… fragile
Fuori è un mondo… fragile.
Fuori è un giorno fragile
Ma tutto qui cade incantevole come quando resti con me
Fuori è un mondo fragile
Ma tutto qui cade incantevole come quando resti con me
Fuori è un giorno fragile
Ma tutto qui cade incatevole come quando resti con me
Before I even begin, let me just say that these are by no means an expression of my own thoughts or sentiments. I just felt that given the circumstances, it would be amusing to write a post of some of the typical Italian stereotypes that I'm sure we're all used to hearing. So, let this be an official disclaimer that this is meant to be a funny post, not to be taken seriously, and certainly not aimed at offending anyone. That said, let me proceed:
1.Italians take their food very seriously.
I’m not even in Italy yet, but I’m willing to bet that this stereotype is very true. I’m pretty sure that not every Italian meal will consist of spaghetti and meatballs as we’ve been led to believe in movies and TV shows, but let’s face it, Italians do have some of the best food on Earth. Wouldn’t you take it seriously if you were them?
2.Italian men are the world’s biggest players.
C’mon, I know I’m not alone in this! We’ve all heard the stories of how Italian men are the greatest womanizers in the whole wide world. Is it true? Who knows? Maybe I should give myself the challenge of finding out just how passionate Italians really are, you know, for the sake of diplomacy and International Relations (hehe.) Either way, I’m sure that Italy has its fair share of ‘Casanovas,’ but then again every country does too, no? I just find it hilarious that every single person that finds out about my upcoming trip to Italy feels that it is his/her moral imperative to warn me about Italian men. Even my older brother told me, “My poor sister, you are heading into the lion’s den.” I feel that this is one of those: “Proceed with caution” type of situations, lol.
3.All Italians have connections to the mafia.
This one is probably just as absurd as saying that all Arabs are terrorists. So, I have no intention of getting too deep into it. That said, it is a very prevalent stereotype and I felt that it should be mentioned.
4.Italians are very fashionable.
Considering that I spent a substantial amount of time living in the United States where I constantly saw women heading to the supermarket in their pajamas (the horror!), I’m certain that Italians will be much more fashionable than your average Jane or Joe. Also, let’s keep in mind that I am heading to Milan, one of the world’s fashion meccas. So yes, I’m actually prepared to see some Italian fashionistas. That said, am I expecting everyone to be runway ready? No, of course not.
5.Italians are loud.
Do Italians go around screaming “Mamma mia” and “Vaffanculo” all the time just as they’re portrayed in the movies? Probably not. However, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be loud. I’ve yet to see just how loud and expressive Italians can get, but again, I lived in Miami for a good portion of my life and am used to hearing Cubans scream “Oye” and “Coño chico!” every two seconds. So, I’m sure that I can handle it.
