No, I don’t mean Bey’s Lemonade, far from it. In fact the song in my mind right now is Camouflage; and the song of the week is After All. This jazz ballad is something else, listening to it serenades me, I’m taken to a place that’s best suited for me. A place where all is love and peace. Here I am free, my spirit roams unbound, and my mind wanders.
Milan, Italy. This is my second week here, I’m over the moon. Its a beautiful city, full of awesome people and breathtaking views. The artwork I am coming across is simply exquisite, the details so fine. This plus the fact that Italy is the home of design is why I chose to study here. As a designer, my eye can’t settle on one thing before another catches my attention; it is all so exciting. I look forward to the next three years, it’s gonna be great. I have promised myself to have a time of my life here.
In the past week, I have created myself beautiful memories already, thanks to the countless travel guides available online. How was life before the internet like? I wonder. The Duomo (cathedral) is Milan’s landmark and one of the world’s largest church. It borrows from Gothic cathedral architecture, it is an intriguing masterpiece. Being so massive, wandering inside it brings one a sense of freedom, a full release from the cares of life. The magnificent stained-glass windows let colored light stream in, in an awe-inspiring way. Here, I realized one thing, to find self, you just look within.
“I was lying to myself when I thought I was lost, I have never been lost – I just wasn’t ready to be found.”
― Nikki Rowe
Winter is coming, I am already shopping for warm clothing, I really don’t want to be caught unprepared. I don’t fancy the idea of freezing, not when I hail from a tropical country. I am starting to get used to phrases like mozzafiato, mamma mia, bellissimo, and bella signora. The cuisine here is a total shift from what I know and I am used to. Pasta is the staple food, but what most of us think is Italian cuisine actually isn’t. For example, spaghetti and meatballs isn’t an Italian dish. There is a lot for me to learn, it the coming days. I am full of expectations which I hope to meet. Above all, my studies are my first priority. As I slay in life, I got to shine in my studies.
This would have been my entry had things happened differently a few months ago; but it isn’t. Am I sad? No, if anything, I am excited that through all this I have become better. Happy that I have accepted my life and all that it has brought my way. I am delighted that I have found satisfaction in the circumstances I am in. I am happy to choose peace instead of constant worry; the only reason I can write about my unrealized opportunities with so much positivism. Life sure has a way of giving you only what you need a moment at a time. I feel that if it is all left to our knowledge, then there will not be much to live for. Between then and now, the right people have come my way. They have all taught me the importance of gratitude; some have shown me why love is a great virtue to possess and share; and I have taught them the art of self love. Have I taught you something just now? I hope I have!
“If you learn to really sit with loneliness and embrace it for the gift that it is…an opportunity to get to know YOU, to learn how strong you really are, to depend on no one but YOU for your happiness…you will realize that a little loneliness goes a LONG way in creating a richer, deeper, more vibrant and colorful YOU.”
― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass
This isn’t an everyday kind of entry because Variety Is The Spice Of Life! I took the lemons life threw my way and made myself a mason jar’s full of lemonade and I am loving every sip I take. I am not looking to have extra-ordinary, I hope to have ordinary in an extra-ordinary way, that way I will live life my way, uniquely. Be careful what you wish for because when you think you’re having it bad, someone is having it worse.
Lots of Love, The Unbounded.
Originally published at theunboundedart.wordpress.com