It’s hard to believe that this semester has come to an end. It has as already been 14 weeks and looking back to everything I have done fills me with excitement about how this experience will help me grow in life. One of the main things that I have learned is to appreciate every moment in life, in a city, in my everyday and in the things I see. I have learned how to draw inspiration from everything that I see.

I have learned how to manage and use my money effectively and not spend it on a very pair of blue pants. I have been able to grasp the essential of Italian and start a conversation. I have learned that I forgot the stresses and barrier of learning a new language. I have learned how to slow down from the rush that New York City got me used to be in. I have learned that I should put time aside to cook at least one meal during the day. This is one of the essential things I will take back home from the Italian culture.

During this semester, I have become more curious to see what the world has to offer. I want to do much more traveling; I want to keep exploring new continents and architectural styles and cultures. Now that I have been on my own, I have become more sufficient in the kitchen. I was able to experience what it really feels to be independent. I was able to experience what it was like to ensure that I had enough groceries, or that I knew how to prepare my next meal, or that I made it on time to catch the next train to Roma, or that I knew how to budget my money, or what it was like to live with people other than my brother. All things I liked experiencing because it gave me a taste of what it will be like when I move out on my own. These are all experiences that will help me in the next years of my life within New York City. I don’t know how to feel about going back to life with my father. A great part of me just wants to keep it going.

This semester I have been able to immerse myself in 8 different cultures, each one of them completely different from one another. I have been able to see architecture that ranges from Classical (Parthenon) to Modern (The Shard) in London. Experiencing each one of these architectural style has helped me grow as an architecture student. It has shown me what kind of architecture I want to be designing in my professional career. I have been able to find a style to which I can identify myself. All of those sites such as Pompeii and buildings such as the Pantheon, all building I have study for several semesters, I was able to witness their magnitude and contribution to what architecture is today.

Throughout this entire semester, I have been thinking about where my future experiences will take me from this moment on. After being in Europe for the second time and living in Italy for almost four month, I have decided to move to Europe after I complete my graduate education in New York City. I want to permanently live within a culture completely different from what I know and am used to. I did so when I moved to New York City from the Dominican Republic. I want to be able to relive such life changing experience.

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Nelson is a student at Parsons The New School for Design studying at Florence University of the Arts during the Spring 2014 term.