4.

4. My summer abroad in Italy: A couple weeks before I traveled abroad, I was on a family vacation in Hawaii with my dad and step-mom. The islands were breathtaking and the weather was a welcome relief after a Montreal winter. But, looming over me was the knowledge that within days of the trip's end I would graduate from university and then fly off to Europe on my own. I was terrified. I had several meltdowns, much to the consternation of my dad and stepmom.

But the summer that followed was the time of my life. I discovered that my Italian was far better than I gave myself credit for. I was more resourceful and independent than I knew and I was more capable of being flexible and spontaneous than I had imagined. The tripped proved that I was capable, self-reliant and apparently very attractive based on all the positive attention I got from the locals.

The morning I was to leave for home, I found myself alone in the empty lobby of my hotel. I needed to catch a cab to the airport to make my flight to Boston. It was 5:00 am and no one was around. I couldn't check out, but figured they had my credit card info so I tried to leave. The automatic door would not open. I jumped up and down in front of the sensor. I attempted to pry it open with my finger nails. I tried the phone at the front desk, but there was no one to call. Finally I sat down on a couch in the lobby and took a few deep breaths.

If I missed my flight I would just have to find another way to get home. It would be a pain in the ass, but it wasn't like I wouldn't be able to get back. Three months earlier this situation would have had me in tears, panicking, beside myself. But now, though I wished things were working out more smoothly, I was composed and resolved. I would find a way to make it work. After an hour, another family came down and found an emergency button on the wall around the corner that opened the door. I bolted out of the hotel, stole a cab from a couple waiting at the train station down the street, and caught my flight as it was boarding. But had I panicked or lost my cool, who knows if I would have been composed enough to pull it off.