The Ticket That Changed My Life

Have you ever received a gift that changed your life? I have. Even though the gift wasn't given to me for a special occasion like my birthday or Christmas, it is a gift that I believe has affected the course of my life. The gift was an airplane ticket. Maybe we all know how much traveling to new places and experiencing new things can bring change to our lives, but this particular trip is the one that I will always remember because it changed me in so many other ways as well.


During the winter of my sophomore year in university, my mother saw a poster announcing a summer study abroad program for Art History students in Rome, Italy. At the time, Art History was my major, and I had already seen the poster myself, but hadn't put much thought into the idea because I didn't think I could afford the trip. My mother was much more encouraging; she was the one who recommended that I go, went with me to the orientation meetings, and eventually, paid for my plane ticket.


My mother's persuasion was a big factor in my decision to go abroad, but it's also important to note that this trip to Rome happened during a very important period of my life. During that time I was preparing to transfer to the University of Oregon, where I planned to finish my degree, but I was also uncertain about which major I would declare at the new school and which career path I really wanted to pursue. My summer in Italy helped me to answer so many of the questions I had been contemplating for months.


As a foreign student in Rome, part of my studies in Ancient Art and Architecture included trips to ruins of old buildings and visits to museums to look at broken bits of sculpture, but this was when I began to study the Italian language as well. The joy that I experienced in these language studies led me on a completely different path after I returned to the States. Instead of continuing my Art History courses, I focused on foreign language and linguistic studies instead. This was an area of study that I hadn't considered before, but it allowed me to integrate so many of the things that I enjoy; by studying Italian, I could still study art and history at the same time because these things are a part of the language and culture. I even returned to my study of the Spanish language, which I had begun as a high school student.


So, while it may seem strange that an English teacher who lives in Tokyo would be able to speak Spanish and Italian (but only a little Japanese...), if I hadn't taken that path I might not be where I am today. I bet my mother never thought that this would be the result of her gift! Really, my mother gave me so much more than an airplane ticket.

▼▽▼▼【講師】Melanie先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━

・【The Importance of Gratitude】2009.12.04 (Fri)