Ever since I got to college, my plan was to study abroad in Italy for a semester so my student loans would pay for my travels and I could have the best time of my life that I would be able to look back on forever. Traveling is so expensive so I never thought it would be possible to go back abroad after graduation with all the responsibilities that comes with being an “adult” (y’know, the people who don’t steal household products from their parents house because they’re broke). However, last spring my big study abroad trip to Italy was cut short due to COVID and it destroyed me. I’d been dreaming of this for so long and all of the friends and adventures I was supposed to have were rather violently taken away from me. I thought my dreams of traveling were over. I met some of the best people while I was there and it was so difficult to see everything I’ve dreamed and worked for go away in the blink of an eye. And while that was, and still is, difficult to deal with, it’s also pushed me to make some crazy plans for the future in an attempt to gain back some of the time I lost from the pandemic.
So this is what I call my “get out of the U.S. as fast as possible” plan:
Step 1: Acquire dual citizenship
This first part is important since Americans aren’t really on the top of the list for being considered a good risk to let us travel to other countries right now. I don’t blame Australia for kicking us all out indefinitely so they can go throw raves without masks. But I’d like to preferably start traveling again as soon as possible (most likely after I graduate next year) so my safest bet since we’re clearly not going back to pre-pandemic times in the near future is to be an Italian citizen. Yes, that sounds crazy. But since I’m from Italian descent, all direct bloodlines are eligible to become citizens of Italy (with a few patriarchal exceptions because women aren’t equal, of course). So if I get dual citizenship, not only will that be a fun fact to tell at parties, but it will also be very helpful for the next step in my plan.
Step 2: Get a Job
Since I’ll likely have to graduate before enough borders reopen, my plan includes me getting a job for a study abroad travel company (specifically one in Rome, but anywhere would be nice). Yes, I’ve done my research and no, this is not theoretical. There are places that help college students travel while they’re completing their semester abroad in Europe, and if I got a job with them then I would not only have an excuse to live in Italy, but I’d be getting paid to visit all the places that I was never able to last year.
Step 3: Book a flight
That’s it, that’s the whole next part in my plan. Hopefully I saved up enough money scooping ice cream at Ben & Jerry’s so I don’t go broke, but that part is a problem for later so shh.
Step 4: Never Come Back
Okay, so maybe not never, but it does sound pretty nice to live in a villa in Italy forever, and it’s still an option that I would like to keep open. I’d at least like to stay for a year and if I marry a nice Italian guy, then so be it.
This may be the manic need to leave the United States ASAP, but this plan seems pretty foolproof to me in terms of checking off all of Europe on my bucket list. I always used to think that traveling was something people do in college and then never again until they’re old and retired, but now I’d like to reconsider and hopefully make this more than a passing phase that the coronavirus took a good chunk of from me. And to anyone that reads this amazing plan to travel, I’d highly recommend that you try it out in some capacity (or just travel in general, really) because studying abroad really does *change your life,* and I don’t care how cheesy it sounds.
