Nell Warnock

My name is Nell and I love Italian culture. This all began when I decided to move to Italy for my junior year of high school. When people asked me why I decided to do this, live in a miniature Italian town, where I didn't know the school, people, or even the language, I honestly didn't know what to say. “I want something new, something exciting,” I would tell them. It was hard to describe to others the simple fact that I felt that my life in Charlotte was incredibly average. School, homework, eat, sleep. School, homework, eat, sleep. Although the idea of leaving home and studying abroad was intriguing, I was nevertheless a girl who was terrified to be pushed out of my comfort zone. I struggled with feeling confident about my six-foot-one height and looks, and I was so shy I could barely tell a waiter at a restaurant what I wanted to order. However, something deep within me pushed me to apply to the school. A part of me didn’t expect to be accepted, but it was an accomplishment just to say that I gave it a try. However, a few weeks later I was accepted to the program and found myself preparing for my year abroad. This year in Italy was my way of stepping out of my comfortable, well known box and into the world of the unknown.

From getting completely lost in the streets of Milan without Google Maps to guide me, to accidentally agreeing to try raw octopus, to attending Italian high school for a week by myself, I had overcome the challenges I never would have thought about facing in my hometown. My year in Italy taught me so many things, and I would not be the same person without it.