Whenever I tell someone that I go to Arizona State University, their eyes widen and a gigantic grin overcomes their features. “ASU? The biggest party school in the States?” Before I can even reply, they immediately assume my luck. I feel bad when I tell them that I don’t go to ASU parties. Or that I don’t care about frat parties. Like a lot of students, I applied to ASU because of its proximity to home and its excellent journalism program. I didn’t see the point in staying in a dorm if my parents lived only 15 minutes away. Anyway, my parents are Serbian – convincing them to let me stay in a dorm would’ve been a losing game for me.
ASU didn’t fit as one of my first choices for college. Everyone I knew went or go to ASU, and I did not want to feel like one of them. I didn’t want to run into anyone from high school or elementary school on campus. I wanted to meet new people and see new places and learn what it feels like to live in an unfamiliar environment. Most of all, I didn’t want to stay in Arizona. ASU is a great school (#1 in innovation!) and their Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is fantastic. I got into their journalism program (even though I switched majors after a year), but only one tiny, miniscule issue pulled me back.
My heart was set on Italy.
Mamma Mia!
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I applied to the English Writing, Literature and Publishing program at the American University of Rome – AUR. They offered everything I wanted, plus my family in Serbia lived an hour-long plane ride away if I needed anything (or wanted to visit the motherland). I wanted to be a travel writer (I still do) and what better place to do that than in Italy? After applying to two universities in Rome, one in Prague, and ASU, I quickly got my responses: acceptance to all four. Most people would find themselves in a dilemma, but I made up my mind: AUR had the exact program I longed for, and I could explore a wide range of professions and classes that ASU didn’t offer. They offered class trips to places like Tuscany, Capri, and Naples. I could see myself there in a heartbeat. I felt beyond ecstatic; I mean, Italy! The land of pizza, Roman architecture and cute boys.
The other shoe drops
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Covid. The pandemic hit Italy very hard. Borders shut down. The VISA process, and my life, turned out pretty messy. I decided to attend ASU instead, leaving me distraught. It seemed as if all my plans – my life plans – had turned over and disappeared far away into the ocean forever. I only had one option and one I did not like: ASU. I didn’t want to go at all. My parents told me to take classes at ASU for at least a year and then transfer if possible. I spent the first semester telling myself that I’d be in Rome before I knew it. I took Italian to prepare. I even contacted the school in Prague to see if I could transfer there.
Then, something miraculous happened
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I actually started to like ASU. All of my closest friends go to ASU. We attended the same campus and we hung out all the time. I liked my professors and classes at the Cronkite School, even though my interest in journalism slowly dissipated. I made the decision to switch my major to English, with a concentration in creative writing. If I didn’t attend AUR, I might as well study what I planned to study over there. Now, I’m right where I want to be. Who knows – it only takes a plane to get to Rome.