Upon graduating high school, I found myself confronted with the impending question that has haunted many people in the same situation as me: what now?
I had my university acceptances, but I simply did not feel ready. Ultimately, I decided to take a year off to gain some perspective. I ended up spending one month learning Italian and the following eight living in northern Italy and working in an Italian insurance software company.
From the first moment, I loved the independence of my new life: I had my own apartment, I paid my bills, I did what I wanted when I wanted and that suited me just perfectly. Now, that sounds all fine and dandy, but everything was not always what I had hoped for. Straight off the bat, communication proved extremely challenging. Living in a small city (30,000 people) in Italy, finding any English or German speakers can be quite the challenge. Being a rather loquacious person, to put it kindly, this was the source of much frustration and loneliness. This naturally was not helped by the fact that most people I worked with were a fair amount older than I was and had a completely different perspective on life than I did. Furthermore, I had no idea what it would be like sitting at a desk from 8:30am to 5:30pm staring at a computer screen on a daily basis. I would come home at night exhausted with an excruciating headache.
This all came to a climax around late October, after I had been in Italy for approximately two months. I was tired, sick, cold and alone so I did what any 18 year-old girl would do: I called my mommy. It was what my mother went on to tell me then that taught me the greatest lesson of my life.
She was sympathetic, but pointed out that that’s life. I had signed a contract, made a commitment and had at least another seven months left. She said to me, “Jenny, this is YOUR life, it is up to YOU what you make out of it.”
Not only did this drive home the fact that I was living in the real world and life was not like high school, but it also pushed me to take matters into my own hands. I worked on my Italian and built up a solid proficiency, which simultaneously allowed me to get to know my coworkers better. This made both work and my free time more enjoyable.
Looking back, I could not thank my mother more. Her advice gave me the kick I needed to truly grow up and realize that this was life. I now not only love Italy and the Italian language, but I also made great friends (and connections) and I have a real idea what the working world is like.
To summarize I would like to quote William Earnest Henley’s poem Invictus:
I am the captain of my fate, I am the master of my soul.