Growing up in a family of four children is a lot of work. My older sister plays by the rules, my younger brother makes his own rules, and my youngest sister falls somewhere in the middle of them. I was always different. Kerri, my oldest sister would try so hard for summer reading, I would take her books when she was done and read them somewhere between a few hours and a few days. After seeing my sister and mother read Harry Potter together, I read it myself in first grade. It only took me a few days. I only picked up speed from there, reading anything and everything I could get my hands on. I fall into another place when I’m reading, to the point of not hearing anyone call my name. There was one night in third grade I almost got grounded from reading after not hearing my mom call me to dinner repeatedly.

Reading has always been something special for me. I easily fall into a story as I paint the characters in my mind. Naturally I believe the book is ALWAYS better than the movie, though I must admit Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy did make it difficult to enjoy the book more. For me this trip is about taking something that I love and seeing it come to life. The places we’ll go and the things we’ll see are something I can’t imagine not experiencing. I love to travel as much as I love to read. I’ve been to Italy before and I took in everything my eyes could cover. I had always promised myself that I would study abroad in college, but as I changed majors and schools a few times things had never worked out until I saw the e-mail for this trip. As I approach my last semester of undergrad I’m so excited to see what these next three weeks have in store for us.