one.

We have been here for exactly one week. Seven days. I realize new after typing all of that, it makes it sound like a survival post. "Day 5... Somehow I've survived...."  But a small part of me, actually feels that way. Remember last post how we got lost the second day?? Yep so that happened... again.... and again..... and again.... and again. Four times. EVERY DAY! We didn't get lost Sunday on our way to church so like that was swell! (that's a sign isn't it.... #thechurchistrue) Anyway, even though we got lost everyday, that didn't stop us from having an amazing time!

The Colosseum.... It's stunning. Beyond words. 

On one of our Rome adventures Sarah, Crystal, Chan and I were trying to get o Eatly. It's like IKEA but for food. It is kind of far away, but people kept telling us we had to go there cause it is amazing. So we decided to spend our Friday night and go to this hopping place and eat delicious Italian food. It took us an hour to get there.... mostly because we got lost and wandered the city forever... FOR-EH-VER..... FOR-EH-VER. But enough of that. After walking around trying to get Google Maps to cooperate with us and give us simple instructions we ended up ditching that idea and decided to ask a local.... Only problem with that is none of us speak fluent Italian... so next goal--find someone who speaks English. But who can you tell if they speak English? You can awkwardly stand near them and see if they start speaking English, but then you look like 4 nosey teens trying to eaves drop on their conversation. UGH! Finally luck was on our side, we found a very kind lady and she gave us simple instructions to Eatly and off we were! Now.... once inside the restaurant was another struggle... I mean none of us are fluent, we tried to pick it up on the 10 minute train ride over, but sadly we couldn't retain everything. Shocking isn't it?! But imagine, an IKEA... but for food. Mind boggling, right?!  Every floor was something different. Fish, Meat, Cheese & Bread, Gelato, and Pasta! Everything. But we found the pasta and pizza restaurant and it was perfect! (I really regret not taking a picture, but next time I go... Just wait.) We made fools of ourselves as we ordered the food just like classic tourists trying to say the Italian words and gesture to our menus. The waitress thought we were idiots... No doubt we felt like idiots too. So we can agree with her on that. We ordered our gelato after paying for our dinner and we off like a dirty shirt. Now getting home.... If you can't tell by now... Technology wasn't on our side. But we finally got it to work for about 10 minutes. We found our bus stop and waited for what seems like forever. What do three American girls do to make time pass while waiting for a bus that seemed like it was never going to show... sing Broadway showtunes! Duh. No brainer! We sang Wicked and Legally Blonde, and we wouldn't have it any other way! It was quite the entertaining evening.

This week was filled with the whole shabang. Stress, saddness, beauty, and love. I continue to fall more and more in love with the city. I miss my family and friends but having the ability to talk to them whenever I have wifi is the best, I don't know what I would do without them! Shout out to my faves, you know who you are! #blessed. On Monday, Chan and I were also able to go see the one and only... ED SHEERAN. He is one of the best performers I have ever seen live. Like.... perfection. Also his opener was Ryan Keen! If you have a chance go look him up! Amazing too. Ed knows how to pick 'em.

After the concert Chan and I assumed there would be taxis waiting outside the arena like in the States... Nope! There are none! So with no phones, no wifi (our hotspot wasn't working... shocking isn't it?!) and no clue how to get home. Panic began to settle in... How on earth are we supposed to get home!? We wandered around and in some broken Italian that I remember from last semester I asked about taxis-- everyone's answer was to call them! Well poo, we don't have a phone, but thanks though. But wonder of wonder and miracle of miracles, there was a bus that was taking us to Piazza Venezia. We did it. We made it home to our warm beds and all was well. All in all this week was good, challenging but good! School has started and is going to be... different! Here's to getting back into routines and for making it one week abroad. Yay!   

Dang it feels good to be a gansta

Chillin out, maxin, ralaxin all cool

Until next time,

-O

TELL MA I MADE IT.

"OY WHAT A DAY I HAD TODAY!"- Fanny Brice, Funny Girl

Hello from beautiful Rome!

I am here safe and sound, and living the Lizzie McGuire dream. Hopefully I find my Paolo and become an international pop star! Probs not. Just the average American girl living the long time dream of hers to live in Rome. But getting here was serious stuff guys, I'm talking paperwork up to your eyeballs and lots and lots of emails but so incredibly worth it. I've been here for two days and already I'm in love with the city. I am sad to be away from my beloved family and very treasured friends, but I came to grow and learn more about the history of Italy and eat more than my fair share of gelato and pizza. So here's to the good eats of Italy! Huzzah!

Day uno:

We can fly, we can fly, we flew! Holy canoli kids. Waking up at 5:00 am is not an easy task, I don't know how people can be fully awake at such a silly time. I frankly don't like it! I couldn't even function, let alone think, so the airport was a bit of a struggle. But I managed to force a smile and get pumped cause I was about to be in Rome in a short 15 hours. Nah the flying wasn't that bad though! After 2 movies, 3 hours of How to Get Away With Murder, 2 hours of The Big Bang Theory, 2 hour layover in Atlanta (peach smoothie, cause #georgiapeach ✔️) and 2 hours of unsuccessful attempts at sleeping, we made it. But like flying into Rome was perfect! We could see the ocean and all the little houses and it made me giddy, like the city was awaiting my arrival and I couldn't wait to see what it had in store. I'm so lucky to be on this study abroad with Chan. She is such an example of positivity and light that I find myself lacking sometimes. After a very fast paced and traffic jammed ride from the airport to our lovely apartment Chan and I were ready to die. I mean jet lag definitely got the best of us. Different times during the day we were either slap happy and laughing at the literally everything or we were just so quiet and desperate for a nap. BUT to my demise people advised me not to take a nap on the first day and all would be well... uh nooooo! I saw nay! I need my sleep. We did everything to take our minds off of napping. We showered cause like nasty plane feeling, walked around our little neighborhood, talked with the new roomies, unpacked, everything. We couldn't do it, my body started to lose it and I was started to get all shakes and weird!! But it's okay cause I napped anyway and I felt just fine! So HA to those who told me other wise. ISA, the company in charge, took us to the most amazing dinner! It was beautiful and so delicious!! Pasta, veal with prosciutto, roasted potatoes, and tiramisu! Bliss.

We came home and crashed cause we haven't slept in 42 hours since waking up from the airport the day before... All in all I know this is going to be the most amazing trip in all my years.It was all so perfect. Not to mention all the wonderful sights we saw whilst riding the tram to dinner.

Day due:

Lost. I'm telling you straight up lost, in a foreign country barely speaking the language... Scary as going a month with no Netflix. Terrifying right?? But you wanna know a secret, that's where I feel like I found some cool treasures!

Rome in the rain= perfection

We had orientation this morning and we found the directions and had the perfect amount of time to get there on time with no stress. Nope not at all! Hahaha. We accidentally took the tram instead of the bus. So we took a crazy long way to get there but I feel like I learned more about myself than I wold have by sitting in an orientation. Although the orientation would have helped greatly! But the Program directors are so kind and they helped us along. The first night they told us they wanted us to get lost because that makes us learn faster and that makes sense! They were smart for that! Anyway after all the boring things like getting school ids and making sure we had the correct documents, we went to got lunch.

Suppli. Deep Fried. Rice, Tomato Mozzarella. PERFECTION!

Suppli=delicious!!!! Totally recommended! You gotta try it. Then we had a walking tour of Rome We saw all types of historical monuments, from the Pantheon to the Trevi Fountain.

Roomies- Me, Megan, Chan, Crystal, and Sarah (missing MJ)

The Pantheon

GELATO

I was robbed my Lizzie McGuire moment because it is under construction! But we got gelato and continued to walk aimlessly around until we found a bus and continued home. Yes the number of selfies is.... well a lot. But I can't help it! Plus I mean #selfie. I thoroughly enjoyed my past two days and I cannot wait to see what the next two months have in store for me. I'm so thankful for this opportunity and I hope you who want to follow along with me in la bella Rome!

Dear Rome,

I love you. 

Until next time,

-O

late night queries.

I sit here listening to a mix Ed Sheeran and Coldplay serenade me as I think about either sleeping, doing homework, or watching more Gilmore Girls (which seems to be the winning contender). I decided to take a break and do a round of blog reading. As I was going about this I began to think about why I blog. If you started from the beginning of this lovely blog, and I hope you did, you'll know that I started this blog for a writing final. The professor just wanted us to have a few entries from time to time up until he graded them and then we could be done basically. But I had wanted to start a blog for some while and I just figured "Hey! When life gives you lemons. Right?" But why blog, liv? I mean I could have easily been done with this a long time ago, so why keep going. I'm not very good at blogging consistently but I'm trying I swear. Here are a few reasons as to why I began this blog....

1. A tiny (very very small) part of me always wanted to become a writer.

2. I'm going on a study abroad so I might as well keep this going, right?

3. I suck at writing things down but I'm always on my computer so I can easily access it anywhere.

and finally

4. I just want to share my thoughts. 

I feel that  number 4, and 2 of course, are my most important reasons. My purpose of this blog wasn't to become famous, it isn't so people can gush over my life because it is far from "gushable" material, it wasn't so I could be trendy and join the crowd. It was for me. I haven't told many people about this blog and if I have I bet they have forgotten about it. But I have a feeling someone out there reads it and even if no one is reading it... so what? *shrug* This is for me, my journey as a student, learning more about myself, and gaining knowledge that will someday help me in whatever life has in store for me. 

If anyone who reads this knows me in any way, they know that I never stop talking. I'm loud, abrupt, outgoing, and just share a lot. Like A LOT. I've come to realize that this is not the case for everyone. Obviously everyone is not as loud as me, I learned that a loooong time ago, but I've come to realize that not everyone is as sharing as I am. Of course there are some things I keep to myself, but I feel that I'm generally an open book. My best friends know basically everything about me. I'm very giving, loving, and trusting and I give my love and trust to them hoping they handle it with care because it is tiny pieces of me. Now you may be asking yourself- "Doesn't she know that could lead to her being hurt by those people??" And yes, I do. I've already experienced it. I've had my best friends walk all over me and take advantage of how trusting I am. They know that no matter what, I'm always going to be there for them. No matter what. I've had best friends just disappear out of my life with no explanation. With them goes those little pieces of me, just waiting and wanting to come back, and just when I begin to feel whole again, said friends come back into your life and you are torn again because you don't know that to do. Trust or not trust?? That is what has been circling in my brain for DAYS on end now. 

TRUST

How are some more trusting than others? How do people walk all over you when you have given them all of your trust? I mean it's not like I'm expecting everyone I come in contact with to tell me their life story, because that it just silly! But I guess I'm hurt knowing that I share so much with people and they either take advantage of it, or disregard it like it wasn't hard for me to give up. Trusting someone and having trust be broken is a big part of life that we all have to learn eventually. It still hurts just the same. But I don't mean to be heavy with the weight of my thoughts. They run away from me at night... It's dangerous. I'll try to contain them next time, but no promises. Trust has just never been an issue for me up until lately, and I don't want previous experiences to make me become jaded and cynical about life. "Trust no one" pssshh. I ain't about that. I guess as the end of the Thankful Month coming to a close, I have become thankful for the trials and bumps in the road that I have encountered. I know that seems weird to be grateful for short comings but I feel that this month has shown me to be grateful in all circumstances, and to be careful who I give little pieces of myself to.

Until next time,

-O

long time, no writing.

Hello blog! I've missed you. I promise I'm not dead. I'm apologize to my readers.... reader... mom? I actually don't think my mom even reads my blog... That's kinda sad, huh? But I mean I know someone out there reads it sooooooo- Hello out there!

Anyway this post is to reconnect with my social media and my love for talking about myself. Just kidding... but what girl isn't a little vain?? Really? Just me? Okay whatever you say! But really though... I actually really hate talking about myself. BUT! What this post was really about was to share with everyone why I have been so absent. As you know, or can guess, I started my Sophomore year at college! Yas. It has been quite the endeavor, but I've loved every second of it. I honestly don't think I have ever written so many papers in the past 2 months then I wrote all of high school. (lie, but it seemed plausible). Sooo the moment you've all been waiting for! Where has Liv been??

School, work, homework, sleep, repeat. Right? But that is the average life of a college student! Except I have something that keeps me from going absolutely insane. I belong to the best sorority at the University of Utah--Chi Omega! These girls keep me laughing and make me feel loved constantly.

How is this part of my daily routine? There are always activities going on every single day. Even if I don’t go to an activity, I am bound to run into a girl on campus and chat for a while. I’m still fairly new at this sorority life so I’ll keep y’all updated. But these girls are so supportive in everything I do. If I feel like going to get a burrito at 3 in the morning, I can call one of them and they will be there in a jiffy. I'm never feel alone. They are a constant, strong group of friends (sisters) that I have made at school. Everyday encourage me to be better and strive for greatness. 

They have become a part of me and I wouldn’t ask for anyone better to be sharing my college experience with. They bless me more and more every day. #blessed. These girls keep me laughing, talk to through challenges, help me with homework, and take shameless selfies with me!

Selfie game on point while waiting for Aaron Carter.

This is my Big Sis. Isn't she perfect?

    Really I don’t know what I would do without them. Their cute texts about how something reminded them of me, having someone to sit with in my American Civ. class, having someone to rely on at any time of day (or night). I’m thankful for them and for the part they play in my everyday life and I can’t wait for more adventures and memories I get to have with these amazing girls.

Our family! Obsessed with them

Until next time,

-O

thank you.

Well a part of me is very sad to write the following sentence... School starts on Monday. (insert crying emoji) I'm not ready in the slightest. This summer has been a great adventure though! I feel that I have grown a lot from the trials and accomplishments I have had in these past four months. Not only was this summer a a great one, but I am starting me sophomore year in college. I can't believe it either! Time has flown by!! Any way today I focus on summer and the adventures I went on with my amazing friends!

I call this "Fancy-Pants Adulthood"

Sierra, Paige, Abby, Chandler, Kristy, me

We got a taste what it was like to be fancy. We went to Afternoon Tea time at the Grand America Hotel. It was absolutely stunning! There was a harpist, and she was playing the most beautiful music. The whole atmosphere was just so sophisticated! I felt like I was 25 and talking to my recently college graduate friends as we head to the next chapter of our lives! But we're not 25, we're silly 19 year olds that want an afternoon of class and sophistication. We even promised that we would me it a yearly thing to do.

The first course was a whipped cream dish to cleanse our pallets. Serious Princess Diaries moment! You know when she eats the ice cream, thinking it's ice cream but it's really not? But ours wasn't that cold! That flower in the center? Yeah, that's tea too! It grew inside the hot water an turned into a green tea. First it was a little grassy ball, but then there was a flower right before our eyes!

Cool huh???

Our second course was biscuits, cucumber sandwiches, and other tiny finger food! Like hamburger sliders, shrimp and lobster stuffed rolls and egg salad on a tiny toast! It all was ah-amazing!

It was such a fun day! We talked about our summers and the individual adventures we had and were about to embark on! Sierra just got back from the Disney College Program in Florida and is going back to BYU in the fall, Paige is going on her mission to Washington DC, Abby told about her back packing trips, Kristy is getting ready for study abroad to Dublin and going back to ASU with Chandler in the fall, and Chandler and I are getting ready for our study abroad to Rome! We listened to the harp and we drank our fancy tea! It was great being with friends in such a gorgeous place!

Yummy desserts!

Of course being in the Grand America, we had to walk around the hotel and see what it had to offer!

The gelato!!

Macaroons! Remind anyone of Gossip Girl??

Shameless tea cup selfie

And what kind of teenagers would we be without taking a couple selfies?! Right??

Chan's using the telly! (insert british accent)

That concluded our day of "Fancy Pants Adulthood"! It was a day to remember and I'm so thankful to have them in my life. Such amazing examples to me everyday. But that's not it! We got to swim with the fish! Yeah, swim with the fish! In Utah!We went snorkeling at Bonneville Seabase. We were able to feed the fish and swim with them too! There was a 10 foot Nurse Shark at the sea base while we were there, but sadly we didn't see the shark. I'm totally serious too, the shark is real!! It was so cool, we got to feed the fish lettuce and swim around with all different kinds of fish. We even got the cool Chinese Pedicure! (You know the kind the got on Desperate Housewives of Orange County?? Yes, I did use that as a reference.) You know where the little fish eat off the dead skin on your feet??? It sounds sooooo gross... and it probably is...! It tickles like no other, so those who have ticklish feet-- I'm warning you it's super ticklish! It was such a fun day and I encourage everyone to go out there! The staff is super helpful and so nice! I'll be going back very soon!

HAPPY SHARK WEEK!

It was a fantastic summer! I can't thank my friends enough for being there for me and for being crazy with me! I'll miss you all once you're away at college, but we'll see each other very soon! Thanks for such a great and memorable summer!!! Kisses!

Until next time,
-O