"I'M KING OF THE WORLD!"

Okay, so before today I didn't fully understand what the love of my life, Jack Dawson, was sayin' on that clear day aboard the S.S. Titanic, and although I was still on land, I think I may now have some idea what that bitty was tryna say.  Today after eating the DANKEST gelato complete with little kinder chocolate pieces in it, my language partner, Giulio, suggested that we climb up one of the two towers (the taller one on the left in the picture above) and see the city, a task even he had not done yet.  At first I was like.."Bitch, hold the fuck up...this boo is too afraid of heights to climb up like 10,000 stairs".  But then, almost instantaneously, I decided that I wasn't going to let anything, even a 16 year phobia, hold me back from doing EVERYTHING while I'm in Italy.  I've waited too long to be here to let anything get in my way.  So I sucked it the fuck up and said andiamo to Giulio.  Then we started our trek up to the top of the tour.  Now, it may have been the most physical labor I've done in over 7 years.  A fat old italian man even said that I shouldn't smoke so much because I was huffin' and puffin up a fuckin' storm...the fun part is that I don't smoke and that motherfucker was twice my size and three times my age.  Whatever...I'm already over it.  Anyway, after about 15 minutes of just walking up stairs we finally arrived at the top. After taking a minute to have my minuscule panic attack about being up that high up, my mind was blown.  It was such a clear day, and you could not only see the entirety of Bologna, the city that stole my heart, but also all the surrounding hills and small towns.  I felt like I was on top of the world, looking down at history, culture, and life.  It was magical.  It, above anything else I've experienced thus far, made me appreciate the opportunity I've been given to be here.  Yeah so I might not have the best luck in most situations, and things don't always go so smoothly.....but today I was king of the world.  All the mishaps in my life only happened so that I could appreciate this day the way I did, and so that I could appreciate what I have here and how much my life is going to change because of this experience.  Today was amazing...All thanks to Giulio's simple idea to "walk up the tower" <3