Dear Abbey
By Abbey Gingras, Editorial Editor
I, along with many of my peers, was a bit shocked and slightly angered when I read Britton Perelman's column "Colossal expectations falling flat" in the culture section of The Miami Student last week.
I can't speak to Perelman's experience with Rome and the Colosseum since I've never been to Italy. But I think I can speak to her attitude regarding her travels and expectations.
I've studied and traveled abroad multiple times and I'll be going abroad again this summer. Experiencing new cultures and visiting new places is one of my biggest passions, so much that I don't even have a travel "bucket list" because I intend to go everywhere.
What I found troubling about Perelman's piece was her seemingly childish attitude toward her trip. She wanted the Rome from the Lizzie McGuire movie - fair enough. It's not like we haven't all dreamt of riding on the back of a vespa with some guy named Paolo. But the Lizzie McGuire movie is just that: a movie.
The best part of traveling somewhere is falling in love with your own unique memories and pieces of that place. When I went to Berlin, I loved seeing the Berlin Wall and many other monuments in the city I knew from history classes. But my favorite memory from Berlin is a random Mexican restaurant down an alley where I found myself with my friends on a rainy afternoon.
Things are bound to not meet our expectations when we travel. Isn't that kind of the point? Some of the greatest stories from traveling often come from plans gone awry.
This past January, I booked a hotel in the Galapagos Islands while I was abroad in South America only to find it deserted and locked up when I arrived with my friends.
I could have let this ruin my experience at the Galapagos, but instead I found a new hotel and moved on. I made new expectations, ordered a passion fruit smoothie with dinner and had an amazing time in the islands.
I have a feeling that if Perelman found her hotel locked up and deserted, she would have spent the whole next day writing bad reviews online instead of enjoying her destination.
Life, as with travel, is full of expectations. Sometimes we're lucky enough to have our expectations exceeded and sometimes things will fall short. All that really matters is how we react.
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
Perhaps if Perelman had accepted the Colosseum wasn't her movie-version of Rome and moved on, she could've found something else in the city to make it worthwhile.
When I leave the comfort and security of my home this summer to live in a yurt in Mongolia for almost a month, I plan to keep Perelman's words in the back of my mind. Although I disagree with her column, it serves as a strong reminder to how extremely lucky and privileged we are to visit these places that some see only in movies or history books.
Rather than hoping for a pathetic attempt at American breakfast in a hostel, I'll be eating whatever my host family chooses to slaughter for food that day. No pancakes or coffee in a mug, but more likely horse meat and goat milk.
Will this be life changing? Maybe. Maybe not. But it will certainly make me appreciate how easily I have access to food in the United States, not to mention air conditioning, toilets, showers and cell phone service.
So, Britton, I'm deeply sorry that Rome didn't live up to your expectations and the Colosseum didn't alter you forever. But I think if you had just opened your eyes a little more, explored a little deeper and changed your perspective, you might have found the Rome you were looking for.
No Paolo is going to pop out of thin air and offer you a ride on a vespa, no one is going to tinge your travels with an Instagram filter and life will never fully be what we expect. But finding beauty in the average street corner, bakery or historical monument is up to all of us.
You wanted Lizzie McGuire's Rome, when you should have been discovering your own Rome.
Read More
Not getting a job straight out of college is OK, and can be encouraged
By Molly Francis | YesterdayOpinion writer Molly Francis urges college students to consider how a gap year may be more beneficial than getting a job right after graduation.
Junior perspectives on embracing the final stretch of college
By Halle Grant | 2 days agoAmidst all this chaos of student life, opinion writer Halle Grant has come to the realization that nothing is really that deep in college.
New tunes, new me: Using music to freshen up life
By Taylor Powers | 3 days agoWhile routines aren't necessarily a bad thing, it's important we make an effort to switch things up now and then to keep life feeling new, exciting and fresh. Staff writer Taylor Powers has found this avenue through music.