Rome and Ready for Home

Rome Reflections 

I’ll be honest: I don’t even want to write about Rome. It was the end of our trip, and by then, I was completely worn out. Honestly, I’m not even sure anyone is reading this blog anyway. 

Rome is where I nearly collapsed from heat exhaustion. It was the point where the ultimate fatigue hit me, and I started to pull away from the group. Maybe I knew, subconsciously, that the trip was almost over and that once we got home, very few people would keep in touch. 

Here’s the truth: I have this bad habit of testing people. I’ll isolate myself (because I really do need space) and then wait to see if anyone reaches out to do something. If no one reaches out, I take it as proof that they can get along just fine without me. It’s not healthy, I know. It’s toxic and even very annoying of me, too. When I was younger, it really hurt—because who doesn’t want to feel wanted? Who doesn’t want to have a friend you just can’t do without? Now, it just helps me evaluate who I should stay in touch with, and reminds me that it doesn't have to be everyone.

In Rome, I felt my age compared to the others in the group. It was a chore keeping up with social media (Snapchat, Instagram, etc.). Only one person made a real effort to reach out to me, and I’ll always be grateful for that. The experience also convicted me. It showed me that I had limited myself to a few people, and I should have reached out and hung out with a wider variety of the group from the beginning (I am doing this now that I am home). 

The City 

The Vatican? Total chaos. Shoulder-to-shoulder crowds everywhere. The convent hotel where we stayed had mold, and I spent the first night wheezing like I was sick—only to realize my sinuses cleared the second I stepped outside (I then immediately found a pharmacy and purchased allergy medicine). 

Group picture in front of remnants of the Colossal Statue of Constantine

Me attempting to imitate the gesture of Colossal Constantine hand for size comparison

One of the last images from Florence

Intimate exchange between a couple

View of the Colosseum that made it not seem like such a remnant

Bernini's David– this was the best David in my opinion

Confessional- Loved the light here and had to snap a picture

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius– the largest ancient bronze equestrian statue

View from a window at the convent hotel

Walking through a hallway in the Vatican– shoulder to shoulder crowds

Me with the ear piece the Vatican forced on us

Bernini's sculpture of the Rape of Proserpina– ASTOUNDING!

Jenna

Light in a church

Close up on Bernini's Rape of Proserpine to show how fleshy and realistic Bernini's works were

Standing in front of my research project- the ancient work of Laocoon and His Sons

Rome street art

Abi

Rome street art

Julianne eating a lemon dessert

Cool colors I saw when looking through St. Peter's Basilica columns

View from the roof on my last evening in Rome

Caravaggio painting- I just was obsessed with the feet

Random sculpture yard that I photographed as I wallked

Rome street art

Me and Jenna at our last dinner in Rome

Colors

The trees were so foreign to me

The colosseum

Remnants of the Colossus Statue of Constantine

view of remnants from Capitoline Hill

Rome was the first place we had to use taxis. Everything was just so spread out. It was bigger, dirtier, and harder to navigate than Florence or Venice. Pickpockets were everywhere, and two of our group got their phones stolen. But it was also the most surreal. Ancient ruins sat right next to busy streets. Guards stood with machine guns on corners. It felt serious, almost alien—like another world had dropped its remnants here for us to stare at. 

And still, there were moments of pure awe. I stood in the Colosseum and shouted, “Are you not entertained?!” (If you don’t get the reference—are you even real?). I stood in the Pantheon, bathed in a beam of sunlight streaming in from the oculus. I soaked up every Caravaggio I could find. And I fell in love with Bernini—because how does anyone carve marble into something that alive? (Michelangelo’s David does not even hold a candle to Bernini–– my own personal opinion–– and is a reminder that there is always someone better). 

Ready for Home 

Rome gave me unforgettable moments, but it also stripped me down. By the end, I was ready to go home. 

I wanted to get back to the people who love me, who miss me, who notice when I’m not there. Those are the people who matter. Rome was beautiful, chaotic, exhausting, and inspiring all at once—but it reminded me of something bigger: the most important part of traveling is coming home to the people who hold space for you, even when you’re tired and not your best self. I am so thankful and grateful for those people.  

There is no better way to sum it up than through the song Home– since it keeps playing in my head: 

Another summer day has come and gone away 

In Paris and Rome, and I want to go home 

Maybe surrounded by a million people, 

I still feel so alone 

And I want to go home 

I miss you 

You know who you are. 

Sincerely and with love, 

Rebekah