The Road to Italy

I am writing to you today to tell you why I deserve the scholarship to study abroad this summer in Italy. It happened four years ago on my thirtieth birthday, what I now happily refer to as my mini mid-life crisis. All because my own expectations didn't match reality. Add equal parts very bad breakup to the mix and you have recipe for disaster. Cue depression, entering stage left!
Then about five months after my 32nd birthday, my grandfather passed away. He was the first person that I have been close to that has passed away. Two days later I booked a month long trip to Italy. By myself. So there I sat on my Alitalia flight, drinking my vino rosso, slightly laughing and crying to myself at the same time. But I had to do it. I had to prove to myself that I was capable and strong and okay being totally alone. And as it turns out I am.
To say that I found myself again in Italy would be an understatement. While in Italy I took a lot of photos, as I have always done of places I have visited. I would walk around for hours with my camera, discovering Italy and all of it's wonders through my viewfinder. It was the combination of that trip and my love for photography that helped me realize not only was it my dream to travel, photograph and write about the world, but the fact that the reason I was so unhappy was that I was trying to live someone else’s life. It was this realization that led me to submit my photographic work and apply for the MFA program at Academy of Art University. In the last year I have been in school, not only have I learned so much, but a part of me feels at home within my artistic self. It is as if my inner voice who I ignored for so long is saying, “I told you so.”
So this is why I am asking that I be awarded the scholarship for travel writing. My dream job would be working for a travel magazine and being able to share my unique view and perspective about the world with the people that inhabit it! So, I am asking you to help me in my artistic fruition. Both painting and photography have been a form of therapy for me and I am also realizing that writing is as well. It is so cathartic to share my stories and travel experiences with others. They are all ways for me to express and cope with my thoughts. I have never taken a writing class before and am beyond excited to learn how this experience will influence my photography as well as how I will write about my future travels.