When I first arrived here, I never imagined I would end up writing for the senior section of the school newspaper, especially as an exchange student who spent only six months at TuHS.I know many of you might think there’s no way I could know this school as well as the seniors who’ve been here for four years — and I can’t help but agree. But still, I think I’ve learned a thing or two myself.

At the beginning, I admit it was hard to adjust to such a different environment. With seven hours of school instead of five, lunch at 10:30 (which felt more like a late breakfast), and changing classrooms every hour while getting lost in the enormous hallways, it felt like I was living in a parallel universe.I don’t think I’ve ever felt as different from everyone else as I did during those first days. Making new friends from scratch, taking classes I had never done before, and doing it all in a language that wasn’t my own — it wasn’t easy. Little by little, you start to lose some of the confidence you had when you first left home because, how is it possible that everyone else seems to keep up with this lifestyle and you don’t? I can’t say exactly when the shift happened, but gradually, I found my place in this school and started feeling less and less alone.

Somewhere between Italy and America, speaking Italian became speaking English, Euros became dollars, being afraid of being alone became appreciating those moments, Saturday night pizza became trying the weekly Crumbl cookies, planning outfits with friends for the club became the desperate search for a prom dress, an aperitivo at the bar became a Golden Eagle from Dutch Bros, studying alone became group work, taking public transport became asking friends for rides, WhatsApp became iMessage, waking up at 6:30 to catch the bus became waking up at 8 and getting a ride, and counting down the days until school ended became being afraid that day might actually come.Somehow, between then and now, I found myself and a second home that I’ll carry with me forever.

I’ll always be grateful for the chance to experience a reality so different from my own and I also have to thank this school not only for the wonderful people I met that I’ll carry in my heart, but  for helping me get to know myself a little better, too.

So yes, I know that my experience can’t be compared to four years of high school here, but if I have to be completely honest, it feels like I lived an entire lifetime in only six months.This journey taught me that growth often happens in the most uncomfortable moments. It’s in the confusion, the homesickness, the language struggles, and the cultural shock that I discovered strength I didn’t know I had. With every challenge, I became a better and better version of myself.If you ever have the opportunity to do this experience, I say take the leap. Let yourselves be surprised. Even when everything feels like too much, that’s exactly where the real journey begins.

.