A year ago I changed my life.

I stopped waiting for someone else to open the door or show me the way: I passed my arm between the bars and opened the cage myself.  

I had a settled life in Southern Louisiana: very nice studio apartment on St. Charles Avenue, a good job I wasn’t passionate about but it was comfortable, a fitness routine that I wouldn’t miss for nothing (that was my escape to my quiet and absolutely boring life), some friends I couldn’t count on really, and a big closet full of beautiful clothes I never wore because I never went anywhere.

And I quit. To all of it. I was the one reading day after day stories of travelers, of people who got the balls to do it, to leave it all behind. I became one of them.

I was grateful for everything I had, but that was not my happiness. I had a call. I wanted to see and change the world!

I wanted to be free, so I freed myself.

Of course I was afraid for leaving my stability and security behind. But I learned somewhere, somewhen, that our home come with us and that we, with all our experiences and travel stories, become our own new home.

And then I found her. After a long-long wait, years dreaming to see her with my own eyes: My beloved Rome.

Oh how I fell for Rome. For its madness. For its ancient narrow alleys. For its noise and chaos. For the food and cafes. For the shouting and never-stopping horns. For the ruins of an ancient civilization that created the world we live in, and most of all for its passion. I fell head over heels for it.

I was so convinced this was my place in the world that  I didn’t think of the practical things like: job, housing, expenses and the life style of the city.

It was exactly like when you fall in love with that bad guy. You know deep inside it is not good for your health because you just love them a little too much and they just flirt with everybody. But you think you are the only one in their lives.

And when you realize it’s not working out it’s too late and you have a rental contract for a year. You can’t find a good job that will allow you to attend classes and you really don’t like this chaotic kinda life… The24/7 shouting Italians drive your nuts  and this pizza and pasta are not good for your figure (Although the food was the BEST part. Specially the Gelato from La Romana aka: The best thing that happened to my stomach).

So I love Rome. So much. Like we love some people that can’t be in our lives for our own sake. I love her so much that I could stay and love to hate her, like the rest of the Romans do. But if I stay, neither Rome nor I would ever be what we meant to: She, my favorite place on earth. Me… who knows?

As I start to wrap up my life in Rome I have no doubt in my heart that when someone ask me which is my favorite city in the world, I won’t hesitate to answer:

Rome. By all means: Rome.