It has been a while now since I've been a high school exchange student and there is nothing I can do to go back in time and live it all over again, but I sure could move back to the United States and that's exactly what I did, about one week ago.

I've been receiving messages from friends asking "Where are you?" because it is getting hard for them to keep track of all the things I do and places I go to. January 9th I left Italy and I arrived in the United Kingdom, which is where I flew from when I arrived in the United States the 18th of the same month. So yeah, three countries in ten days.

Prior to Christmas, I wasn't ready to admit that my Erasmus was over - also because technically it still wasn't, due to the fact that I still had assessments in January - so I went back and I made the most out of my time there. I moved back to the States because I've been offered an internship at a video production company in Denver Colorado. This means that I get to live with my host family again and that I can bring the exchange experience to the next level: I won't have any program rules to follow but most importantly I will get a license so I will finally be able to drive places without being a burden to people. Instead of going to high school, having to deal with teen drama and all that kind of stuff, I will drive myself to work, get work experience in what I am studying and learn new things.

I've been back for only a week but it already feels like I've been here forever. It's unbelievable but I feel like I am at home and, honestly, I couldn't be happier. I've been really busy with meeting everyone again and reading the Colorado handbook. In fact, I've already passed the driver's written test, even though the department of motor vehicles still didn't issue my permit. If you are also considering getting a license in the USA and are over 18 you need to go to the DMV (no appointment is required - at least where I did it) and bring all the immigration documents, which in my case were DS2019, I94 form, SEVIS receipt, and passport. The only issue is that you need to wait two weeks from your arrival in the USA before you can actually get your permit, I didn't know that and so now I will have to wait until next week for that, even though I already took the test and passed it.

Anyway, hopefully everything will fall into place one day or the other. Lately, I've been thinking that everything happens for a reason. I thought about a few things that I was denied of a couple of months ago. At the moment I felt like that was such a bummer but, in the long run, it has been a blessing. Because of this, I will not lose hope and I will continue "a testa alta".

- Cris

- Cris

"I just need some time, I'm tryna think straight

I just need a moment in my own space

Ask me how I'm doin', I'll say "okay, " yeah

But ain't that what we all say?"

2017 has definitely been a good year for me, but I am a firm believer that there is always a chance to improve and this is why I am positive that 2018 will be even better. One of the things I want to start doing already today, that is January 1st, is quitting Social Media, at least for a while. I just think that Facebook is just a distraction, a virtual world where everyone builds a fake image of themselves. Everyone is so caught up in posting the right selfie, in getting the highest amount of likes or in bragging about what they have done the night before. I just realized that I don't want to be a part of all of this anymore, at least for a little while. I will be using Instagram because photography is one of my passions, but I will try to quit posting stories for at least a few days. As I always post pictures of trips I go on or things I do, people text me that they envy me and that they would love to have my life. Everything looks so easy behind a screen. No one ever thinks that behind all the fun there's also pain. People are becoming more selfish than they have ever been. They think they are the only ones going through hard times, but everyone has their ups and downs. Besides that, everyone chooses what to show and what to hide from people.. in other words, not everything you see on social media is totally true. I just feel like I don't even know my friends anymore. Just the other day one of my really good friends texted me and said she is going through a very tough time, but I'd have never guessed because she seemed like she was enjoying herself, but of course I was all wrong.

I want to quit Instagram stories for a few days because I want to be able to have a conversation with people. I want them to be interested in how I am doing and in what I am doing, rather than having them look at my stories. Once they look, there is nothing left they can ask me. They already know, don't they?

 I also want to enjoy myself more. I follow people that post endless stories when they are at a concert but it's just sad because once they leave the venue they probably feel like that concert never happened, they didn't feel it. I was once trying to take a picture of the stage and the outcome was upsetting. Everyone had their phones above their heads so my picture was garbage. Then I just realized that probably someone else's photo was also garbage because my phone was in their way. 

Social Media were supposed to bring people together, but the result is actually the opposite. I won't be quitting my blog, neither tumblr because that's basically my moodboard but anything else is more or less obsolete. I think this is going to be good for me. I will be able to spend five minutes more on Duolingo, instead of scrolling my Facebook timeline full of meaningless memes, which will bring me closer to one of my goals for 2018, but I won't spoiler anything. Keep on reading over the next few weeks and you will eventually find out. Have a Happy New Year everybody!

PS: A very BIG thank you because on Christmas Eve my blog has reached 1 million hits!

- Cris