Advice From My Summer Studying in Florence, Italy

Hello, I’m Maya Grimley and I am a psychology student at the University of Toledo. I am entering the senior year of my undergraduate program and studied abroad in Florence, Italy for twelve weeks during the summer of 2026.

In the world today we are accustomed to maximum comfortability and gratification. The ‘world’ is at our fingertips within the click of a button and we do not have to venture far to see new things. However, this ease of exposure to the outside world keeps us from truly experiencing it. We have all heard this before. That we spend too much time on our phones. At least for me, it was easier to stay safe, comfortable, and content than to take risks and potentially gain a positive experience.

As someone who always has my day planned thoroughly, the idea of spending a summer abroad was daunting. There is so much uncertainty with exploration, and with uncertainty comes discomfort. Having previously traveled with a group through my university, I knew I also wanted to study abroad on my own. However, the idea was immensely intimidating and there were many times where I contemplated not following through on the opportunity. I am sure many of you who want to study abroad are also terrified of many things like I was. There’s an ever-growing list of questions: “Will I make friends?”, “Will I be able to navigate such a different culture?”, “Will I miss my home too much to enjoy the experience?”

But why let fear of discomfort hold you back? At the end of the day, you need to choose to push through those fears and allow yourself to explore and experience. While scary at first, the memories and lessons that can be gained by pushing beyond the boundaries you’ve set for yourself can change your life.

For me, studying abroad in Florence, Italy has given me the confidence to just do things and not worry so much about whether it’s ‘worth it’ or not, or whether I will ‘fail’ or not. Every experience offers something to be gained and you will never be able to control everything in your life. It is much better to go with the flow and allow opportunities to come your way. The important thing is to accept them.

Before studying abroad, I often found myself neglecting opportunities, whether big or small. A part of this was because of my anxiety around doing new things, especially alone. When I came to Italy for my study abroad program, I told myself that I would make the most of every day, no matter what. It didn’t matter whether I was going alone or with a roommate, I would try to do one new thing every single day. Doing so has completely transformed my life. Sometimes things would not go exactly as planned. Sometimes they would. Either way, at the end of the day I had a new memory and experience to learn from. I have a newfound appreciation for my daily life because I have chosen to treat each day and opportunity as special, regardless of little inconveniences that might get thrown my way.

My biggest piece of advice for those studying abroad is to learn from every experience. Maybe you do not have anxiety around trying new things and exploring the world comes easily to you. Regardless, I hope there is something you can take from your experience abroad that transforms some aspect of your life for the better. Being in such a different environment gives you so much room to grow as a person, and I highly encourage you to take that opportunity, no matter how uncertain the outcome may be.

This post was written by Maya Grimley, a student at the University of Toledo who studied abroad in  Florence, Italy.