Oklahoma to Italy!

By:

Tory Kappel

Published:

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12:32am

Today is the day. The day I have been awaiting for 8 whole months. There are so many things to do before I embark on this great journey. I must pack and make my round of phone calls to the people whom I love the most. I have never packed a month’s worth of clothes and personal belongings. How do you even do that? I do not know what to expect from the great land of Italy. I am going into this sort of blind it seems. I never ever thought I would be studying abroad. I promised myself I would make the most of every moment. I promised myself I would take advantage of every single opportunity and be spontaneous in everything I do. This opportunity of a lifetime will not come around again in the near future and it is my duty to take it all in. I often wonder how blessed and grateful I must be to have been given the opportunity to take a trip like this. Italy has always only been a fiction of my imagination. It is a place that, when the word rolls off your tongue, instant excitement and amazement is the initial reaction. I want to run in a field and possibly drink a glass of wine as I watch the sun set over the vast landscapes around me. It is very flat in Oklahoma…This dry and landlocked place in which I call my home is all I have ever known. One thing that crosses my mind is how I want this experience to change my life. How it will change my life is still a mystery, but I am confident in that it will happen in one way or another. I am confident in this. 

8:55am

I left the arms of my Kleyn and Bethany at the airport and felt like a lonely, lost soul. I tried to keep my composure, as I did not even know where the terminal was. I played it cool anyway. Oklahoma City to Atlanta; I watched the many people running around almost missing their flights. These same people trying to get to one place maybe to see family, friends, lovers, a new place, or maybe just their homes.  Me… I had a place to be, but, in all reality, I did not know where I was going. I was nervous and excited in a simultaneous way, as I sit biting my nails and looking in all directions. I am unsure of what I will see when I walk off the plane, but I imagine it will be magical.

6:46pm

Somehow, my seat was next to, well, no one. The three seats to my left are completely empty. Of course, I feel lucky to have the extra legroom, as I have always had these long legs with nowhere to put them. I wish someone was next to me, though. I wish I could share my excitement with another soul, even if it were a complete stranger. I am sitting on the aisle seat, with my back facing the aisle because it is the most comfortable position. I have been poked and shoved by the various people walking by. I think it might be my large girl shoulders protruding from the seat (haha), but I’m not even mad about it. I honestly think it’s funny and a little wonderful. I mean.. just to think that I am a part of a group of people on a plane to Rome is the most wonderful feeling in the world. It is quite breathtaking and just plain scary too. I cannot count the amount of candy bars I gorged down before I got on this plane, and that’s okay with me. 5 more hours until I land in Rome and begin my journey!

Tory Kappel

HELLO! My name is Victoria Kappel and I am in my fourth year at the University of Oklahoma. I have had quite the journey throughout my college experience, as I have attended two other colleges to play collegiate volleyball. I started my college career at Seminole State, transferred to the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, and now I am attending OU, where I have fully committed myself to my major in Microbiology. As a Pre-PA student, I devote much of my time to the rigorous coursework prerequisites, but my other love is to learn and educate others about feminism and cultural differences. I come from a very diverse family, and even though I may not look the part, my parents are from Hispanic and Native American descent. I can definitely say I have had to overcome challenges to get to where I am today. As a first generation and self-sufficient college student, I never imagined study abroad to be an option for me. My study abroad trip to Arezzo, Italy is important to me to inspire other students to achieve what they may feel is out of their reach. I want to empower young students and be an example that no matter where you come from, or how much money you have, there is always a way. Through hard work and dedication, anything is possible. This opportunity will be a completely life-changing experience for me, and will continue to shape me as a student and person as a whole. My chosen destination is Arezzo, Italy. In Italy, I will be taking two upper-division science courses, which include Immunology and Pathogenic Microbiology. With Italy’s rich history, our class will have the chance to cross history and science through research into events such as The Plague. Not only will this experience educate me on coursework, a new language, and the history of Italy, but it will affect me on a personal level as well. This life-changing experience will continue to shape me into the woman I am to become and empower me to achieve the unthinkable. “Your aspirations are your possibilities.”