This fascinating story by Christine R. is about her, a shy, 16 year old girl who is feeling the stress of junior year. She has the opportunity to go on a trip to Italy with her Latin Club. While on this trip, she discovers a new side of herself which she is pleasantly surprised with. She also gains new friends. These friends are people who she has been with for some time but just hasn’t realized that they would some day become her friends.

I love the descriptions in this story. It really draws you into the story and gives you the appropriate emotion you would feel if you were there. I also like her explanations of her relations with her new friends. In one part she says “We were laughing like old friends” which I totally understand and know what she means. Also, she explains the progression of the relationships which is very interesting to read about. Another piece I enjoyed was the conclusion. It comes back to the introduction which says “I have always been an adamant believer of we are what we are and we can’t change that.” She comes back to that and now says the opposite and that everyone becomes who they are meant to be over time. I am also a believer in this theory. The author also states “as a 16 year old brought up in a small town...”. This reminds me of myself, so I can easily relate to this. This story is very inspiring to me and I think this author did a wonderful job!