Italian is the music that makes my soul happy. It’s the soundtrack to my life.  Wherever I go, wherever I am, Italian will find me. I can be drawn to a book with no obvious reference to anything Italian and somewhere in my reading, something Italian will come out. It could be just a mention of a name or a place or a food, but it will be there. I can be walking down the street of a very American town and my eye will catch an Italian product being sold in a storefront window or utility truck with an Italian last name.  I could be sort of watching tv with my wife and there will be a commercial – yes, we still sometimes watch commercials even though we have the ability to skip- and someone will be saying something in Italian. I could be on the train in Boston and glance over and see a little girl with her mother and think to myself, “These two are Italian” when the little girls exclaims to her mother, “Mamma siamo così alti che vedo tutta la città”  ( Mamma, we’re up so high I can see the whole city!) and I can’t help but smile so big that she instantly realizes that I know exactly what she said.

Ever since I can remember, my Italian grandparents would tell me stories of the country where they grew up, met, married and eventually left to come here for a better life. They told me stories of feasts and family.  I can recite many of these stories by heart while hearing their heavily accented voices in my mind. I have been fortunate enough to have had my grandmother a part of my life until I was 43! And thanks to my iPhone, I am also fortunate to have recorded some of these stories using the voice memo app. I know I will likely never forget these stories but it is comforting to be able to hear my grandmother telling them to me in her own voice. These stories have inspired me to want more, to travel and to compile the story of my family.

I took advantage of my college years to really cultivate this inspiration. I changed my undergrad major to become an Italian teacher. I lived and studied in Florence and it changed my life forever. Italy is magical and I am blessed to be able to return there often because of my career.  I have led many tours with my students and with adults. I have connected with family that still live in Italy and I continue to share this passion with my students, my own children and frankly, anyone who will listen!  

Unlike a song that is overplayed on the radio that after a while you don’t want to hear, Italian sings to me in so many different ways.  I never tire of it or want to turn it off. I guess that’s what the definition of passion is.