Day 1: Selfie With Something You Love

There are a few things that I love in this picture. Some you can see, some you cannot. I'll start with what you can see.

I love my friends and my family.

Pictured is my friend Lei, my cousin Alessia, and her boyfriend Ciro.

I have known Lei since my first year in college, 10 years ago. He's a special friend because he has inspired me in so many ways over the years. He quit his job and traveled the world for over 4 years non-stop. Before Lei, I had never met a backpacker or someone that traveled for that long. Our conversations inspired me to ultimately do the same thing, albeit for only a year and a half. He had a huge impact on me.

Alessia and Ciro are from Italy. I met Alessia for the first time during a family trip to Italy in 2009. We are from a very small village called Rapone, in southern Italy. The population is maybe 500 people. I had a chance to visit for the second time last year. We caught up and I became a lot closer to my family in Italy. Alessia and Ciro promised to visit me in America...and they eventually did!

You may also be able to see another thing that I love: my university mascot--the Gators. American-style universities, with the large campuses and massive enrollments, don't really exist outside of the United States. So, I had to show Alessia and Ciro when they came to visit.

And finally, something that you don't see in this picture that I love: living life without expectations.

We didn't plan on attending this game. We had no idea it was even going on. We spent a lovely day walking around campus, the football stadium, and going to the bat house to see the thousands of bats fly into the night. We were on our way home when we saw the lights of the baseball stadium on. We all looked at each other and collectively said something like "let's go in!" Apparently we didn't need tickets, because we walked right in and enjoyed the rest of the game.

I love living life like this. Every time I've had expectations about a place or person, I've been disappointed. When I don't have expectations--when everything is a wonderful surprise given to me by life--I feel fulfilled, happy, and extra fortunate. Living life without expectations means realizing that life doesn't owe me anything.

Every day is a gift, nothing more.

I encourage all of my followers to join in on this #sevendaysoflove challenge. Today is only the first day, so there is still plenty of time to spread the love.

https://steemit.com/sevendaysoflove/@deadgrlsuppastar/7-days-of-love-official-day-1-check-in-post

If you enjoyed this post, please resteem it, along with the original contest post, in order to spread the word.