Same Same but Different

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Between viewing all of the breathtaking art, churches, and architecture of Firenze the past 10 days I’ve been exploring Italy I was able to take time out and give back to the Firenze community. Including a community service opportunity while in Firenze was perfectly fitting. It may seem odd to do community service for a community that you are not from, and only a part of for a mere three weeks; however, it makes perfect sense when you consider that nearly all of the historical works here in Firenze were completed for the community.

The beautiful works of art, from fresco paintings to sculptures, were commissioned by the wealthy and were used for both their own amusement and the community’s. Much of the art commissioned by the wealthy was put into museums that the same wealthy people also commissioned to be built. This allowed work to be done for multiple people from everywhere in the community. As art was commissioned to be made, architects were commissioned to make the beautiful buildings in which the art was placed. While at first glance this might be seen as the wealthy just trying to show off their wealth, you will realize that in hindsight that their money was also for the benefit of the community. This benefit to the community continues on today even though the people who commissioned the art and made the art are now long gone. Not only did the artists and architects of the past realize their work was bigger than themselves, but so did the wealthy who commissioned for it all to be made.



There seems to be an endless amount of art in the city of Firenze. Everywhere I go I find it. There are numerous museums and churches here that are amazing, but I’ve even found historical art on the ceiling of my classroom in the Accademia Europea di Firenze! Truly, it is hard to take in all of the meanings behind all of the art I’ve seen while in Italy. It is difficult to put into words why it makes sense that I also give to the community while I am here for such a short time, but I will try. Many of the people who made their art back in their time did not know that it would still be admired as far into the future as today. The little things can make the biggest differences without you even knowing. While I’m sure that me painting over graffiti on a wall in a park will never be comparable to Michelangelo’s David; I’m guessing that it meant a little something to the people who spend time in the park, and that is good enough for me.





Multiple times in my Italian language class we have spent time discussing cultural differences between the United States and Italy. Today the discussion of cultural differences was focused on the way we raise children. The discussion was led by Dr. Sarti, a preeminent Italian pediatrician, who expressed many concerns about current parenting techniques and the state of Italian childhood.

One of Dr. Sarti’s major concerns is that parents are buying books on every topic related to raising a child. He says that once you have a child one’s parental instincts kick in, and suggested that one can raise a child without twenty different professional opinions about bathing a child or what have you. Professionals are finding places where regular people are lacking knowledge, and as a result those people think they need the knowledge to be able to do something they really already know how to do; although, I think it would hurt for someone to pick a couple of books out with topics that really concerns them. There are a lot to people in this world who have no business having children, and I don’t think it would hurt for them to read a few books about parenting either.



I have a spoiled four-year old brother, Hudson, who is never told no. Dr. Sarti mentioned the more well-known concept that when you give a child what he wants after already being told no, then that child is not really going to understand the life fact “you can’t always get what you want”. In relation to that concept he says that now parents are avoiding temper tantrums by eliminating the causes of these tantrums, his example was Nutella. Nutella is not very good for your body, but by no means are we encouraged to restrict ourselves from such things as Nutella for eternity. Instead of having children that are spoiled and bad, Italy is now having children that “do not understand the nutellas of life” because they are being completely restricted. When a parent does this to a child then that child does not learn how to control their desires. These children who are restricted throughout their childhood either go crazy and take too much in of everything they were restricted from or they act out. Controlling one’s desires is an essential part to life and a large part of being an adult.





The most recent generations of children, both in the United States and Italy, are struggling to understand life as adults as a result of their parents parenting style. I enjoyed this discussion as it nice to realize that even though our cultures differ largely, each country is still facing similar difficulties in parenting.





01/15/2018: 14,579 steps

01/16/2018: 7,107 steps

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