My Italian Idol

I didn't know what it was specifically that was different about Italian women when I first came to Italy but I have realized it is because they are confident in themselves so completely that they can't help but be happy. It's obvious in the way they present themselves and interact with one another.

One time I was sitting in the piazza switching between reading and people watching - two of my favorite pastimes- and I saw the cutest Italian couple. Both in their 20's and gorgeous, they were just relaxing in the piazza like they didn't have a trouble in the world. The guy would tease the girl and she just laughed and waved him off. They laugh so easily and seem so carefree, I can't help but admire them.

There is one Italian woman in particular that I especially admire. She is the daughter-in-law of my host mom and came over a few times for dinner with her adorable little girls Vittoria and Claudia. Everything about her struck me as intelligent. The way she held herself so upright and came in with a presence that overwhelmed the room. She immediately greeted me and Melanie with a smile and a firm handshake, and was outgoing and good-mannered, making sure to slow down so we understood her Italian. She just looked like walking success. But what really struck me about her was her confidence. She didn't seem cocky, but rather like she knew she was someone with a worth that didn't come from outside sources but from within. Later on I found out from my host mom that she did really well in school and is now a successful lawyer working to help people who struggle with jobs and things like that. She is smart, but she uses that intelligence to help other people. Really she is just my Italian idol. She possesses many of the qualities I hope to see in myself some day. There is a passage from this book called "Juliet" that I read while in Italy because it is set in Siena, where I was living. The main character comments on one of the Italian women she sees around her saying:

      "She laughed out loud, a warm knowing laughter that made me once again wonder about the secret ingredient in these women's lives. Whatever it was, I was clearly missing it. It was so much more than just self-confidence; it seemed to be the ability to love oneself, enthusiastically and unsparingly, body and soul, naturally followed by the assumption that every man on the planet is dying to get in on the act." 

This description is completely accurate. These Italian women have got something figured out. They know how to love themselves, and that seems to be directly linked to confidence and happiness, two of the qualities every girl wants to have.