Is this actually happening?

This semester, Myrissa and Sofia came into my life as random roommates. In January, we were strangers, and today, they're two of my closest and dearest friends. I can't say how often Myrissa and I obsessed over The Lizzie McGuire Movie this past semester, but it was pretty often. We'd watch the movie, sing and dance along to the soundtrack, and wish that we could galavant through Italy like Lizzie McGuire did. My obsession with Italy started last summer when I went there on an incredible 3-week study abroad trip through school. We went to Sorrento, Florence, Venice, San Remo, Cinque Terre, and Rome, to name a few, and since then I've been wishing I could return. And my obsession with Italy continued when I met Sofia, our Italian roommmate who was studying at Maryland through an exchange program with her home university in Milan. One day, Myrissa and I were fantasizing about going on a Europe trip, as usual, when Sofia invited us to visit her over the summer. At that point, we weren't sure if she really meant it, if our parents would let us, if we had enough money, or if the two of us would ever be able to navigate our way to Sofia's house in Padova. That was sometime in February, and it all seemed like a daydream then. Tomorrow, Myrissa and I are flying to London at 7:45 in the morning. Since we're supposed to be there at 4:45, I doubt I'll get more than a few hours of sleep tonight. I can never sleep before flights. What started as a fantasy trip to Italy while we were watching Lizzie McGuire evolved into a 6 week adventure to London, Rome, Sorrento, Florence, Padova (and surrounding areas), and Sweden. Since we were already paying for plane tickets over to Europe, we figured we may as well extend our trip from just Italy to include London and Sweden, since I have family there that we can stay with. We are going to "backpack" through Europe (I'm using the term "backpacking" very loosely, since my already huge suitcase is likely overweight), taking planes, trains and probably some buses, boats and bikes along the way. I'm seeing some of Europe's most beautiful cities, visiting family, and traveling with two of my best friends. In the words of Lizzie McGuire, this really is what dreams are made of. Wish us luck! xoxo Christina