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Tia Woodel
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This I Believe – A stranger’s smile
13 years
By Tia Woodel
There is something about a simple smile that instantly makes a rough day better.
I can’t remember one instance in which a stranger smiled at me and I didn’t return the gesture. A smile from someone I know is always helpful, but a smile from a stranger, someone I don’t always expect it from – that is powerful.
This is a photo of myself. Photo by Tia Woodel
Everybody deals with their own struggles. Whether it’s a death in the family, a divorce, money issues, or anything else, it’s easy to get caught up in the negatives of life.
A smile has always helped me break through some of my own struggles.
My great-grandmother died last year. On top of the stress of being a college student, now I had to deal with the fact that I no longer had any living great-grandparents. After her funeral, I cried the entire one hour drive back to my apartment.
I pulled into the parking lot and dried the tears from my face. A girl my age was walking by. She looked at me and smiled. I smiled back. The gesture was so simple, yet so meaningful.
According to research on what’s behind the smile, “many smiles are simply readouts of positive internal states such as happiness.” Seeing the girl display such a positive expression was enough to make me take a step back and realize I would make it through this, just as I have in every other tough situation.
She didn’t have to say anything to me. She didn’t need to walk over and hug me, or assure me that everything was going to be okay. She simply turned the corners of the mouth up, exposing her front teeth. She simply smiled.
Photo by Tia Woodel
This has happened many times in my life. It always starts with me being distressed, but after a smile from a stranger, my worries seem to be so much less significant.
I believe in a simple smile from a stranger. A smile can make a difference. A smile can change a life.
A promise to study abroad
13 years
by Tia Woodel
in Fire
Danielle Alviani. Photo by Tia Woodel
By Tia Woodel
Hit with nerves, Danielle Alviani boards the airplane. She sits down in her seat without a family member or friend in sight. She is alone and traveling overseas for the first time in her life but is still excited for the road ahead. Being shy and quiet may have worked for her in the past, but Alviani will soon partake in a positively life-changing experience.
Alviani was in high school when her two cousins, Emily and Sarah Wichryk, studied abroad in college. With an interest in Renaissance art, Alviani made a promise to herself that she would study abroad somewhere she could experience art and fashion in new ways. Less than 10 percent of undergraduate students from Bowling Green State University study abroad according to BGSU’s Education Abroad website, and because Alviani was so shy, family and friends were skeptical.
Alviani grew up in a household with her parents, older sister, and younger brother in the small town of Beaver, Pa. Alviani, very close to her mother and family, said traveling when she was younger always included the entire family, and going outside of the country was never their desire.
Alviani, on the other hand, had other ideas about traveling.
“All through high school I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t graduate college until I studied abroad,” she said.
Alviani said her parents were supportive but didn’t actually think she would stick to it. Alviani’s best friend, Abby Perza, said she remembers Alviani talking about studying abroad, but like Alviani’s parents, she didn’t take it seriously.
“In high school, she was so shy,” Perza said. “I didn’t picture her doing something that big.”
Alviani was so close to her family that when she chose to attend BGSU, she was going to be leaving home alone for the first time. After two years as a fashion merchandising major, Alviani realized if she really wanted to keep this promise to herself, she was going to need to start taking some action. She went to the study abroad office, where she was given her many booklets on places to go.
BGSU offers students the option to study abroad in 20 cities, in 16 different countries on five continents, according to the University’s official study abroad video. With this many options, Alviani used her passion for art and fashion to help make her final decision.
“I learned a ton about the Renaissance and fell in love with the art from that period. Florence is known as the Renaissance city, so it just seemed meant to be for me to go there,” she said.
Alviani finished the application process and was finally on her way to studying abroad. Now she would be able to prove she was serious and tell her friends the news.
“When I told my friends that I was studying abroad, they all were very excited for me and I think a little shocked at the same time,” Alviani said.
Her best friend, Perza, was thrilled for Alviani but was troubled that she wasn’t going to see her for four months. Alviani did admit that leaving for four months, not knowing how much she would be able to talk to friends and family, made her sad. Perza remembered times when Alviani was homesick just being at BGSU and worried about her being gone for so long. Alviani said she went into the trip with an open mind, though, and was excited for the semester abroad.
The start of her trip helped Alviani recognize this was going to be something completely different from what she was used to. When first arriving in Florence, she remembers the chaos of the airport and getting to the apartment. As she stepped away from the group, Alviani called her mother.
“When I called her, I realized I was actually gone,” she said. “My mom wasn’t there to do anything for me; I was on my own.”
Danielle Alviani's study abroad group in Florence, Italy. Photo provided by Danielle Alviani
Alviani said it was great how quickly everyone got along the first night there, and even referred to the new group of roommates and other students in the apartment as “friends who became a family.” Alviani also remembers how intrigued she was exploring the city for the first time.
“I instantly saw how different everything was,” she said. “The buildings were so incredible. We would stop to look at one building for 10 minutes before staring at the next. Over here, everything is so modern, but the buildings there have been there for hundreds and hundreds of years. …the art and architecture all throughout the city of Florence… I was blown away every day that I stepped out of my apartment. It was a dream living in such a beautiful, ancient city.”
Alviani did miss her family and friends at home, but was able to keep in contact with them through Skype, Facebook and cell phones provided by StudentCell, which made it easier to be so far away.
“I talked to family and friends more than I expected,” she said. “I missed my mom; I’m definitely a momma’s girl.”
Alviani’s mother, Susan Alviani, said her daughter was always excited when she called home, talking about how much she loved the European way of life and the group of friends she had made.
“The trip was life-changing for her,” her mother said. “She gained an independence knowing she can do her own thing.”
Because of her daughter’s courage, Alviani’s mother even took a trip overseas for the first time to visit.
When Alviani wasn’t catching up quick with family and friends, she was absorbing as much art and culture as she could during her trip. This included visiting the statue of David six times and observing other countries’ fashions. She visited Germany, Scotland, England, Switzerland, Spain and Ireland.
Alviani said she thinks her trip will help her career one day now that she has a better knowledge of fashion outside the U.S. Her classes taught her the designing aspect of the fashion industry. She even said this experience made her think about possibly moving to Florence for a few years in the future, just to get a better glimpse of the industry there.
Danielle Alviani in Florence, Italy where she studied abroad Fall 2011. Photo provided by Danielle Alviani
Alviani explained her study abroad experience was like visiting a completely different world. She found it interesting to see how other people live and what they’re passionate about. It made her appreciate how Americans live and the experience changed her for the better.
“I came home with a different mindset,” she said.
Perza said she thinks studying abroad helped Alviani get over some of her shyness after being thrown into an environment where she was constantly meeting new people and making new friends. Perza also said Alviani was less reserved after her trip.
“She’s definitely a different person in a better way,” Perza said.
Regardless of being a shy momma’s girl, Alviani never let the doubt of friends and family get in her way of experiencing another culture’s art while studying abroad. She said she made the best decision of her life to study in Florence.
“It gave me a whole new outlook on life,” Alviani said. “I don’t think anything in my life will ever be comparable.”
Tia Woodel
13 years
My name is Tia Woodel and I’m a senior working for a Print Journalism major and Women’s Studies minor at BGSU. I’ve worked at The BG News as a copy editor during the summer of 2011 and worked as an intern in the fall. As an intern, I not only continued to copy edit, but I worked on improving my reporting skills as I wrote weekly stories. I also designed one to two pages for each Monday paper, including photo spreads and campus pages.
Before working with The BG News, I interned with the Beacon newspaper out of Ottawa County. Working there helped me acquire basic journalism skills that I still use today.
When I’m not working on journalism projects, I’m attending meetings as the membership coordinator for the new on-campus organization, Triota. Triota is a Women’s Studies Honors Society that works to promote and support excellence and scholarship in Women’s Studies.
While I’ve only had the opportunity to have internships with newspapers, I hope to one day work for a magazine.