Reflections on 23 / '23

Birthday Update / Full Blog Coming VERY Soon!



Trolltunga Trail, Norway / Lisbon, Portugal / Aqueducts in Rome, Italy

Yesterday, on December 9, 2023, I celebrated my 24th birthday! Birthdays are always sentimental, reflective experiences for me -- I think about all I've learned in my past year of life and the vision I have for the upcoming next trip around the sun. 23 has been one of the most special and challenging years of my life so far...

I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Engineering! 


Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA

I experienced so much of the world that I have spent my life dreaming of seeing!

 

Amsterdam, Netherlands / Paris, France / Interlaken, Switzerland

I have been so lucky to spend so much time this year feeling joy, taking the time to think deeply about issues that I care about, to meet so many amazing people, and to deepen friendships that mean so much to me. 


With David in Iceland / With Eli in Holland / With my Mom & her exchange family in Sweden

As I write this post, it has been just about 4 months since I returned from my 3-month-long Great Ideas Tour. Today is also the first day of the last week of my first semester of full-time graduate school. I've spent the semester studying, researching, and readjusting. My time in Europe this summer was incredibly special and transformative: I felt truly free while traveling and truly moved by the beauty of the world and all the people and places I met along the way. I also met myself in a way I never have before as I allowed myself to be guided by curiosity and wonder. I discovered Great ideas materialized in Great places, Great conversations, Great artwork, Great meals, Great hikes, and Great reflective essays. 


Berlin Wall in Germany / Starlite Occident in Spain / Breakfast in Norway

I did not keep the blog during my travels (ah, the iPad incident), but I did keep journals. And I did take a million pictures. So now, it is finally time to share my summer! Not only are these blogs preparation for my Ramsey presentation in April, but they are also keepsakes, windows into my summer abroad and into my soul. This trip was everything I hoped it could be and more -- I learned so much, and it has been important me to take this first semester of grad school to get my footing back while pondering and appreciating the whirlwhind of this summer. I want my blogposts to bring you the golden nuggets of my experience. 



Friends in Rome, Italy / Lyon, France / Athens, Greece

In the coming week, I will finish data collection for my thesis and close out my courses for the semester. In following weeks of break and beyond, I am thrilled to share my Great Ideas Tour with you in more detail. I hope to publish at least one country per week, starting at the beginning of the Spring semester. Thank you for your continued patience and interest in this project!!



Sunrise Paddle in Lagos, Portugal / Outdoor Rock Climbing in Nice, France / Fjord Rib Boat Tour in Geiranger, Norway

With gratitude, Corinne Baroni


Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy -- I am so thankful for the many wishes that have and are yet to come true.


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