Submitted by Greta Sweeney on the 2017 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…
First, let me tell you what not to do when someone steals your phone in Rome: freak out and cry hysterically. Be calm. It’s going to be okay even though if feels like you just lost a child that was permanently attached to your hand. Let me tell you what I did. I freaked out and cried hysterically for about two hours straight at 1:00 am on a Saturday morning. I was coming back to my apartment with my roommates on the bus, hands in my pockets, holding my phone the entire time, as per usual. But of course as soon as I took my hands out of my pockets to hold onto the railing, BAM. It was in that moment where the person who decided they needed my phone more than I did, took it so smoothly out of my pocket that I didn’t realize it until I had stepped off the bus and put my hands back into my pockets. My heart fell to my feet as I said, “Guys, my phone isn’t in my pockets. GUYS, MY PHONE IS NOT HERE!” I then proceeded to the nearest bench and began to cry my eyes out. My wonderful roommates led me back to our apartment, where I immediately messaged my parents on my computer telling them everything. (Thanks Mom and Dad for sending me my old phone!).
I thought that someone stealing my phone was the worst thing that could happen, but then I realized it was worse when whoever had my phone tried to get all of my passwords to all of my accounts by messaging my parents and roommates on social media in broken English. I was living one of the worst case scenarios. It was like going through all of the stages of grief. Today, almost a week later, I am at the stage of acceptance. Because when someone steals your phone in Rome, you just have to accept that fact and enjoy that you are in Rome, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Today, standing in front of St. Peter’s Square, I accepted this fact.
