Introduction
To look at Italy is to look through layers of time, to truly feel it requires a deeper excavation. This journal, Study Abroad: Reflexions from Italy, is a round collection of written entries, photography, video clips and architectural sketches capturing an experience in which flexible light constantly tangos with ancient shadows. By intentionally choosing the archaic spelling “reflexions,” this space shifts away from a passive, mirror-like reflection. Instead, it signals a flexing, a deliberate bending of the gaze, an intentional stretching of perspective, and a refusal to see history flatly. As a Black Indigenous American woman, stepping into the colossal weight of Italian architecture and art is navigating the tension between breathtaking mastery and the quiet, systemic traumas embedded in the stone. I immersed in the modern culture, and found beauty in unexpected moments of grace, and anchoring my journey in the blessing of friendship. Through the lens of a camera, the motion of film, and the sketchy lines of charcoal and ink, these pages document what happens when an empathetic eye interrogates the foundations of Western history. Stretch on a journey of looking more closely, feeling more deeply, and probing the physical and spiritual structures built around us.
Rome
Journal: The Weight
The Weight
The human form is so well-studied here. Bodies are painted, sculpted, and integrated into the very fabric of the art and architecture-accentuated, though sometimes left decapitated or amputated by the hands of time. The value of human life seems to be artistically uplifted, despite a colossal reality that would insinuate otherwise.
The heaviness of the Roman Colosseum, both materially and historically, was a lot to carry as an explorer. It was a space constructed for state-sanctioned spectacles… for massacres. Across centuries, hundreds of thousands of people and millions of animals were killed for political power and public entertainment.
My empathetic nature forced me to feel it all.
Trajan’s Market (Mercati di Traiano) made the mercantile strength of the ancient economy so clear, but it sparked a somber wonder in me. When people traveled to Rome back then, perhaps to visit the Colosseum… what were their souvenirs? It is actually chilling to think about, considering their greatest form of entertainment was death.
I entertained the thought of being alive during those times, standing in that sea of people. I know I would feel all of their collective emotions assuming I carried the same spiritual gifts and sensitivity to energy that I take up today. I think I would simply look at the person next to me during the slaughter and ask, “Why do you think this is okay?”
The saying “When in Rome” hits a little differently when you think and feel the way I do.
Yet, the layers of history and the amalgamation of foundations leave so much to be discovered about how a story builds, how a history is built. Rome is like a lasagna, pieces of their ancestors’ dish are saved, and a new portion is cooked right on top of the last. The careful excavation and preservation of their history through the built environment is incomprehensible. I respect that.
Journal Entry: Water Holds Memory
Water Holds Memory
I had seen the fountain at night, and it had a wonderful light show that traced the architecture of the fountain and animated it; it was like the building was alive. My friends hadn’t seen it, and I was so genuinely impressed by the show that I talked it up on the way there. Katia and Angelica learned how to ride the electric scooters, we actually practiced near our apartment before we left. The air was so crisp and fresh that night. It was fun riding the scooters and bikes on the trail, but for safety, we decided to ride only halfway and walk the rest.
When we arrived at the corner of the Palazzo, I heard the music. I said, “WAIT✋🏾the show has started, and there is one every fifteen minutes! You guys should really see it from the beginning.” So we waited a few minutes and then proceeded to the fountain. It is swarming during the day; there are so many people you have to strategically find a way to the railing to get your Trevi pic. And if you want to get close to the water, you pay 2 euros. But at night, there are fewer people, and you can visit the water for free.
We were there about 13 minutes, and I got worried because I didn’t see the countdown to the next show projected on the facade. Anxiously, I looked up the show to make sure I didn’t make everyone miss the last one. The Google results said it was only showing until May 10th for a special sports event in Rome. It was May 12th 🤦🏾♀️… and the lights were now on in the plaza as if the show wasn’t happening. I was so saddened, and I apologized to the crew.
We made the best of it, got our pictures, and noticed coins in the fountain, so one of the guys suggested we make a wish. We all made wishes. Well, mine was more like a prayer not sure about everyone else, as we decided to keep them to ourselves. But I will share here: I prayed and thanked Yah for bringing such beautiful experiences, and I prayed for healthy, lifelong friendships and relationships with the courage, strength, and wisdom to take care of them in a way that would be pleasing to Yah.
Moments after we tossed the coins in the water, the lights went down and the countdown began.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Rome, Italy
Napoli
Journal Entry: Week 2
“Aura”
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Naples, Italy
Santa Marinella
Journal Entry: Freeing
We wanted to see what an Italian beach looked like, so we took advantage of our free afternoon. We took the Trenitalia to Santa Marinella and it was about 8 euros.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Santa Marinella, Italy
EUR District
Journal Entry: Week Three
We wanted to see what an Italian beach looked like, so we took advantage of our first free day
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 EUR District, Italy
Tivoli
Journal Entry
The human form is so well-studied here. Bodies are painted, sculpted, and integrated into the very fabric of the art and architecture-accentuated, though sometimes left decapitated or amputated by the hands of time. The value of human life seems to be artistically uplifted, despite a colossal reality that would insinuate otherwise.
The heaviness of the Roman Colosseum, both materially and historically, was a lot to carry as an explorer. It was a space constructed for state-sanctioned spectacles… for massacres. Across centuries, hundreds of thousands of people and millions of animals were killed for political power and public entertainment.
My empathetic nature forced me to feel it all, the stone itself holds the memory.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Rome, Italy
Venice
Journal Entry: Wonder of Wandering
Wonder of Wandering
It felt like a maze; the streets were hidden away in the corners of plazas. As we traversed the grounds, we’d come to what looked like a dead end, and-alas!-another street would seem to spawn from nowhere. The circulation gave us the perfect opportunity for wonder and wandering. Instead of roads, there were rivers for transportation, and it felt like maritime all the time!
The architecture was constantly hidden and revealed within the streets. The most iconic structures, like Santa Maria della Salute, could be seen as we arrived at this enchanted-like floating city from the water. I actually presented at Santa Maria, educating my colleagues on what I’d learned. It felt great imparting knowledge about the structure and then immediately getting to step inside and explore it.
Journal Entry: Swooping
Swooping
During our walks, I saw a sign that read, “Beware of the Gulls,” featuring a little iconography of a seagull. I chuckled because the seriousness of the sign seemed totally unwarranted-or at least a little extreme.
They’re just birds, right? I didn’t know it at the time, but this moment was pure foreshadowing.
Days later, we were having lunch by the canal at a local spot. Katia ordered a steak, and Elias ordered lobster. I had decided to fast this particular day, so I was just taking it all in. When their food arrived, a seagull landed on a nearby bumper post. He looked very cute, just watching us. Suddenly, he flew over to the table, hovering in mid-air right above the plates, turning his head to get an intense view of the food. The cameriere came over and shooed him away with a pole. The gull retreated, landing in the canal and floating on the subtle waves, watching us from below.
A few moments later, he returned, this time landing on a post a little further away. I joked about him wanting the lobster on the table. But just when we least expected it, he swooped down and grabbed the once-bitten steak right off Katia’s plate! He flew it across the canal, looking slightly weighed down by its size, and tore into it as soon as he landed on the other side-like a tiger with a fresh meal.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Venice, Italy
Murano
Journal Entry
The human form is so well-studied here. Bodies are painted, sculpted, and integrated into the very fabric of the art and architecture-accentuated, though sometimes left decapitated or amputated by the hands of time. The value of human life seems to be artistically uplifted, despite a colossal reality that would insinuate otherwise.
The heaviness of the Roman Colosseum, both materially and historically, was a lot to carry as an explorer. It was a space constructed for state-sanctioned spectacles… for massacres. Across centuries, hundreds of thousands of people and millions of animals were killed for political power and public entertainment.
My empathetic nature forced me to feel it all, the stone itself holds the memory.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Murano, Italy
Vicenza
Journal Entry: Recoiling
Recoiling
We arrived at the Villa Rotunda on such a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. Vicenza had beautiful rolling green hills, the journey there was memorable. The property was perfectly manicured reflecting the perfect symmetry of the architecture sitting at the center of the site.
The rose-colored perspective I had of the Villa Rotunda quickly turned a coagulated blood red, recognizing the massive scale of the upper house as I walked beneath the porch passing the slave quarters under the house.
There were up and down nods to architectural genius on how the house doesn’t technically have a front or back but frames the landscape on all four sides anchored by a central rotunda. I had side to side ones as I walked in and felt an overwhelming since of strange.
As I walked through the connected outer rooms of the house something felt off. When I finally made it ti the Rotunda, the coagulated blood red met my eyes from a radial floor meeting what looked like a demon’s face in a perforated stone grate in the middle.
My spirit felt so unsettled in this space I asked myself, why would anyone want this in the center of their home, and I wish I hadn’t because I saw visions of terrible things as if I got immediate answers from an unknown source. A vision of blood running from the perimeter down the radius of the circle into the floor.
Just as I had shaken away the vivid ghost-like imagery casted over the room, I was further disturbed when my concerned gaze met a painting on the wall of the rotunda, facing the center, an elder winged man, mostly naked, devouring a baby.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Vicenza, Italy
Verona
Journal Entry
The human form is so well-studied here. Bodies are painted, sculpted, and integrated into the very fabric of the art and architecture-accentuated, though sometimes left decapitated or amputated by the hands of time. The value of human life seems to be artistically uplifted, despite a colossal reality that would insinuate otherwise.
The heaviness of the Roman Colosseum, both materially and historically, was a lot to carry as an explorer. It was a space constructed for state-sanctioned spectacles… for massacres. Across centuries, hundreds of thousands of people and millions of animals were killed for political power and public entertainment.
My empathetic nature forced me to feel it all, the stone itself holds the memory.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Verona, Italy
Florence
Journal Entry
The human form is so well-studied here. Bodies are painted, sculpted, and integrated into the very fabric of the art and architecture-accentuated, though sometimes left decapitated or amputated by the hands of time. The value of human life seems to be artistically uplifted, despite a colossal reality that would insinuate otherwise.
The heaviness of the Roman Colosseum, both materially and historically, was a lot to carry as an explorer. It was a space constructed for state-sanctioned spectacles… for massacres. Across centuries, hundreds of thousands of people and millions of animals were killed for political power and public entertainment.
My empathetic nature forced me to feel it all, the stone itself holds the memory.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Florence, Italy
Siena
Journal Entry
The human form is so well-studied here. Bodies are painted, sculpted, and integrated into the very fabric of the art and architecture-accentuated, though sometimes left decapitated or amputated by the hands of time. The value of human life seems to be artistically uplifted, despite a colossal reality that would insinuate otherwise.
The heaviness of the Roman Colosseum, both materially and historically, was a lot to carry as an explorer. It was a space constructed for state-sanctioned spectacles… for massacres. Across centuries, hundreds of thousands of people and millions of animals were killed for political power and public entertainment.
My empathetic nature forced me to feel it all, the stone itself holds the memory.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Siena, Italy
Pisa
Journal Entry
The human form is so well-studied here. Bodies are painted, sculpted, and integrated into the very fabric of the art and architecture-accentuated, though sometimes left decapitated or amputated by the hands of time. The value of human life seems to be artistically uplifted, despite a colossal reality that would insinuate otherwise.
The heaviness of the Roman Colosseum, both materially and historically, was a lot to carry as an explorer. It was a space constructed for state-sanctioned spectacles… for massacres. Across centuries, hundreds of thousands of people and millions of animals were killed for political power and public entertainment.
My empathetic nature forced me to feel it all, the stone itself holds the memory.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Pisa, Italy
Lucca
Journal Entry
loading…
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Lucca, Italy
Viareggio
Journal Entry: Stretching
This part of Italy reminded me alot of San Francisco. This time, the whole group to the beach. We made sandcastles, swam in the ocean and added sunshine to our memories. I stretched my arms to the sky and felt incredibly grateful for my life.
- ShaRena Steeple. 2026 Viareggio, Italy
