O Rome-o Rome-o! Wherefore art thou Rome-o?

Okay so Mickey and I have been super stressed about this whole study abroad situation.  Well, actually mainly me because those of you who know me know how I can be a worrywart.  So, this is no exception.

Here's a little recap:

-So apparently, I came into college with 32 hours from high school, which basically put me at sophomore standing.  Now, I'm considered a senior in college, even though this is only my 5th semester!
-Mickey and I went to talk with a teacher who basically told me I could graduate this coming May, which isn't that surprising to me because I heard about this last semester.  The thing is that many of my Comm Arts teachers kind of don't care about my minor in Theatre.  Actually, a lot of people don't, which is weird because I wouldn't be minoring in it if I didn't absolutely love it.  They only care about my BA in Communication Arts which is cool and all but I am also minoring in Theatre for a reason.
-The thing is that apparently, there aren't really that many classes that could transfer from Rome to my college here because at my current senior standing, I need certain classes that are only available here.  I was told by this teacher we saw that I would only need my History class.
-Later, Mickey and I went to talk with an advisor I've gone to since my mom passed.  She said that I could take about 3 classes that would most likely transfer here.  She reiterated the idea that she just cares about the Comm Arts stuff and another thing that people have told me since, that I could always go visit Rome.  The thing is that visiting and living in Rome are two completely different things.  She, along with Mickey, realized that I had gotten very stressed.  I've got some people telling me that studying abroad right now would be dumb and others that say do what you feel is right.  
-Here's the conclusion I've come to:

"She believed in her dreams but she also believed
in doing something about them."

I would have never even slightly considered studying abroad if my mom were alive.  Technically, I could possibly graduate this coming May but I know myself and I'm not ready.  I may take my time to do certain things but I do them in my own time.  I'm getting there but I'm not ready yet.  I need to do some more growing up.  Studying abroad would allow me to do this.  I would learn to live on my own even more than I do now.  If I could make all of this happen right now, I would feel so beyond proud of myself.  I've gotten an extra job and have cut back on expenses to make this a reality.  It hasn't been easy but I don't want to live my life with regret.  I don't want to wonder in 10 years what would have happened if I'd study abroad.  I want to look back and realize that even though I graduated in 3.5 years,  I was able to get the most out of college.  I want to live life, I want to experience as much of it as possible.  I want to talk to people of all countries, I want to explore new things.  I want to study abroad in Rome this Spring 2013 semester.

I have asked my mom for guidance in helping us during this process and I've been surprised to find her ways already working.

So, wish us luck as Mickey and I continue to embark on this adventure as we figure out how to make this crazy dream of ours come true.  I will try to keep y'all updated and apologize for the scattered nature of this post.  :)