Dedicated to my mom, Jenny.

You probably think YOU have the BEST MOM IN THE WORLD, but I'm here to tell you...YOU'RE WRONG. MINE IS. Okay but for real, they're ALL the best mom's in the world. I'm going to try to encapsulate my thankfulness to God for giving me Jenny as a mother, a protector, a counselor, an angel, but no words can ever suffice for stuff like that of course...but I'll try. Maybe you'll understand just a glimpse of the immense love I feel for my mom.

She's always shielded me from bad. That's all a mother wants to do, and all they can do is hope you learn when you fall, because at the end of the day, it's your call to change and to improve and to become the best person you can be...but we'd never be able to reach that platform withour our angels, our mothers. You take their wisdom and the days they yelled at you for the stupid things you did and you NEED to apply it to your life. Some do, and some don't...I'm trying very hard, but it's not always that easy...but everything I do is to make her proud. Yes, I make mistakes and act like an idiot at times, but who doesn't? We're human. In the situations that really count, I ask myself, "what would Jenny do?" She'd do so much to help someone, it's ridiculous...my mom has a heart of gold. Everyone always asks for help from her at church and she does it, and it's amazing to me that she genuinely never expects anything in return. She'd also make someone laugh...she's very professional but there's this side to my mom that no one sees. Her laugh is so infectious. In fact, I watch America's Funniest Videos because of her...to hear her laugh. It's my favorite thing in the world. You would think with a personality like mine, it's easy to make me laugh and it is, but to GENUINELY laugh...not just an average chuckle, all it takes is my momma. She's literally the only one that can make me laugh the hardest no matter what the circumstances.

So I go to Regis in Denver, right? I never visited the school before I went because we couldn't afford it but they gave me a scholarship so my mom said I could go and I never thought I'd be going to college in Colorado but I decided, why not go on an adventure?! It'd be good to experience something different than Los Angeles. Well, my mom of course went on the road trip with me to help me move in as a freshman in college. The car was packed and I was ready to embark on my new journey in life, my mom with me 100% of the way, as usual. Jenny's my #1 cheerleader and I'm hers. Well, we were going to Invesco Field for the President's address to welcome all the students and what have you and as we pulled up into the parking lot, my mom didn't see a pole and crashed my new car into it.

Think about it: who else's mother crashes their daughter's new car (the one they warned them about not crashing or they'd never see the outside of their room again)? And here we are...Jenny, ran my car into a pole on orientation day of college. UGH. But you just have to laugh at it...silly mommy. Don't think this is psychopathy of me but I genuinely knew what it was like to want to strangle someone that day, and my mom just laughed and said, "Oh no, are you okay? As long as you're okay, that's all that matters." Of course I answered, "NO I AM NOT OKAY. MY BEAUTIFUL CAR HAS JUST GONE THROUGH A HEAD ON COLLISION WITH SOME STUPID POLE." Again, she just laughed and said in a calm voice, "Giocondita, there is more to life than plastic on a car." I couldn't help but laugh...problem solved. She was right. I love my momma. She always knows what to say. She always has something different to say which I love because I feel like I always get the same advice from people, but not Jenny.

No matter how devastating something is, there's this calm about my mother. She is carefree and never lets anything get the best of her. My momma is full of wonders. I want to learn her secret.

Here in Italy, Jenny skypes me and is worried out of her mind, even though she doesn't say it...I know she's praying every moment that I don't get hurt out here. One night a week ago or so, I was in the dorm room with Jordyn, Beka, Emily, Victoria, Julia, Amy, and Sarah and I hear my skype calling me. Mom!!!! Yay!!! Everyone was drinking wine except for me because that night I felt sick. I told her that and she just asks, "Gioconda! ARE YOU DRINKING?" "No mom!!! I'm feeling sick, remember?!??!" "Hm.....okay then.....................you look cute." "Thanks momma, you too." "And don't forget tomorrow's Sunday. MAKE SURE YOU GO TO CHURCH!!!" Jenny doesn't talk...she goes through waves of yelling and then waves of being silent and just staring at me with the cheesiest smile on Skype as I tell her what's been going on. Even if I'm not talking, that signature smile lingers. My mom is my mom and I wouldn't have her any other way. She's taught me too much to not love her for everything she is. My little weirdo. But everyone's weird in their own way I guess.

Through these little stories I hope you can catch a tidbit of my mom's fascinating personality..she's so different than anyone you'll ever meet. Maybe that's why I'm so different...ha.

Now that I'm grown up, I am surprisingly glad I was sheltered. I wasn't ready to deal with the power of knowing about drugs and alcohol until after high school. Jenny knew what she was doing somehow. I feel like there's no handbook on parenting that gives you full proof solutions to anything that your children go through so I believe that mother's kind of wing it in life. Jenny has done a superb job. I don't know how she did it. Miklos is pursuing engineering and I'm hoping to be a doctor. I'd say she did good.

My mom taught me that you need to love everyone in life and that you need to listen to God and try your very hardest to see Him in everyone and everything around you, because it makes life more fun and...meaningful. There are many other lessons but that's the main one that I know I've learned well. Oh yeah, and help someone every chance you get. Oh man, and one more...be gentle to everyone because you never know what they're going through. Maybe your smile is what they needed to make it through the day. She taught me that we live for other people and God of course.

She is so selfless...she never buys anything for herself to put my brother and I through school. She takes care of grandma who lives with us...hispanic tradition. My mom will def live with me when she's older. She thinks the simple things are the funniest.

She gives me all the opportunities I could ever ask for. She gave me this. Italy. What a gift. Gosh...

There is no way I can ever repay her for what she's done to me.

I could go on for days, which is what I hope you take out of this, because I just look up to her so much.

I love my momma, Jenny Ginger Zoller. She'll never know how much but that's a good thing because love should be that way...infinitely strong.

This is going to turn into a love story real fast...

I have this friend named Jordyn. She's a Southern belle and if you know anything about me, you know I have this OBSESSION with the South, but it's okay, I'm normal and stuff, ya know? ...I just love the lifestyle and probably think it's a little much like in the movies, but it's a nice fantasy, right? I even told my roommates, who are from Texas and Alabama, within 2 minutes of meeting them, "you guys, I'm just going to tell you something right off the bat - I LOVE the South. Just letting you know, so you're not freaked out when I incessantly ask questions about your wonderful lives there, okay????" They always make fun of me because they found out lots about me quickly. Victoria always jokes, "She said, 'Hi I'm Gioconda! It's like Anaconda, minus the 'ana', plus the 'gio'. You're from the South? I love the South, my sleep pattern resembles a cat and I don't wear underwear." But back to the point...deep down everyone knows all I want to do is settle down and have lots of babies and be a mom. Totally Southern, huh?! Anywho, my sweet girlfriend out here in Bologna, Jordyn, wrote me one of those random funny notes that you don't expect that brings a smile to your face when you see it. (Now I didn't know she wrote it until a special someone read it to me, because our room is a "jungle" to the Italians.) This is how I found out about her note.

Sarah barges into our room, as usual. She's kind of an adopted fourth roommate. Sarah's not even my best friend, it's stronger than that...we're "sorellas per la vita." She knows about my crush here...my "Italian tutor." Victoria, Emily and I were in our beds about to go to sleep when she waltzed on in, lighting up the room with her as always. We weren't tired anymore. I was cozy in my bed under covers joking about how I wished Stefano would come in and tell me a bedtime story and tuck me in! Well, it didn't take two seconds for Sarah to be like, "be right back." GUESS WHO SHE BROUGHT BACK WITH HER. God I love her. Heeyyy Stefanoooo. Rosanna and Veronica come in too. I stay in bed and magic Stefano takes a seat (there's this "magic club" here...so like, for example, they call me and Sarah, "magic Gioconda" and "magic Sarah" because we're the craziest American girls here I guess?) Well anyways, I'm totally paralyzed that the boy I like is in the room so I stay in the covers and GUESS WHERE STEFANO SAT.....ON MY BED. I asked for a bed time story and he picked up this note. I just want to say before you guys picture the cutest scenario...Emily, Victoria's and my door is ALWAYS open. This is the room that everyone congregates in and I love the little family we've created. I'm safe here, mom, don't you worry. I have friends like Jordyn that make me notes like this, that get read as a "bedtime story" by the cutest boy from Sicily as I'm all tucked in and ready for bed. Oh and I wish you all could hear his voice, it's EXTREMELY deep, almost somber, but once you get to know him, all he does is joke around (he's SUCH a boy) and then his voice turns into this lighthearted sound and...it's soothing. :-)..I lay smiling just looking at him and laughing my butt off once he commences that note I hadn't seen yet:


Oh Mama Gia!

When the moon hits your eye,
it's like a big pizza pie.

I fucking love you.

You make my life...
you complete me!


'Love is like surfing, you just have to chill with your friends as all the waves go by, until the perfect wave comes. Then it will be the best ride ever.

<3 Jordan, "your Southern belle"

I love ya'll




Throughout Stefano's reading of my note, with my torquoise sunglasses on, "so that no one can see him," the laughter that filled the room was amazing. Everyone was laughing so hard...including me. I get so embarrassed when I laugh hard in front of boys because my laugh is quite loud...and obnoxious, but in front of Stefano, I felt safe...so I let myself go and laughed harder than I did in a while at his thick Italian accent trying to read ever so hard the note in English. Stefano needs to be an actor. At the end of his act, I thought, "Gia's going to have sweet dreams tonight!" Sweet, funny boys are my favorite. :-)

The next night, Stefano taught me some Italian because I had an exam the next day butttttttttt I didn't do so hot on that exam because uh, well, I had trouble focusing, as you could imagine when a milky chocolate eyed Italian man is trying to teach you the language of love. Well, that night, I said I had to sleep so he walked me back to my room.

Okay, shut up right now everyone...I'm about to tell you something personal - sometimes, before bed, I watch puppies. They give me happy thoughts!! GUESS WHAT STEFANO DID...WATCHED PUPPIES WITH ME BEFORE BED. He also told me, "I want a puppy too but my momma won't let me get one because she says I will not take care of it and, she is right." They may seem simple but the way his voice sounds is what makes his sentences sound absolutely hilarious. The way he says, "Why?" is our favorite. "Sarah, why are you running???" His voice drags on, his pace is very slow...he doesn't like running, even though he LOVES futbol...typical. "Victoria, why do you drink so much wine????" "Magic Gioconda, why don't you wear any clothes?" That one came after my story about the maids who clean up our dorms. They kick us out of our room Wednesday mornings. One Wednesday, I wasn't ready. I sleep in my underwear and they opened the door and I JUMPED UPRIGHT with my blankets covering me and I tried so hard to communicate the fact that I had no pants on by saying, "NO PANTS," over and over again...they "no capisco" so I just opened the damn covers and showed them what "NO PANTS" meant and they IMMEDIATELY were like, "OH OH...WE COME BACK."

Oh sweet, funny boys...they're also dangerous. We'll see what happens. Keep the funny stories comin', Italy.