She sits up tall, confident. Her long, brown, curly hair lays perfectly on her shoulders as her eyes shine in the light. She smiles, reminiscing on her unforgettable summer. Gabriela Zujko, a senior at East Leyden, had recently traveled to Italy, creating her final memories before starting senior year. Initially, Gabi traveled to Poland with her family. While in Poland, they came up with a plan to travel to Italy. She starts, “So I went with my older brother, and then my three older cousins. We met up in Poland and then we went to Rome. We were there for four days in total. Two of the days we were traveling so really we were only there for two full days.” Despite her short time in Italy, Gabi was able to see lots of places and attractions. “The first thing we went to was the Vatican City, which was beautiful,” she says as she starts laughing. “We thought we were going to see the Pope, but he was on vacation, so we didn’t see him. We got to go inside the cathedral, and it was actually really nice. I didn’t realize how big it was. It was just so magical.” Gabi continues, “After that, we went to the Colosseum. I actually got to go inside and take a walk around. That was also really beautiful, because I’ve never seen anything like it. The architecture was gorgeous.” She also mentions, “The Trevi Fountain was really beautiful as well. We went once during the day, but it was really crowded, so we didn’t get a picture, and then at night, the lights were just really beautiful. We also went to the Pantheon and that was also gorgeous.” She later transitions, beginning to talk about her family. “I think my cousins played a really big role in making this trip happen,” she starts, “my cousin Emilia really put in the effort of getting all of us on board to go, which wasn’t really hard to do, because we all really wanted to go. I feel like everyone played a different role. We all kind of looked for places to stay and things to do, and then she kind of just booked it all. She’s very organized.” Gabi explains, “My family plays a really big role in my life. I feel we are all really close. We love to travel together and do little day to day activities like family game night or watching a movie,” she says, a smile growing on her face. “My mom has a huge impact on me. She’s my cheerleader. She always motivates me and she’s awesome at giving advice.” The last summer before senior year was very well spent by Gabi. With the most important people in her life, she was able to create unforgettable memories and stories to be able to reminisce on in the future.