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Time To Talk About Depression (A Monster That Many Keep Locked Away)

Every week, Justin and I post our shorts on our channel, showing brief joyous moments of our life,  in Calabria, Italy. And, every weekend, we have a new full episode prepared, showing the things that we have gotten into that week. Our YouTube channel, Prego Italia - Living Our Italian Dream, was created as a way to show bits of our daily lives in Italy, where we live full-time, as American expats. We show the goofy antics, and the fun that we have, always hoping to make viewers smile, and ‘dare to dream’. We always aim to spread happiness, and cheer. Because, really, there is no greater emotion in the world.  But the reality is that, even as we create thes videos, and even as you will see me (Michael) smiling, laughing, and having a good time, the truth is that there are many times, where I am less than happy, in reality. I want to be. I CRAVE to be!  And, it should be noted that the happy disposition that I show during our videos is not false. There are certainly times where I do fee
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Ferragosto

We are in August, in Scalea, Calabria, Italy. This, of course, means two things, that can be said, without doubt. First, the weather is VERY hot. I, Michael, am not a fan of summer at all. With my disability, I find that I overheat rather quickly, and turn into a goopy pile of a hot, sweaty mess. No, thank you! I find, each and every hot day, that I wish for the cooler days of Autumn. So close, yet, at the same time, so, so far away. And, August means something else in Scalea, as well. It means Ferragosto. A holiday on August 15, this event will see Scalea swell, to over 100,000 individuals. This means that the normally quiet city of Scalea, becomes very busy. If you are planning on driving the streets, then you best prepare yourself for busy traffic. Because, honestly, there are several points in Scalea where you will find your car sitting in a still position, for some time. Along with busy streets, you will likely hear several horns honking. Because, you know…laying on a horn really,
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When You Get Hurt, Paradise Gets Lost

While it may be a rather unfortunate reality (and not one that I am all the keen on embracing), the truth is that, no matter what–no matter how happy a person you normally are, or how blissful the place you live it–there will come times where things are less than perfect. Sometimes, life has this horrible trick of throwing a curveball our way, to make us really remember that, no matter how good life may be, it will never be 100% perfect. 99.99%...sure. But, 100%...Not a chance! This past monday (July 31, 2023), I woke up, and was ready to scream in absolute pain. It was just after 2 in the morning, and Justin was beside me, peacefully sleeping, and not aware of the agony that I was in. And, being that he is a light sleeper, I realized that if I screamed out (which I really felt the need to do), or even let out a whimper, it would likely wake him up, and then we would both be in a night of hell. So, I bit my tongue. I (slowly, and somewhat awkwardly) made my way to the kitchen, to get a
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Be Careful, & Care For Your Dreams

 Hey all. So, Justin and I were originally going to post a short about this topic on our YouTube channel, but have decided against it, for two reasons. First, we already posted a similar video, which can be seen at this link ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvtS66BAkQE&t=10s ), and second, we have decided that we want to keep our channel light, and focusing on the many great things that living in Calabria, Italy has brought into our lives. Because, certainly, the move to Scalea, Italy has bee a move that we are very happy we made. We love it here so much, each and every day, and we are always so happy with our decision to move here full-time, from America.  With that said, it was decided that, while this topic would not be featured on our channel, it would be something that I would write of here. I am not going to name any specific name here, to avoid any legal ramifications, or problems. Instead, I am simply going to remind you all that, should you be wanting to move to Italy (or
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A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit Of That

 The heat in summer is unbearable for me. Using the walker, and exerting the energy that I exert, just to walk, I find that I burn out, very quickly, during the hot days of the summer. These past few days have been excrutiatingly hot, to the point that, even staying inside, directly under a ceiling fan, I am still absolutely burning.   And, as Scalea becomes populated with tourists--it will get increasingly busy through, until the end of August--the city becomes even warmer, due to the heavy crowd that is all around. And, honestly, I am not going to lie...While life in Italy may be a dream, most of the time, it is a complete NIGHTMARE, during the heat of high summer. Add to it that, beyond the standard heat, we are now in a bonafide heatwave, and I am done, done, done! I find that I am craving the cool days of Autumn...Counting down the days of heat, that I so dread. There is, quite honestly, not enough gelato in the whole of Scalea to make this heat bearable for me. Milan, as you migh
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Daring To Dream In Italy - Prego Italia

It is hard to believe that we have been in Italy for over two years. The time has passed so quickly. And, strangely enough, it has had a “standstill” sort of effect, at the same time. A sort of blend between “time flies when you’re having fun”, and the “piano piano (slowly, slowly)” lifestyle. Both Justin and I moved out here, to Scalea, Italy, trying to find some semblance of peace, in what had become a daily cycle of chaotic and burdensome living. For us, moving to Italy was not so much a dream, as a last resort.That last thread at hope. We were both tired, in every way imaginable…Feeling an insurmountable amount of stress, pressure, and anxiety, with our lives in America. For reasons that are ones that I will not write here, or share (they are not important, in the grand scheme of things) we were losing a little more of ourselves, every minute…every day…every week… We had been planning to get a place in Italy since 2016. Or, rather, we had been talking of doing so. For vacations, or
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