Wishing in Rome: A Visit to the Trevi Fountain

There are many places to make a wish - wells, on stars, on turkey bones. I've made a lot of wishes in my time because I'm a bit of a dreamer, but the most beautiful place I've ever wished is at the Trevi Fountain in Rome. 

A stunning structure, it looks like a story come to life, and then magically turned into stone, with fountains of water spilling down its rocky surface into a blue pool. Tourists from all over the world visit the Trevi Fountain to make wishes and they throw an estimated 3,000 euros a day into the fountain. It is said that if you throw a coin over your shoulder into the water you will one day return to Rome. I decided to throw four coins into the fountain in hopes of ensuring my return to the Eternal City and I made a wish on every one of them. 

My first wish was for the continued well being of my loved ones. I'd be no where good today if it wasn't for the support of my family and friends - their happiness means the world to me. So across the world, in a far away city, I wished for them to always be well.

Then I wished for happiness because I've been trying to live a life devoted to it. I used to try and be successful above all things, but I've found over the past year that my failures have made me the most happy and success is worth nothing if it only brings you grief.  

Thirdly, I wished for destiny, to find mine, and fulfil it. The coin I used for this wish was a Canadian dime and I hoped the etching of the legendary Bluenose on its face would strengthen my wish that my destiny and I would meet. 

Lastly, I wished for passion. Life is nothing if you don't have passion and love is not worth having if there's no passion in it. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, but I've started to notice people settling for a life devoid of passion. They go back to relationships and jobs that don't work for them, but they feel comfortable in. They sacrifice passion for the safety of the known and they wonder why they're unhappy. Travelling through Europe was me fulfilling my passion for adventure and on my trip I made a promise to myself never to settle for anything less again. This wish into the fountain was a physical act to solidify that promise to myself. 

Four coins, four wishes, and four hopes that I would one day return to Rome to tell the fountain its magic worked and my wishes came true.