Civitella Ranieri allowed me to dwell, compose, sing and work on my thesis in a medieval castle for six weeks…all this amidst times of crisis and a global pandemic. Needless to say, this was an opportunity I embraced not only with gratitude, but also a great deal of reflexivity. Artists need space and time to be able to dive deeply into their creative process. I was able to find such focus and achieve concrete artistic goals, as well as explore the area and connect meaningfully with the other Fellows. Every day was a blessing.