Because I mirrored your original sentence too closely, and “long walks between ruins” stayed in the rewrite. You clearly didn’t want that detail emphasized.

Here’s a cleaner version:

I almost did not study abroad. I got denied twice, then applied again anyway. Rome became the place where history stopped feeling distant and started feeling personal. I dealt with declined cards, stood beneath the Sistine Chapel ceiling in complete silence, ate gelato at dusk, and learned through getting lost, waiting, watching, and staying open. My study abroad experience became less about sightseeing and more about saying yes when I felt unsure and letting a city change how I saw the world.