At 30, I quit my job and took a gap year in Italy. Now, I'm back in the US and thriving in a new career.

Tricia Patras, center, maintains friendships with the women she met during her gap year in Florence.

Courtesy of Tricia Patras

• At 30, I took a gap year in Italy and hope my story inspires others.
• My life was fine in San Francisco but something was missing.
• I found myself in Italy and it helped me take the next leap in my career when I returned to the US.

I was entering a new decade of my life at 30 and decided to take inventory of my life.

I was happily...