Elsie Damato

While home is great, I have always loved to be on the road. For my first birthday, my family and I went to Paris. My birthday was actually an excuse for my mom to request a trip to Paris, but nonetheless, I began traveling at an early age.

From there, my mom made it her mission to take me everywhere. She didn't feel like flying a toddler around the world seemed realistic, so we stuck to the United States. One of my favorite memories was a specific playground in Chicago on the river. I don't remember what it was called, but the image of it in my head stuck with me. As of today, I have been to 45 of the 50 states. That's everywhere except Alaska, North Dakota, Maine, New Mexico, and Wisconsin.

As the years went on, my parents separated, but this only doubled my chances of securing a vacation. My mom settled into a routine of visiting tropical destinations. We've visited Bermuda, St. Croix, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos, and Bali. There is nothing my mom loves more than a tan. On the other hand, my dad settled into more traditional vacations. The picture shown is from a family beach trip to Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, only about two hours away from my home in Raleigh. (If he were seeing this, I'm sure he would tell you he is “making a funny face” in this photo, and this isn't how he actually smiles). This trip became a tradition in 2016. More recently, we have adopted a ski trip to Park City every winter. This began about 5 years ago and is still a consistent practice.

Traveling, to me, is so exciting. I love to see new places! With my mom, I hope to go on an Alaskan cruise. Even though Alaska is not a tropical location, I've convinced her that the cruise would guarantee much less time on the ice. I also think she will be up for it because of the dog sledding. We used to have a Husky, and now have an Akita, so she has a soft spot for that kind of dog. With my dad, I hope to go to a music festival. My dad is OBSESSED with music. It's not that he's an avid listener, but instead that he could tell you the year and artist of about every song ever. He went to the Oceans Calling festival in Maryland this past year and had a great time. Because of this, it would be awesome if we could go to a festival together sometime soon.

To trump all else, I am going on the ultimate vacation from February to December in 2027. I am planning to study abroad in Brazil. I began taking Portuguese at UGA in my first semester and have committed to learning the language every semester since. While I am in Brazil, I will spend one semester in Salvador and another in Belo Horizonte. Over the summer, I can travel to other cities such as Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo to sightsee.

All this being said, I am very grateful for the opportunities I have had to travel and hope they continue to present themselves.