February 2014, my mom was hired as a Delta Flight Attendant. Of course that sounded amazing, but who knew 7 years later that would affect my life tremendously.

After several weeks of training, she was officially in the air. From Texas to Amsterdam, she flew everywhere; domestically and internationally. I always thought to myself, “what an amazing experience for her to be able to travel the world as her full-time job.” But never did I expect that I would be able to experience such a thing.

One day my sister, my mom and I were sitting in our living room on a hot summer day with a broken AC. My mom asks, “You guys want to fly somewhere?” Definitely did not expect to be flying to Antigua, Guatemala (A very authentic city). We learned so much about their culture, their way of life, traditions, etc. One thing that we don't usually see are kids who are very young working full time jobs. Families need all the support they can get, whether or not it is their 5 year old daughter helping out. This was so eye opening to see at 12 years old, and since then I continued to better understand the world we live in.

Since Guatemala, I have traveled to India, Germany, Thailand, Chile, Indonesia, etc. This isn’t a post to brag, but rather a post to appreciate the lives we are given. In the picture, this is me in a very small city in Bali, Indonesia. This experience in Bali was one of the most life changing experiences. Many think of Bali as a fancy place to travel, but that country is in more poverty than you would expect. As we walked around the city, one moment I will never forget is watching a boy who was around 5 years old picking up groceries for his family and walking them into his small, worn down house he shared with about 5 different families. What caught my attention the most was the smile everyone had. The families learn to appreciate the time they get to spend with each other and never take one second for granite. Their lives aren't focused on materialism, where as most people I am surrounded by, it is. This being said, oftentimes when I complain about such first-world problems, my brain automatically picks up these tiny, but huge moments that I have eye-witnessed.

When I was a little younger, it was so hard for me to realize there is a world outside of essentially my “luxurious” bubble. But now, I do and my whole life has shaped more than I could have ever imagined and I am so lucky to have this opportunity to travel and see/ understand the world how it truly is.