Jeanie Lee

As a young child, I've dreamed of traveling the world, to explore and discover different cultures. Unfortunately growing up in a middle class income family, we didn't have the luxuries that many of us now may take for granted. Instead of a child's dream trip to Disney world, our family trips consisted of camping trips, local road trips to places like Hershey Park, Philadelphia, skiing, just to name a few. I guess you can say my passion and love for traveling was always there, even at a young age, but the resources to do so were sparse. The fact that I was deprived of this, I believe was the driving force in setting both career and personal goals of mine. At age 29, many of these goals I set for myself I had achieved, but there was always that missing link that made things feel incomplete. That is when I realized it was ready for a trip overseas. After my first initial trip to the Meditteranean Sea, I vowed to myself that I would see the sunset in every country, learn and understand different cultures, and embrace a world that was completely new to me. I wanted to walk down a small cobblestone alley in Italy, I wanted see the Eiffel towel without having to stare at a postcard, I wanted to cross the London bridge without it falling down. These were my childhood dreams becoming reality and I was loving every minute of it. Life is full of choices we ultimately decide and make. Some choose to live life lavishly on material things, while others choose to value life based on exploration and experiences. I've made some lasting friendships with people across the world, something that I will cherish for a lifetime. I hope to infect others with my stories and help them explore a world they have yet to discover.