Over the course of my childhood, I went to the beach every summer. I traveled down south from my hometown-York, Pennsylvania, to my great grandmother’s beach house in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My family from all along the East Coast would also visit, and we would celebrate the week of the 4th of July together. This family wide celebration included relaxing on the beach, lounging at the pool, fierce competition at the mini golf course, cookouts, and a quaint night of fire work watching.

These are my earliest memories of travel. Playing on the beach stimulated and excited me as a kid, but what I remember from those beach days is being with my family. At that time, I correlated travel with family, because seeing my extended family was the core of my vacationing. I would travel to family vacations with my two parents, my twin brother, younger brother, and triplet cousins that grew up with me for most of my life. Considering that my parents had to support six kids, we didn’t have the time or money to sustain traveling to places other than my grandma’s beach house.

The first time I ever traveled without my family was to France for an "educational trip” with my high school French class. I was so excited to go abroad for the first time, and to experience traveling with friends-not family. I knew I’d have an amazing time in France; however, I did not expect that trip to change my entire outlook on travel. When I first arrived in Paris it was a total culture-shock. My French experience was so different from anything in America: there was chic and elegant fashion, beautiful architecture, fragrant food, and an unmatched allure to the city. I know that I looked like a bumbling American tourist; enamored by curiosity and wonder.

Visiting France made me view travel as a learning experience and something that can be personal. My ideology on family-oriented travel completely shifted. I have an urge to travel the world and experience new countries r rich cultures. Since my trip to France, I have traveled to four other countries: Spain Sweden Scotland and Monaco. I can't help but want to continue traveling to more countries and different regions of the world. If you were to ask me about my hopes and dreams in life, I would confidently say that my dream is to travel around the world. Although I haven't been to that many countries yet, I value every place that I've visited and I'm looking forward to my traveling endeavors in the future.