sommerville hill

When I was in first grade, I made a goal to see all fifty United States before graduating high school. I had some medical issues growing up, and my family and I didn’t know what the future held, so we wanted to live life to the fullest! Around that time, we had some friends who went to Mount Rushmore, which gave me the idea. After a lot of saving and Dave Ramsey lectures, I completed my goal in Hawaii this past Christmas. For any trip to count, we had to either spend the night or have a meal in that state. The only way we could do this was by finding deals and using apps such as Priceline, where we could find hotels for much cheaper than the standard rate. We even flew to Kentucky for just $26 roundtrip and were able to include Ohio and Indiana! While it’s challenging to narrow it down, my favorite states are New York, California, and Hawaii. From traveling, I have learned that I want to try to live in many different places throughout my life. I have learned so much from meeting so many people. For example, seeing a homeless man in New York City holding up a sign that said, “Please help me, I’m freezing my balls off” with a big smile on his face, reminded me that you could have joy regardless of the situation in which you find yourself. Traveling has given me excellent quality time with my parents, and I am very close to them. It has also made my world bigger and given me different ways to look at life, teaching me to put myself in others’ shoes. My next goal is to get the seven continents in, even Antarctica, so if Covid could hurry and go away, that would be great.