How I Became a Globetrotter

I guess you can say my knack for traveling started when I was four years old watching the movie Madeline for the 100th time. The movie's location in Paris helped give me a sweet spot for the city. This was one of the first memories I have that gave me that glistening in my eye for Paris and the start of a long love affair with the glamorous city.

This love affair with Paris stuck with me past my adolescent years. From an early age though, it seemed like a far-off place to visit. I had been fortunate to see a good deal of the United States with my family (lots of cross-country road trips). Anywhere outside our U.S. borders seemed like it would be a massive feat to get there.

As my adolescence turned into my tweens, I was getting comfortable just looking at pictures of Paris on Google and hanging posters on my wall. It wasn't until my sophomore year of high school that I had the opportunity that would genuinely change my life. It was in my AP European History class that I was presented with an opportunity to go on the annual AP Euro Trip with my classmates. My teacher passed around the paper for any takers for further information about this opportunity. Unknowing if would be able to go or not, I signed my name.

"The places your kids will have the opportunity to visit will be Paris, Florence, and Rome."

My history teacher had barely spoken those words before I already had it in my mind that I was going to go on this trip. The cost was $3,300. The cost of this trip was hard to swallow, but I knew if I could get a job and save up, I could pay for this trip myself.

A year and a half later, I had saved enough money to be able to write a check for $3,300. I had done it! My adolescent dream of going to Paris was just a few short months away.

Little did I know, but my dream of walking the streets of Paris would flourish into being a full-blown globetrotter who plans to journey through many streets in many countries.

Fast forward to the end of spring break in 2014, I had just climbed off the bus at my high school's parking lot to a big hug from my parents, signaling the end of my European adventure.

My response to their many "how was it" questions sounded like the Louis Armstrong song, “A Wonderful World.” My perception of the world had been opened, and I couldn't get enough. Who knew the young girl watching Madeline too many times would end up walking the streets of Paris and become inspired to see what else the world has to offer?

Before leaving for my trip senior year of high school, I had been wavering on where to go to college. I had narrowed it down to three different universities, all ranging in various prices, locations, and opportunities. Once I had returned from my trip, it had been so transformative I decided to pick the school that made the most sense financially for me since I was going to be paying for college, and I knew that I would want to be able to afford to study abroad at least once in college. If not for this first trip, I am not sure where I would have ended up, but at the time of writing this at 27 years old, I have now been to 40 countries over six continents and make all my decisions in life based on my love for traveling abroad. This experience in high school gave me the lust to wander further than just in Paris but to see what else the world had to offer.