The Beauty in Our Own Backyard
Majestic mountains, luscious forests, towering rock formations, a brilliant yellow sun, a magnificent thunder storm; the diversity astounded me. With every passing mile, a new scene erupted into view,...
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The Hike: How I Accomplished What I Thought Was Impossible
There is a mountain in the Dominican Republic named Brison. Never would I have guessed, with my lack of athleticism and of experience in hiking, that I would one day reach the top. But when jumping...
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Home Is Where the Heart Was, Is and Will Be
A broken or separated...
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The Day I Got Released and Confined
April 1, 2013 – to most people this date is not important; they just brush it off as a day that people try to play...
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Natural Beauty and Human Strength
I spent three weeks in León, Nicaragua this summer, and almost every day, Nicaragua surprised me. My experience in León couldn’t have been more different than my life in the United States, and it...
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Adventure Was Waiting
In 8th grade I was that kid who would leave my parents for about 3 days, having had enough freedom and adventure, and come back home as quickly as possible. But that completely changed when my mom convinced...
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How Much Water Do You Need?
My French teacher organized an exchange program with a high school in La Rochelle, France. For the first couple of days, we stayed in Paris. For about a week and a half, we would stay with host families...
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Encircled by Beauty
Three years ago, my family, journeyed from our suburban home in Frankfort, Illinois, to the beautiful, stunning wilderness of Yellowstone National...
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Endings and Beginnings
We had accepted a quest. A wonderful,...
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¿Hablas Español? Do You Speak Spanish?
“Deja tus zapatos, por favor.”
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Getting Lost, Being Found
I am alone. Five days have gone by on my trip to France and Italy, and my geography teacher lets me roam the streets of Assisi, Italy, alone. My Romanesque sandals aid my feet across the cobblestoned...
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Dirt-Caked Memories: A Story Revisited and Retold
Standing inside my mother’s former home for the first time, I notice the uncovered skylight. The floor beneath it is moist with rain that has fallen through. Scratched pots and pans lay cluttered...
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Journey To Find Love In Chicago
Over a year ago, I met someone who changed my life. As a teenager, I spend a lot of spare time browsing the Internet. One point during those lonely summer days, a boy from Chicago, named Tim, messaged...
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A Beautiful City with a Dark History
I remember being there. The very grounds where many people were sent to their deaths. It felt so unreal seeing all that remains. You know that moment that you could not believe that a part of history...
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Nobel Week with the Swedes
Never did I think I would be in a room with the greatest minds of our time. Yet here I was sitting only rows away from them hearing their amazing plans for change. I had...
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You Trippin’?
Leather seats with oversized pillows, hostess serving chicken and apple juice, 39,000 feet above civilization, clouds overshadowing the wings, front-row views of sunsets. That...
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I Always Knew, but Now I Know
The scene that lies before my eyes could best be described as hell on earth. As I walk down the school bus stairs and onto the dusty Guatemalan soil, I can’t take my eyes off what is before me. I...
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A Sky of Stars
When I was a freshman in high school, I was a part of this program called Expedition Academy which was for advanced students who also had a love for the outdoors. From Quehanna, to the Laurel Highlands,...
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People in Paris
I received news that Paris was a journey foreseeable...
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All It Took Was a Little Faith, Trust, Pixie Dust…and eBay!
There it was! As I squinted into the sun, not only did I see the gates, but I saw my impossible dream coming true. I never before realized a 12 year old could pay for a vacation to Walt Disney World!
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A Walk Alone in America’s Most Unique City
Hard as I tried, I could not do it. As I closed my eyes and tried to imagine just how enormous the river really was, my brain failed to comprehend the sheer magnitude and raw size of the Mississippi....
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Learning Humility
During the summer of 2015, I was selected to participate in Loop Abroad, which is a program that enables students to work with endangered elephants and provide veterinary care for the elephants, Bengal...
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Accidentally Amazing: My Trip to Haiti
Sweat dripped down my temples as I sat perched on the off-balance wooden chair. The street behind me bustled with activity and the foreign language chattered in the background. I glanced around the...
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Azul Family All-Inclusives Offering Fall Sale
We’ve just learned that Azul Hotels and Generations by Karisma are having 30%-45% off fall specials and, because we found them great value during the summer, we want...
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The Language of Kindness
A gentle breeze blew through the vivid green rice fields and made the sea shell wind chimes above me sway. I was surrounded by the mountainous green hills of northern Thailand, but I wasn’t paying...
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Green Lessons in a Shell
Green. And slimy, too. All nestled in their shells. Anything that is green and slimy belongs...
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Climbing to Montana Glaciers
Something looks different about glacial runoff water. While the average lake has a banal navy blue or even brown color, one composed of glacial melt has a rich, aquamarine, slightly opaque look to it....
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New York. New Me.
I couldn’t stop smiling, my enormous grin was permanently chiseled onto my face; my heart wouldn’t cease its drumming in my chest, it was as if King Kong himself was pounding his huge fist throughout...
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Peace at Last
When my parents first proposed a twenty two day road trip from our native Arizona to Florida I was skeptical. We...
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Survival, Much Like Smiling, Is Universal
My time in Cambodia had brought me many challenges. I had a running fever with no access to trustworthy medical care, I was fumbling with cultural differences and customs, and we worked long days teaching...
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Finding Peace in Hiroshima
We stared with hands clasped over our open mouths and eyes glued to the figures before us. They were bathed in the red of their own blood, burned skin, and the flames that surrounded them. Their clothes...
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Old New World
Bullet holes still dot the walls outside the Pergamon Museum...
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Murder On The Prospect
Visiting the setting of a book you have recently read may be completely different from what you imagined. My imagined setting of Crime and Punishment, I discovered, was completely different...
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Building Hope in Mexico
Let me back up a little. I come from a family that travels. Sometimes we travel for fun, sometimes for adventure, and sometimes for cultural experiences. About every other year, we travel for missions...
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Barfing in the Light of the Stars
I come from a family of six very large boys, and the most frequent response I get after divulging that information is “Oh your poor mother!” I smile and nod, thinking back on the good times I’ve...
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