Yaritza and the Humanity We All Share
The last few decades have seen the rise of an America increasingly enamored of differences, ever more cognizant that diversity means fresh perspectives and ideas. I arrived in Costa Rica with this in...
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Bonding in the Ithaca Gorges
Traveling to Ithaca, New York in July 2014 was both illuminating and unforgettable. Although situated in upstate New York, the most un-foreign of places and only a four hour car ride from home, Ithaca...
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Time Travel in Eight Days
This summer I did not go to the sandy beaches in the Bahamas or uptown England, but in only eight days I participated in a college tour that traveled back in time through eight...
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The Inception of Perception
Flashback to July 2nd – the day before I left on the trip of a lifetime. I had 46 less friends, less knowledge of foreign cultures,...
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New York’s Most Memorable Sight: The Empire State Building
If it weren’t for the automated elevators I would have pressed every single enticing button, just to see every magical floor. It took three...
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My NYC Adventure With My Concert Choir
It’s the lights, the shops, the street performers, the attractions and the peoplethat make New York City a perfect place to explore. I traveled to NYC with the Moose Lake Concert...
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A Heroic Tragedy
The day was March 31, 2014 and all I heard was crying, screaming, and harsh stomping as the noise quickly filled my ears. I rushed towards the horrific news that my twenty eight year old brother Alfonso...
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As Far As the Eye Can See
My eyes flutter open as the smell of papaya and salt water fill my nostrils. As my vision returns after the long night's rest, I can see the dark wooden ceiling and greenish...
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When the Party’s Over, World Cup 2014
“Bro, can I get a selfie?” Never have I heard this as many times as Brazil’s World Cup this year. This simple phrase highlights something that makes my trip to the 2014 World Cup unique...
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Mid-Winter in Manhattan
I thought I’d seen New York. I thought...
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Stressed But Blessed: London and Paris 2014
“No, I’m not too old to be a Girl Scout,” I told the man sitting next to me on the plane. I get tired of saying that. Before you ask, we do more than sell cookies, too. Way more in fact. At that...
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New York – A State of Mind
The Big Apple, The City that Never Sleeps, Gotham City. Whatever you call it, New York City is dazzling and unforgettable. The Statue of Liberty stretches her arm upwards, her torch pointing to the...
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Cars, Stars, and Road Trips
The plan for “Roadtrip 2k14” was brilliant, in my opinion. My little green Honda Accord got excellent gas mileage and had proved itself to be a reliable car over the past year it had been in my...
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Simple Joy
First time out of the country and I was petrified. My parents weren't accompanying me, I had no idea how to fill out the customs form (what is a customs form anyway??), I was bound to forget to take...
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A Hawaiian Hike to Remember
Through my finals, meetings, and extracurricular activities the idea of basking in the Hawaiian sun was one of the only things keeping me going.I enjoy keeping myself busy. I am on the youth...
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I’ll send you a postcard, dear.
July 4, 2014, and New York seemed to go hand in hand.My family and I arrived in New York to be kissed by light rain and embraced by dim sunshine. Our disgruntled taxi cab driver could have cared...
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Awakening Adventures
I was 14 and blinded. When my family and I landed in Roatan, Honduras, I was looking for romance, relaxation, and a tan. I was not looking for a life changing, mindset altering, adventure. Little did...
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Be Sure of the Unsure Step
Amusement parks, fancy hotels, beautiful resorts - these are the places I like to visit. Everything is provided for me, and I can just go around doing what I want. So when my parents said that we should...
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J’aime la France: A Story of Escargot, Lots of Walking, and the Best Two Weeks of My Life
When I was ten years old, my mother told me, “When you’re twelve and Andrew is ten, we’ll go to Paris.” When I was twelve years old, she told me, “We’ll go when you’re fourteen.” And...
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A Journey Through the Holocaust
Over the February break of my junior year, I took a trip with a select number of students to Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland on a Holocaust tour. Whenever I tell people about my decision...
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Great Adventure… I Don’t Think So!
Hurling through the air at speeds defying logic, twisting, turning, flipping upside down, then careening down terrifying heights, screaming until your lungs burn, is not my idea of fun. Roller...
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Traveling in the Mountains ROCKS!
On June 24, 2014 we began traveling to Princeton, West Virginia to see family and surprise them with a chihuahua puppy. By we, I mean my Dad and I. It’s an 8-hour drive so we had plenty of time...
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Victory at the Giant’s Causeway
As soon as we stepped off the tour bus, our guide apologized. "We don't normally have weather like this," He said. "It's usually so foggy you can't see four feet in front of you." The forty of us, all...
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World Beauty
?Something about standing alone, thousands of miles away from home, a certain beauty embracing my very being; I am gazing upon something that will remain a vivid picture in my...
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A Life Changing Trip to Europe
For almost all of my seventeen years, I have had the privilege of visiting a beautiful little country in Southeastern Europe called Albania. When I was younger, I dreaded when the words “Ilira, we’re...
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Becoming Part of the Landscape: Inisheer
I looked very hard at a stone wall in the distance. I blinked once, then twice. “Is that a TV?” I asked my parents and sisters, just to make sure that that small, boxy shape sitting...
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Italian Escapades
The amount of forethought and preplanning one does before embarking on a family vacation to a foreign country can mean the difference between a perfectly enjoyable trip and a disastrous one.When...
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Here Be Dragons: Filling in My Map
I had never ventured abroad before. Arizona had been at the edge of my travel map; beyond that, 'here be dragons'. I knew nothing about flying, passports, baggage checks, or customs.And...
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New York City: Getting Lost and Finding Myself
Traveling to (and around) New York City is a daunting task. Writing about it is even harder.What’s there to say about New York that hasn’t already been said? From the Jazz Age to modern day,...
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Percussion Ensemble trip to Austin, TX
The trip to Austin was exciting, funny, loud, emotional, and hot. After working our way to the top in Area, our Percussion Ensemble received the gold medal and the green light to advance to State....
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Living in an El Greco Painting
My name is Mackenzie and in the summer of 2013, I was lucky enough to travel to Spain, England, and France...
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An Epic Vacation to Egypt During Unrest and Crisis
On August 13th, 2013, we exited Egypt just in time to narrowly skirt the beginning of a week of violence in the streets of...
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Making the Impossible Possible Since 3000 BC: Visit the Most Ambitious City in the World- Dubai
I'm falling fast. I can feel myself accelerating as my equipment rides up into uncomfortable areas. But, I don’t care. I glance upwards to see the aircraft I was on just...
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Valley in the Hills
I live in a small town in southwest Pennsylvania; the population is around 2,000 and at first glance, there isn’t much to do. In fact, if you pass on the highway, we are practically...
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Timeless: A Cottage on Laurel Lake
Laughing. Smiling. Crying. Throwing family members off the dock. Swimming into the late hours of the night. Dazzling Fourth of July fireworks. Hundreds of picturesque memories...
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Alaska is Sexy
In June I traveled to Alaska, expecting to only build houses, but I got much more than that. From atop mountains I relished in magnificent views of the Gulf of Alaska, ate delicious...
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A.M. Accomplishments in Israel
I stepped out of the Alexander Hotel onto the silent streets of a dimly lit Dizzengof Street as adrenaline coursed through my veins; the clock told me it was 2 AM in Tel Aviv,...
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The Power of People Watching
I did a double take. Yep, my eyes did not deceive me—indeed, there waltzed a fluffy puppy wearing nothing short of a frilly, pink dress. And suddenly,...
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On Belonging
You fit into me / like a hook into an eye / a fish hook / an open eye You Fit Into Me, Margaret Atwood Cultural immersion, the anthem of this year, played itself boldly across glossy...
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A Piece of Me in NYC
Sometime at the start of my junior year in high school, I became obsessed with the idea of living in New York in a teeny apartment filled with more art supplies than living space. Forget the fact that...
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Find Your Independence… 6,000 Miles Away in Laos and Thailand!
The reason that banks created credit cards was because everyone was looking for a solution to get away from that noisy, heavy, constant reminder in their front pocket: loose change....
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Memories from Scotland
A trip to a foreign land never fails to leave everlasting footprints along the shores of your memories. New experiences and encounters with foreign cultures embed themselves in your memories and, without...
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Saying Goodbye
I scuff at the orange dust with my flip-flop and stare at our cinder-brick house. It’s all packed up—my life stowed in Tupperwares tied expertly to the top of our Land Rover.The whole village has come...
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Tehran, Iran: My Story
Iran isn’t the kind of place that one might visit over summer vacation, but for my family, it was an ideal destination. My dad is Iranian and most of his family still lives in Iran. I had been to...
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Ayoba Time
Africa: not a Serengeti wonderland of lions and elephants, but a barren landscape of high grass and termite hills. Sawdust careened into my face, guided by petulant gusts of filthy air. Women walked down...
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Hope in Times of Helplessness
Sometimes we may feel we are hanging on by a thread, and often that thread is the one thing keeping us connected to humanity. On December 3, 2004 as I walked into Dairy Queen I already had a premonition...
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