Pink Marble Urn
Warszawa’s crimson and white, Narodowy Stadium—National Stadium—flashed past the window as I was overcome by a shallow slumber. When I awoke, we were nearing the Polish periphery. Our intercity...
Read More 2 min read
The Palouse Sea and Everything In Between
In 10 hours, my view changed from a sea of blue to a sea of green, yellow, and gold. Green hills of potato plants, gold fields of wheat, and touches of bright yellow mustard in between surrounded me...
Read More 2 min read
The Old and the New
This past summer of 2015, I joined my Japanese class from my high school on a short exchange program in Japan, a beautiful country very different from my familiar America.SEMI-FINALIST 2015...
Read More 2 min read
Cruising through the Mediterranean
The imagination of a child can go to great extremes. I always imagined myself exploring castles and going out on adventures while riding on a unicorn, going through streets...
Read More 3 min read
It’s a Long Way From the Cook Islands
Sprint Canoeing might not sound like the most engaging Olympic sport to spectate, but every event has some element that captivates the audience. For example, water polo is possibly the only sport played...
Read More 2 min read
Wildfire
There is a strange, painful beauty in watching the forests burn. This must be why so many others have pulled over to the side of the highway, entire families leaning against their dusty cars, staring...
Read More 3 min read
Becoming a Global Citizen
In the summer of 2014, I had the opportunity to travel to Europe with People to People Student Ambassadors, a study abroad program created by President Eisenhower. With a group of 36 high school students...
Read More 2 min read
Divided by Borders, United by Blood
Paved roads turn into gravel roads and gravel roads turn into dirt roads; the pickup truck leaves pavement behind, entering an abyss of pebbles and mud and ditches. I hold onto the metal handle bars...
Read More 3 min read
The Center of the World
When Zeus instructed two eagles to circumnavigate the earth, I doubt he envisioned that thousands of years later, a younge blonde girl with red plastic sunglasses would stand in awe marvelling at the...
Read More 2 min read
Tumbleweeds and Little Seeds
When you think of any national park, you probably think about a place with bright green foliage and craggy waterfalls scattered over a few acres of land. In Joshua Tree National...
Read More 3 min read
Embrace Your Culture to Fit Into This Maniacal Society
The minuscule island located just the beneath India is like a speck of dust to the human eye. This island is so small, no one...
Read More 3 min read
Life in Udaipur: I Belonged in it
My fingers burned and my palms were glued to the rusty metal handle as I held tight, afraid of being tossed from the doorless auto rickshaw during the bumpy ride. My purple shirt had turned black as...
Read More 3 min read
Sharing Experiences in a Tropical Wonder
As we stood in the mucky, sweltering heat of the Philippines, I prayed that the bus taking us to our destination would come sooner—along with the relief of its cold, refreshing air from the strong...
Read More 2 min read
Endangered Island Life
"The big fish come in and swallow up the little fish." That is what Captain Crosby said to my family and me as we sailed out to Stingray City in Grand Cayman.
Read More 2 min read
Traveling & Its Affects on Character
Hard work transgresses struggle. Junior year I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Panama and my distant family. Despite their daily struggles and apparent poverty, Panamanians are said to be the...
Read More 2 min read
Disability Travel in Japan and Taiwan
I went to Japan and Taiwan with my mom, my step dad, my grandma, sister, uncle, aunt, and two cousins. My sister and I were both born with developmental disabilities but we have been traveling with...
Read More 2 min read
.jpg)
A Merciful Mission
The opportunity to journey to Malawi, Africa came...
Read More 3 min read
 (1).JPG)
The Big Blue
SEMI-FINALIST 2015 FTF TEEN TRAVEL WRITING SCHOLARSHIP
Read More 3 min read
Determined to Dream
I look around and see a place outside my comfort zone. Instead of the crisp, modern structures of buildings and casinos in Nevada, I see deteriorating slabs of concrete and weatherworn brick. In place...
Read More 3 min read
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,...
Read More 3 min read
Home Is Where the Heart Was, Is and Will Be
A broken or separated...
Read More 2 min read
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...
Read More 3 min read
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...
Read More 2 min read
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...
Read More 3 min read
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...
Read More 2 min read
.jpg)
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,...
Read More 2 min read
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!
Read More 3 min read
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...
Read More 2 min read
Green Lessons in a Shell
Green. And slimy, too. All nestled in their shells. Anything that is green and slimy belongs...
Read More 2 min read
Old New World
Bullet holes still dot the walls outside the Pergamon Museum...
Read More 2 min read
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...
Read More 2 min read
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...
Read More 2 min read
I Know the World, But Have Never Left America
T?t c? b?t ??u v?i It all started with my dad, a war refugee from Vietnam. Ever since I was a little girl, I heard stories of “life back in Vietnam.” Stories that included...
Read More 3 min read
The City of Lost Souls
Although my story is not considerably phenomenal, it is unique. Because unlike most, I will not tell you a memory of greatness, but rather one of realization. When asked about your...
Read More 3 min read
Cammino di Assisi: The Characters and Challenges that Made It So Much More than an Italian Pilgrimage
Read More 2 min read
A Day in the Life of Japan
This past June I flew to Japan. I was deliriously underprepared for the experience that awaited me. I had crossed the Pacific Ocean to attend Tokyo’s...
Read More 3 min read
Journey Back to Darwin
“Stepping out of an airplane into the balmy, pleasant air of Baltra Island is definitely not the way Charles Darwin made it to the Galápagos Islands,” I thought to myself, as I walked toward the...
Read More 3 min read
The Silk of Uncertainty—My Tentative Journey Underground the Guatemalan Jungle
My eyes are bleary, eyelashes split by Guatemalan sun. My hair is damp and tangled in hot, wet air. I tug a tee-shirt over the damp swimsuit that I must have fallen asleep in. I hope there aren’t...
Read More 2 min read
