Keep Dreaming
The real magic happens when I close my eyes. I usually squeeze them really tight when I want to get a good feel of the ocean breeze in my face. As the sun settles in for the night, the sand beneath...
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An Untraditional Vacation
Most people go on vacation to relax, have fun, and make memories that’ll last a lifetime. Although my family had these expectations when we visited Nigeria in 2008,...
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The Trip That Has Forever Changed My Life
Most people look at the world as this picture perfect place where everyone lives a life either the same or better...
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The Treasures You’ll Find
I remember hearing the name Bugg’s Island and daydreaming about what treasures were awaiting to be discovered. Since as long as I can remember, my family, and our friend’s...
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When in Rome, Relax As the Romans Do: What My Italian Adventure Taught Me About Life
‘Twas the night before I was set to leave on my first European vacation, a two week trip to Italy. My bags were packed, my camera charged, and my passport updated. I was sixteen and expecting...
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Meeting My Grandfather
My parents came to the United States in 1990, six years before I was born. Three years after they moved, my grandfather passed away. Although he died before my birth, he was extremely proud that my...
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A Not So Perfect Picture
Whenever I went to a party, my camera would be in my hands, capturing the moments that I longed to never forget. Even as a little girl, I had a training camera. Finally, at the age of fifteen I took...
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Cambodia to Thailand: A Tale of Monuments and Mango Milkshakes
When it comes to traveling I’m always up for anything and everything. I love sight-seeing at places like the Great Wall; but I also enjoy the atypical experiences--eating rooster head and thirteen...
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Mid-Winter in Manhattan
I thought I’d seen New York. I thought...
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I Think It Really Is My Kind of Town
This past spring break, my family and I embarked on a vacation to Chicago. Our main intention was to visit the University of Chicago and Northwestern...
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Journey to the Emerald Isle
While on my travels to the U.K with the People to People Student Ambassador Program I was most excited about going to Ireland. Not only because of how beautiful everything looks over there (my camera...
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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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Hello Dalai!
It was about noon when I fully realized that I was much farther away from the Dalai Lama then I had anticipated. I suppose, in retrospect, that that wasn’t entirely in my control (the Kalachakra festival...
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Indian Identity
After we settled into the apartment my grandparents have lived in for years, I was presented with something I had sincerely missed: authentic South-Indian cuisine. Living in the United States and being...
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Across the Pond in Ten Amazing Days
Buongiorno, je m’appelle Jessie. Wait. What I mean to say is, hello, I’m Jessie. I guess you could say I’m having trouble reverting back to speaking...
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The Lone Mushroom
In an attempt to discover pieces of myself that may have been hidden, I decided in the spring of 2014 to explore the...
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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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One Fraction
Four journeys. Eight plane rides. One fraction. At age two, I flew over the Atlantic Ocean guided by my Senegalese father and part Portuguese, Irish, German mother for the first time. Our destination...
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A Thought-Provoking Adventure to Kenya
In July of 2012, my family boarded a plane bound for Kenya, full of excitement and a little apprehension. Our safari had been booked through Tim Melesi Safaris,...
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The Week I Danced in New York
The Saturday before Thanksgiving in 2013, I boarded the plane and was off to New York. I was ecstatic, and even though it was early in the morning I was full of energy. I was practically jumping off...
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Get Some Red on Your Shoes in St. George
I fell in love one weekend, not with a boy, but with a place that changed my life. I returned from my weekend getaway with red dirt sticking to my white socks and to my hiking shoes. And it stuck to...
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I Shall Return
Going back to the home of my ancestors was now or never. The Philippines, my parents said, was Third World: No paved roads, No streetlights, No running water, Sweat, and Mosquitos....
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The Mission of a Life
The power to change the world. At the young age of 17, I never thought I would have that chance. Now, after a mission trip to Black Mesa, Arizona, I believe anything is possible.Twenty-five people...
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500 Miles
I would walk five hundred miles “Welcome to London.” Over a ten-mile trek through the city, I tripped on cobbled sidewalks and absorbed the sights around me—double-decker buses, towering...
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From Concrete to Campgrounds
New York City is arguably the most incredible city in the world, and I have the good fortune to have lived there for all 15 years of my life. It is buzzing with activity and full of culture. It is so astonishing...
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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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