_0.jpeg)
The Beauty in the City
After an awesome six days in New York City, I wanted to share my experiences, high lighting the beauty of the city and some of the adventures I experienced. Here is a recap of what I did, how it made...
Read More 3 min read
A Staring Contest with the Great Perhaps
“I go to seek a Great Perhaps.”-François RabelaisThese words are so often quoted in travel magazines and young adult novels,...
Read More 2 min read
Scandinavian Wonder
During a vacation to Scandinavia with my mother, I was able to experience the atmosphere and life of several Northern European cities, albeit as a tourist. By car, ship and plane, we traveled through...
Read More 2 min read
Traversing the Concrete Jungle
Ah, the illustrious metropolis that is New York City: the city on everyone's bucket list and that is known by so many names (City that Never Sleeps, the Big Apple, Gotham). So, why is it that NYC...
Read More 3 min read
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...
Read More 3 min read
How to Get to Puerto Rico Without Really Trying
In 10 seconds, I went from relaxing at home with an open schedule to frantically packing to fly to the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico for an entire week...
Read More 3 min read
What’s Left When the Frappe is Gone
In a tiny village called Istiaia on the island of Evvia in Greece, I came to accept the reality of me. My mother spent the first eighteen years of her life trapped in that village, forever under the watchful...
Read More 2 min read
What the Kids Taught Me
I have recently returned from an amazing journey to Peru. This trip was through my high school and was centered on volunteer work and cultural experience. The first week we spent in the city of Chaclacayo...
Read More 2 min read
_0.JPG)
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,...
Read More 3 min read
Through the Mountains of Allure
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the natural world? Solitude? Treachery? Grandiosity? The one word that comes to my mind is beauty....
Read More 2 min read
From Upscale and Glam to Poor and Rundown
I was raised thinking the world is a great place. I do not disagree with that statement but the world has its dark side. New York is a place I fell in love...
Read More 2 min read
My Camino
Colombia has beautiful colinas: green clouds that go on forever and make you feel as though you can jump from one to the other in a leap. My abuelo has a farm with hills like these and dirt paths that...
Read More 3 min read
Sweet Home Alabama
It all started four years ago. My entire world flipped upside down in the blink of an eye in June of 2010. This was the end of one book and the beginning of another as I trekked...
Read More 2 min read
_0.JPG)
A Not So Podunk Town
Texas is full of Podunk towns. On the hundred-mile plus stretches between more bustling cities, little towns dot the rural landscape, many equipped with not more than a questionable three pump gas station...
Read More 2 min read
The Little Things
Sometimes it takes traveling 600 plus miles away from home to be closer with the ones that you live with there. That is exactly what happened when my family decided to take a weeks vacation...
Read More 2 min read
Spine of the Earth: A Hike Through The Great Smokey Mountains
Sweat dripping down my back and feet crunching the dry earth, I pushed past tree boughs drooping in my path as I walked along the ridge of the Great Smokey Mountains on what has been referred to as...
Read More 3 min read
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....
Read More 2 min read
Pandas and Places You Only See in China!
When my sister was living overseas in Hong Kong, I jumped at the opportunity to visit her and get a glimpse of what my culture was like. As a fifth generation Chinese-American, I...
Read More 3 min read
A Final, Perfect Memory
“This is the best part!” says Hannah as we watch cheese buyers and sellers haggle. We are at the cheese...
Read More 3 min read
“This Time For Africa”
Ever since I can remember, my family, especially my dad, has been obsessed with soccer. So when he told us he bought tickets for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, it was a dream come true. The...
Read More 3 min read
Adventures In Japanese
Just a few weeks ago my friend had nudged me slightly as we walked through the hallways of our school. He was staring at his feet with a solemn expression as his silly dinosaur sunglasses bounced atop...
Read More 3 min read
Seeing the Ocean: The Trans-Catalina Trail
The Trans-Catalina Trail is a 37.2-mile backpacking endeavor. It wraps around Catalina Island—the island where I was raised. The trailhead spirals above the small town of Avalon, through the hilly...
Read More 2 min read
Savannah: New Blooms, Old Scars
In Miami, we have a saying: “You have to go north to go south.”I whisk around notions of bayous, plantations, country lilts and comely manners as I take my first hungry glimpses of this mysterious...
Read More 3 min read
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...
Read More 2 min read
Trip to Grandfather Mountain
Ever since I was a little kid I have always been curious and fascinated by mountains. Just the mere sizes of mountains, along with their overall beauty, have made me always drawn to them. When I found...
Read More 3 min read
.jpg)
Sweet Sixteen in the City that Never Sleeps
For one of my friends’ sweet sixteen parties, she did not want something traditional. Her father, the owner of a limo company, let her rent out a limo for the day and she invited around ten friends...
Read More 3 min read
The Soul of Volunteering
In seventeen years I haven’t been very far from my small hometown in Eastern Pennsylvania. Even now, the farthest I’ve ever been from home is Orlando Florida. However, even trips close to home have...
Read More 2 min read
