Vacation: It’s where and what you make it

We are a family who has faced some unusual circumstances, including the premature birth of triplets; myself, a sister and brother in the fall of 1992. So far, it’s been an incredible journey!

Growing up in our house, largely because of the health issues we three  faced, our mother gave up her career to stay at home with us & our older sister. As a result, other than functions with our extended families, there was rarely extra money for much, especially vacations or travel. We were lucky, & had wonderful opportunities, because our parents were both creative & innovative, always finding ways to provide day trips & “stay-cations” to inspire & motivate us.  They believed this to be an essential part our upbringing, and made exposing us to new things a high priority.

â–º  Quarter Finalist 2011 Teen Travel Writing Scholarship

Over the years, we became involved with & hosted 17 Exchange Students from all corners of the world. Because they were friends with students from other cultures, we were able to make many additional friends. These experiences, provided our family with as much cultural awareness, as any of our student siblings got in return & made us not only hungry to see the world for ourselves, but also more culturally aware, open minded & tolerant of others. We shared in & lived their dreams alongside them, making our own memories. Looking back, every day was a vacation of sorts.

In the fall of 2009, my parents treated us to a surprise, our first real vacation together. Our parents rented an amazing house on the beach in Perdido Key Florida. There we all snorkeled, played in the sand & made incredible memories together. One of our sister’s visiting from Japan was able to join us, which made our vacation that much more special. This trip reinforced the importance of relaxation to us all-but more importantly; it made us all realize the value of time spent together with those we love. On this trip, we cooked our own meals & played games together. We combed miles of shoreline for shells &watched a storm that later became a hurricane, blow in from miles & miles away. There were  of course, the requisite pranks & antics that go with even the shortest of journeys in our family, but those simply made our first vacation together all the sweeter.

Now that we are a little older, the opportunities for us are different. I will pursue a career in the Travel & Tourism field & hope to find ways to provide safe, economic adventures for budget conscious families, my siblings are in the military & enjoy the ability to travel, while our parents plan to spend their time visiting each of us.

The point of my story is this-while vacation is important, it is what you make of it, but no matter where you go or what you do, if it’s not planned with love & attention to your personal needs, it will never measure up or be as you intended.

My experiences span the globe, & I credit the opportunities, starting in the comfort of my own home, our day trips as well as the travel I have planned in the future as the stepping stones that make me the diverse woman I will one day be.