My Journey
My Personal Journey & Adventure My family and I had been dreaming about visiting the Grand Canyon in Arizona since before I was born. It was always...
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Family Heritage.
Last summer, I traveled halfway across the world to China. My grandparents from both sides of my family currently live there. Most of my family lives in China, so whenever I go there I get bombarded...
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Vacationing in the Keys
From the moment I know the trip has been planned, my mind anticipates the relaxation, and when I see the low, aquamarine median wall out of the car window on U.S. 1, I know I’m close. Salt water...
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Flags and Footprints
I came around the bend on the wooded path and gasped. Rarely have I ever seen anything quite as stunning as the view that was before...
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Bravery at the top of a temple
The heat of the sun was beating down...
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My Life Changing Trip to Syria
The excitement that built up inside me over the year was finally expelled when I saw my parents carry the suitcases upstairs into our bedrooms. The leftover smell of the spices...
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Back to the One I Love
Last summer, my mother, sister and I took a 14 hour long flight back to our roots in Guangzhou, China. The last time I visited China was three years ago and the wait was long overdue....
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To Grandmother’s House We Go
Every few years, my family packs the car and we head to my grandmother’s house for the holidays. My grandmother lives in a small farm community just west of Chicago, called...
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My Hut Is Your Hut
Pitch dark, ten degrees hotter than outside, a stench of manure. I can barely make out the outline of a woman, or rather a girl of twenty, who sits in silence as she feeds her...
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Who Can Get The Closest?
It was reckless. It was reckless, stupid, and dangerous. But, it was just the rush I was looking for in my Yellowstone vacation. Standing outside of the Gardiner, Montana Gateway...
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Getting to the Penny
When my guidance counselor suggested that I visit colleges before applying, I don’t think that this is what she had in mind. There were six of us-my mom, aunt, brother, sister,...
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Christmas in Italy—10 Days of History, Art, & Culture
There I stood, a child of just 13, gazing up at Michelangelo’s majestic David, still not believing I was actually in Italy. As I glanced around the room, I couldn’t recognize any other works...
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Marble in the Rockies
The beauty of the mountains surrounding the tiny town of Marble, Colorado is astounding. Sitting on the deck outside our room at Beaver Lake Lodge, I can see one of the many sparkling...
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Surprise!
“Okay kids, we’ll go ahead and tell you. We are going to take a weekend trip to Atlanta, Georgia next weekend!” Mom said. ...
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My Alaskan Expedition
It is cold, there are mountains surrounding me, the sky is overcast, yet the sun seems unaware that it is after midnight; this is Alaska in the summer. Two years ago my family decided to take...
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A Williamsburg Trip With Many Misadventures!
The blistering sun beats down upon the beautiful, yet old-fashioned décor while a trumpet and the pounding of drums fill the air with an intense feeling of patriotism. Such a...
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An Afternoon at St. Peter’s
I happily pulled a less-than-ideal-in-100-degree-weather black cardigan over my shoulders and gazed up 450 feet to the world famous dome of
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Farm Fresh
This summer, my family and I traveled to another world! The people were strange, the water tasted weird, and I had the time of my life!
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Road to Lonavala
Mumbai has two temperatures; hot and hotter. Especially during the summer months, the city can be nearly unbearable. The traffic, the incessant push of humanity, and the raw poverty that fill the muddy,...
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Jazz, Chocolate, Spaghetti, and Unity
The trip began as multiple performances but ended as an eye-opening experience. I sat quietly in the Chicago Airport—a reserved 14-year-old girl high school freshman awaiting...
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A Hellas of a Time
Each summer, my family and I travel to Serbia to visit our relatives in Belgrade and Leskovac, the former a vibrant capital city and the latter a charming town rooted in tradition....
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The Roman Equation
As the saying goes, “Rome was not built in a day.” Therefore, being able to explore all of Rome and its treasures in a day alone is a highly impossible feat. To make this equation...
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Peace, Love, and Ducks
I woke with a smile on my face and more energy than I could imagine. It was the summer of my sixteenth year and the first time I had left the United States. The beauty...
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A Ray of Hope
The summer after my sophomore year in high school I went on a family vacation to Maui. I had heard so many wonderful stories about Hawaii that I had no doubt my vacation would...
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Pore, Croatia.
This summer I went to Pore, a little town located on the west coast of Istria Peninsula in Croatia. Pore is almost 2,000 years old and it has a population of approximately 17,000....
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Nashville and Gatlinburg: A Great Family Adventure
Our amazing vacation started with a long car drive from Missouri to Tennessee. Upon arriving in Gatlinburg, we were fascinated by the brightly-lit shopping strip in the middle...
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Up to Mackinac Island
Interesting family vacations are no stranger to my family and I. We have traveled all around the United States, Maine to Florida to Wyoming, and accumulated many great stories...
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Lost in Nature
In today’s society getting away from all technology is a hard thing to do, even when you travel the technology, like cell phones, is still a temptation for most teenagers. In...
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My friend, Tortuguero and My Pre-Historic Adventure
It was a very early morning in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, a modern community of resorts and upscale residences. I was up early. It was, after all, my first morning in beautiful Nuevo,...
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Havasupai Thrills
“I’ve done it before, I can do it again. Easy!” Never before in my life have I been so utterly proved wrong by my own self. The last time I hiked the eleven miles through...
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Who’s Really Got It Figured Out? Us or Them? Trip to Vernazza, Italy
The anticipation of finally arriving at your vacation spot seems to grow as the month, week, day, hour, minute & second near. I won't forget the way the way I felt and the...
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Climbing Cadillac Mountain
Four years ago, in July of 2007, right after I turned 13, my family and I drove up the east coast of the United States and back down it again. We traveled from Chesapeake,...
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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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The Kingdom for Friends
The morning shone bright, the trees swayed in the wind, and the laughter of a charter bus of teenage students filled the air. After six hours of traveling from Austin, Texas to...
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A Slice of Literature
Going back in time requires no supernatural powers, no new-fangled machines with walls of blinking buttons and levers—walking into an era long-gone can be achieved as easily...
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Seeing Paris Without the Lines
The quintessential Parisian experience that tops everyone's list of things to do is to reach the top of the Eiffel Tower and see the entire city at your feet. What many don't...
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Spirit and Heart Capturer: Egypt
As a young girl, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel. I, personally, traveled to many stunning countries like Greece, France, and London, but the country...
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My Cruise Into Romance
When my dad told us that he was going to take us on a cruise through the Mexican Riviera my entire family leapt with joy. I was especially excited because I was just getting over...
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Remembering the Coast
I crane my neck, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Pacific Ocean. Turn after turn in the road, I hope this one will reveal the never-ending expanse of water. When the ocean is finally...
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The Happiest Place on Earth? Perhaps Instead, the Happiest Place in My Memories
It is deemed the “happiest place on Earth”. As a teenager, it was deemed by me as “another family vacation”. The last time I had set foot onto Main Street’s walkway...
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Dominica, The Island Full of Experiences
Slowly, I drifted my feet in the mixture of sand and rock. The breeze surrounding me was never-ending, but so soft to the point that it could put...
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Towards Reason’s Horizon
The pungent smell of pine was strong in the air. The firm earth gave slightly as I ascended the slope. The trees towered up into the heavens and the lush canopy swallowed the velvety sky. It was...
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Braving New Heights
Family trips can be an adventure you never quite expect. When you fill a house and a guest house with seven siblings and their immediate families, you lose privacy and silence;...
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The Streets of History
Thumbs up or thumbs down? I stood inside the Colosseum. It was so great, yet so terrible. It was a house of death where the combatants saw their last moments. As I walked through...
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Becoming Something More
I’ve always considered myself to be African American. Never did I question the surveys or questionnaires that had that single bubble classifying a whole society into one large culture. I guess this...
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A Life Changing Vacation
It’s about 34 degrees Celsius, the bitter cold is numbing against my nose, ears and extremities. I gaze to the north; thousands of square miles of mountains that have slept so...
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Exceeding Expectations in Spain
"It will be about $3,000, but we'll do some fundraising please do not be discouraged by the price." announced my spanish teacher Profe Fonken. Instantly my ears perked at the sound...
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Spending Two Weeks With Mother Nature
Never before have I been in a town with less than five-hundred people: two gas stations, two bars, and a Subway; accompanied by a mom and pop store and a hunting surplus which...
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From One Home to Another
I've loved traveling since I was little and my mom and aunt took me to Colorado. My favorite road trip, however, is the one we take most summers from the panhandle of Florida, where we currently live,...
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Ruby Beach, Washington
Last July, the summer of 2009, my family took advantage of four free airline tickets and planned an impromptu vacation to the Pacific Northwest. We went gallivanting off to the...
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To Turkey and Back
It was April 10, 2010, and my family and I were off to Turkey to enjoy our spring break. We left from the airport in Frankfurt, Germany, early Saturday morning to arrive in Istanbul later that day. We...
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Happiness at a Rest Stop
"Destination: Garmisch, Germany. Five hours, thirty-seven minutes. Take the first right, then turn left." the monotone voice of our trusty GPS echoed through the car. ...
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Scuba Diving in Costa Rica
The sun dried the sticky layer of salt that coated my skin. I looked out at the sparkling water. Who knew what mysteries lurked underneath the beautiful surface? Costa Rica was...
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Snorkeling and Scuba Tips from my Kauai Hawaii Vacation
Snorkeling and scuba diving are both exciting activities when you visit a beach, but only if you are in a nice place to do it. The state of Hawaii offers...
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Vaccation
I wish that you, The panel of judges, or however the winner is picked for a scholarship, could see my family in action. You would give me the money as soon as possible and...
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Take Time to Notice a Sunset
There are a few places in this part of the world where life is not easy, where the human inhabitants do not quibble over minor inconveniences, and where the elements of nature rule what is allowed and...
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The Family Resort at Lake Coeur d’ Alene
Every year I take an eight hour journey to a place that I think is heaven on earth, Coeur d’ Alene Lake, Idaho. My family of four: my dad, mom, my little brother, and I all pile into our white GMC...
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Teen Travel Writing
In the summer of 2007 my family took off for a 3-week long road trip to the Grand Canyon. This is the same trip my mother took with her family as a child. She was determined we would do the...
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