One of the decisions I have made, and it has changed my life enormously ever since, is when I decided to move to the U.S to complete my bachelor degree. I became a different person. A person whose reasoning and rational thinking has developed and thrived rapidly everyday living in different surroundings and conditions. However, I will admit that when I made my decision, I thought, it would be nice and easy to study aboard. The idea of being responsible of everything in my life and completely free to do whatever I want without my parents watching over my head to make sure I’m doing right had not crossed my mind before that time, and that how is my life hasn’t been the same long…
For five years, Kristin Addis, a former investment banker, has been traveling the world. And she does this -- alone. Addis decided to sell her items and traveled the world where she spent a life in silence at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand, trekked to see gorillas in Uganda, and hiked on glaciers in Patagonia. Addis, who blogs her experiences at bemytravelmuse.com, and authored Conquering Mountains: How to Solo Travel the World Fearlessly, believes that going on a solo flight is easier than meeting with a travel companion. “You make all the decisions.…
During the time that I went on the trip, life had become very stressful for me. I had gotten into the School of Architecture at the University of Houston but due to family issues I wouldn’t be able to go, I desperately needed a job, and I constantly fought with my parents, who were also fighting with each other. I couldn’t do anything on the weekends or spend time with friends or do anything of that nature at all, but so the trip…
Travelling has always been a passion of mine. Being an army brat, I find seeing new places, meeting new people and getting to know their different “traditions”, exceptionally inspiring. But having to stay and live at the places I thought I was visiting was a difficult task for me.…
The story begins with my father. He came to America in 2006 for his work. After spending a year, he thought it will be nice for our family to come and live there too. I was fascinated by how diverse the cultures in America was. He enjoyed exploring different cultural foods, desserts, clothes, and musics. Out of all, he liked the education system in America. Unlike Korea, it gave the students more freedom in learning focusing variety of subjects. They also don’t put too much pressure on the students, but give them choices. After consideration, my parents decided to move to America. However, my father was at California at the moment. He chose Virginia for our family because he wanted to go away from the main city where there are more dangers.…
On the plane, I found our seats and sat down and buckled our seat belts. I had never been on a plane before. When I realized that in a few moment we were going to be on the air, I was nervous. But I had to look calm, for my daughter, and for everyone else. The pilot introduced himself and said that the flight from Santo Domingo to New York was going to take 4 hours.…
And my siblings can recall every moment that I cried in their care while our father was at work. When the news of my mother’s petition being approved reached the Philippines, things moved rather quickly. My father began to pack his things and the house we all lived in began to empty of its inhabitants. On the aspect of arriving together, that did not happen. By order, my siblings arrived first. My sister can vividly recall the feeling of anxiety and fear that struck her. These feelings are common in everyone, however in foreigners, this feeling normally comes from unfamiliarity. With my mother, the feeling of fear and anxiety was caused by the idea of being alone, much like anyone who decides to start anew. Traveling alone is something that most adults are familiar with, however most teenagers are not. A thirteen year old girl accompanied by an eleven year old boy were escorted by friendly flight attendants onto American soil. Being escorted and aided by flight attendants is no new process, however those who are most familiar with it are mostly teenagers and…
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” true words that was once said by Laozi, an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. The decision of leaving my home country, Egypt, at the age of 11, and coming to the U.S. definitely marks the start of that one single step- education. I knew that coming to the U.S. was a great opportunity for me to get a better education and thus a better future in my career. Even though I was very happy and excited, it was also a very challenging step in my life. Coming only with my father and my brother while leaving my mother and my two sisters back in Egypt was very difficult. The reason that they did not come with us was because my mother had to stay with my sisters who were studying pharmacology there.…
I have always had a knack for traveling. Since a young age I have found comfort in going to places I have never been. Embracing the culture and questioning why things are done a certain way and exploring the incredible world that I am surrounded by. It brings me peace just being somewhere I have never been. I think it is important to be put in situations that you might not be familiar with and learn how to adapt, how to survive on your own. It’s important to go to unfamiliar places and meet unfamiliar people.…
I felt I knew what the trip was about, and challenges notwithstanding, we were going to fly, to keep making progress, and to arrive at our destination. There was truly never a point where I felt we were in serious danger, that we were going to die, or that we would lose the airplane. We continued progressing forward without any anxieties or sense of urgency. We simply moved with a purpose. From my point of view, it was unparalleled. In spite of the problems and complications we faced on a daily basis, in many ways they seemed minor compared to the adventures we experienced and the remarkably pleasant patterns we developed. Challenges filled our days to such a great extent that we regularly joked at breakfast about what difficulties we would encounter that day. Although there was always an issue, they were simply part of what was really a quite pleasing, gratifying routine. For me, the trip provided an extraordinary mix of excitement and calmness. Each day was predictably unpredictable. Any crisis we dealt with was balanced out by the serenity of flying and cruising along in the airplane. I loved it, I just plain loved it. The trip appealed to all the qualities I like in myself and all the activities I enjoy doing. We were constantly going somewhere and solving problems along the way. Our days possessed a Zen-like…
First I would not say I had the worst time of my life when I was travelling but it was not the best either. It took me 15 minutes to buckle my seat belt and the hostess was frustrated as she was training me through it. It made me think of myself as being from the prehistoric age and behaving similar to a cave man. Somehow I managed to do it, but I was pretty sure, I did not do it right and did not want to bother the hostess anymore. I assumed she'd had enough for a day. I will never forget my first day in the United States. I was so excited to come here. Arriving in an odd and new nation – conceivably interestingly and most likely all alone – can feel extremely scary and confining. The first airplane ride was quite an experience too. The…
When it was time to board I had tears of joy in my eyes but my heart was sore. I would be away from my family for three weeks. The reality of the situation suddenly struck me and I felt weak at the knees. I was going to a foreign country all on my own for the very first time. My stomach was in knots. I wondered if I would be able to communicate with anyone, would anyone know English. I knew a little Chinese that I had studied at school but would it be enough? I realized with dread that it was too late to back down now. With a false smile and trying to reassure my teary mother that I would be just fine I waved an uncertain goodbye.…
However, that dream is for a later age in my life. I do not wish of traveling alone even though that will be a new and wonderful experience for me. First,…
- Travelling unravels the beauties and beasts of an unfamiliar world. It’s a kaleidoscopic adventure with a spectrum of colours. Whether you are letting your palate choose your destination or your unquenchable thirst for adrenaline, it is always an experience that awakens our inner child by offering us new, “first-time” experiences. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you that the best time they ever had in their life was the trip they took right after graduating from college (if they were lucky enough). I can’t stress enough how important I feel it is for more young people, who have sufficient funds of course, to travel and see the world around them. Start thinking outside the norm a little bit, get out of your comfort zones and start exploring!…
The primary message in this dissertation seems to be that international travel has a psychological affect that reaches beyond just sightseeing. The personal growth associated with traveling can steer a person’s perceptions and careers.…