I guess you could say that I have always loved to travel. Every since I was little, my parents would take my brother and I on weekend trips and family vacations. From marveling at Mt. Rushmore, to parasailing in the Gulf of Mexico, to strolling down Pier 49 in San Fransisco, my parents really fostered my love of seeing and experiencing different things (adventurous and historic).

Even though I have always loved going on family vacations (who doesn’t), my passion for exploring the world really began when I was 16. My high school’s entire music department traveled to London to perform in a music festival, and I had the pleasure of singing in my school’s choir.

I am sure my parents were worried about how I would do in a foreign country without them, but being able to travel at such a young age without my parents really changed the way I saw the world. After that trip, I knew I would never be able to stop traveling. And so began my wanderlust!

Since then, I have traveled to Costa Rica to volunteer in the rainforest, studied abroad in Rome, and visited Paris (and London again), and each part of the world I’ve traveled to has given me so much more than the souvenirs and pictures I brought home. Every trip gave me a sense of not only how other people and cultures are around the world, but it helped me find myself as well.

I am quoting Nathan Lump (Travel + Leisure’s Editor in Chief) when I say, “Travel fosters human understanding, and empathy for people whose lives are unlike your own; it opens your eyes to otherness, including other cultures and religions.” I truly believe this, and that traveling gives you the opportunity to grow and not only learn about others, but learn about yourself. THIS is why I’m a self-proclaimed “wanderluster;” because I live to learn about other cultures and am homesick for places I’ve never been.

– Ciao for now!