Since second grade, I wanted to travel the world. Back then, I wanted to be a teacher in China. Later, I wanted to be an Egyptologist. Sometime in middle school, I became enamored with Europe and wanted to see the likes of Barcelona, Rome, and Paris. At 14, I learned about the Peace Corps, and that became my ultimate goal.

For a long while, travel was my passion, my pursuit, my life dream. From my grounded, stateside, never-been-on-a-plane, never-seen-the-Alps, never-seen-the-Pyramids, never-seen-Canada perspective, travel was adventure, it was purpose, and it was fulfillment. Nothing else would really matter if I could stand on a savannah, dip my toes in another ocean, hike the Italian countryside, or watch the sun set on the other side of the globe.