The biggest trips my family went on each year were the road trips we took to the coastal city of Galveston and the eight hour drive up to Kansas to visit my extended family. These road trips already felt like such big adventures to me, so you can only imagine how excited I was to be able to visit my aunt in Belgium at the age of eight! This is where my fascination for the world truly began, as I visited five different countries with my family (Belgium, Amsterdam, Germany, France, and Luxembourg). There is no other feeling quite like stepping foot in a new country – a feeling of wonder and curiosity – as you encounter people who seem so similar to yourself yet who have such different lifestyles. I was amazed by how the world around me could change so much after just a short train ride from one country to another. And I still am!
However, due to the demands pf my education, I forced my fascination with the world into the background and pushed my hobbies of playing the violin and running cross country and track to the forefront. The world outside of my small Texan home seemed so far off and unattainable that it didn’t feel like it was worth focusing on. It wasn’t until my family hosted a French exchange student my freshman year of high school that this desire to explore the world was reignited.
I went to college at the George Washington University where I studied international affairs in order to expand my understanding of the world. I graduated last May and am now working as an English Language Assistant through the TAPIF program where I teach and assist in the classrooms of two local elementary schools. So far, I have been able to improve my French skills, meet so many new people and travel!
