This past winter break, I had the privilege of traveling to Australia with my family. My parents, my brother, and I set off on our journey in 2016 and returned in 2017. Not only did I get to travel to a country I have never been to before, but I got to spend quality time with the people who raised me, something I haven’t quite gotten to be able to do lately.

Ever since we were kids, my parents have always taken me and my brother on trips during our breaks. Whether it be a new city, a new state, or a new country, we have always been blessed with the ability and opportunity to travel, something I have never truly understood the value of until quite recently. To me, traveling the world is a privilege and an experience that is unmatched by any other. Each time we visit a new place, not only do we experience a new setting, but we experience a different point of view and a different way of living. We experience a new culture. We experience a new community, and we experience a new reality. Seeing the way other people live not only enhances our understanding of the world, but it provides us with an opportunity to improve the way we live and learn from other cultures.

Australia is honestly one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited – from its diverse tropical and temperate rainforests to the beautiful white sand beaches and beyond into the Great Barrier Reef, the country is absolutely stunning. I have never seen anything as beautiful. The Daintree Rainforest, one of the oldest in the world, has more green than I see within miles of where I live in California. The Great Ocean Road winds through beaches and towns with the land and water as clean as can be while the Great Barrier Reef has coral and fish so beautiful I couldn’t tear my eyes away. I realized that the reason the country is so beautiful is because of how much the Australian people care about preserving their surroundings as well as the beautiful creatures that inhabit them. I noticed the effort with which the country as a whole attempts to reduce waste and pollution in order to protect their home.

Most significantly, when I had the privilege of experiencing the Great Barrier Reef through snorkeling and diving, I saw the damage of global warming with my own eyes. Although prior to this trip I had learned about coral bleaching and the dangers of it, it had never truly hit me how real of a problem it was until I was looking down on this sea of white coral. Of course, there were patches of vibrant blues, oranges, and pinks, the traces of what it used to be, and I couldn’t help but imagine what the reef would have looked like a few years or decades ago. If it looked so beautiful now, how beautiful would it have looked back then? The sad reality of the situation hit me while leaving because I knew that this might be the last time I would be able to see the reef as it is. Yes, we all hear about global warming all the time – “ride your bicycles,” “reduce your waste,” “become a vegetarian.” However, until you see the damage that human selfishness thrusts upon the most beautiful sights on our planet, it’s easy to disregard the warnings. It’s easy to believe that one person can’t make a difference. It’s easy to wave away the caution and go on with our daily lives. But I can tell you that it does make a difference. These warnings are real. Soon, these natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef will cease to exist because of the lack of care we have for our surroundings and the organisms around us. We need to make a change as a community because without doing so, we are going to lose some of the most beautiful places on Earth.