Touchdown onto the pavement of Dublin International Airport yielded the most mixed of emotions. Having never been on an airplane before 7 PM EST the previous day, my mind and body had to quickly adjust to the idea of skidding to a halt in a 41-ton metal tube. After regaining our land legs and collecting our baggage, our group consisting of 20 or so tired and smelly high school students and staff met up with a group from another school near ours of the same size and sleep-deprived state. This group of strangers would be my family for the next 10 days, a length of time that seemed to last simultaneously for an eternity, as well as the blink of an eye. Together we would see things that many people, including myself, had only ever dreamed of, and it would forever change my outlook on what the future holds for me.

My parents have told me ever since I was old enough to make even the smallest decisions for myself to be aware of my surroundings and be in charge of myself and my actions. These words of wisdom can be difficult to apply to a grand-scale situation while living in rural Maine, so when the opportunity arose to take a tour of Dublin, London, Wales, and Paris, I was ready to accept the challenge. I knew I could use the time I spent overseas to broaden my horizons and learn about new cultures, as well as learn about myself and use my experiences to perhaps stumble upon a new, unknown passion.

During my trip, there were several stand-out moments that have forever changed my life. While in Dublin, we were shown many important sites and monuments commemorating the Easter Rising. Exactly 100 years prior to our arrival in Ireland, Irish Republicans fought for independence from British rule to form the Republic of Ireland. Witnessing this anniversary first hand and the unity it brought to the people of Dublin was incredible and an eye opening change of perspective to how we view Independence Day here in America. On our journey from the West coast of Wales to London, we stopped at the home of William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway. I was rendered speechless as I walked through the very rooms that one of the greatest writers in history lived his life in. While in London, we saw many iconic sites such as the London Eye, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. We made a stop at the National Gallery, where I knew there were several Van Gogh, Monet, and Serat pieces on display. A moment I will never forget is turning a corner of the museum and almost fainting after coming face to face with Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. In Paris, we strolled through a square filled with artists selling their one-of-a-kind paintings and it felt like a scene straight out of an old movie. The crowning achievement of that excursion however, was conquering my fear of heights by traveling to the very top of the Eiffel Tower.

These experiences combined provided me with a healthy dose of reality and showed me that the world is much bigger than my own back yard. I gained a new perspective on the world, and my own life. I’ve seen firsthand that there is more to life than what we can see, what we know, and the situations that affect us directly. I was able to utilize the knowledge instilled in me from birth to make smart choices and be safe in places that I was unfamiliar. This trip was what I believe to have been the first step in becoming a mature adult. From that once-in-a-lifetime experience, I have moved forward and I’ve used the skills honed on my journey to continue my learning about the world around me every day since.