AP courses, after school programs, overpriced tutoring, extra credit seminars about topics I couldn’t care less about, hours and hours of lectures and note-taking and flash card making and memorizing, and yet, my greatest life lessons (and greatest life challenges) have come from nothing out of a textbook, but from travel.

While I obviously value what I’ve learned in school - well, most of it - and understand its importance to my future, I have to say I truly feel that my most beneficial lessons have occurred overseas. Growing up, I spent hours upon hours dreaming of places I had only seen in photographs. While my family loved to travel, our vacations consisted of lounging on the beach rather than integrating into new cultures. While I’d never complain about this, it did leave me longing for something more. I knew the way that I wanted to travel but I didn’t know how it’d be possible considering I wasn’t even 18. Curiosity and desire sparked my interest to see the world in a unique way, a way outside of sheltered resorts, but it’s my parents who made it possible and for this I’ll be forever grateful.

I spent my past two summers exploring the other side of the world in the South Pacific Ocean. On the Islands of Fiji I lived in underdeveloped villages amongst people who spoke little to no English and traveled around living the true island lifestyle. My most recent summer was spent traveling throughout Australia and experiencing the continent all the way from the Great Barrier Reef to Sydney to the Outback. I’ve spent my winter breaks in Nicaragua embraced in the arms of overjoyed Kindergarteners whose school I was doing mission work on – an experience so good, going once wasn’t enough. In allowing me to embark on these journeys, my parents expanded my knowledge beyond the walls of a classroom and opened me up to cultures I knew nothing about. In every single one of these countries, I haven’t just seen their cultures, but have become a part of them. While these experiences have been the most incredibly eye-opening times of my life, they weren’t always easy. When times got tough or uncomfortable, I was forced to deal with hardships on my own.

Nothing about traveling to a new place is comfortable, and if it is, you're doing something wrong. In fact, travel can be wildly uncomfortable and at often times, terrifying. Honestly, assimilating myself into new cultures has been the most intimidating and challenging aspect of my travel experiences. But, just like the exhausting hikes and climbs, overcoming the initial distress has led me to the best parts of my travel - up close perspectives of new cultures, unimaginable views, and the ability to find myself. I have undoubtedly discovered myself through travel; that I am positive of. By traveling, I’ve had the opportunity to realize who I can be without distractions of technology, social media, and the familiarity of home. By pushing myself, surrounding myself with like-minded people, and pursuing a travel that is different than the ordinary family vacation, I have become the most inquisitive, informed, and educated version of myself.

The valuable lessons that I’ve learned, the ones that have truly educated me, have occurred in circumstances that without travel, wouldn’t have existed. As I was living amongst children who owned only one shirt and could put everything they own in one bag, my luggage got lost and I had nothing but the clothes on my back. As a result, I was truly able to understand the way these people live on a daily basis – this, I will never forget. In the same way, I learned how to handle sickness, sadness, and disagreements; given that my travels typically included living in environments completely different from that of American suburbs, I’ve become incredibly accustom to complaints and negativity. Because of this I’ve learned the importance of optimism and reassurance, which are both attributes that have rubbed off onto my everyday life and have affected the kind of person I’ve become. Similarly, I spent time during travel learning real life examples and lessons in science, politics, humanitarianism, international relations, history, and more. For me, it hasn’t been reading and note taking that has made new information develop into permanent knowledge, but become completely engulfed in it.

Finally and most importantly, it’s the people in these countries that have taught me the most about not only their cultures and themselves, but also myself. I will forever be grateful to the people I’ve met who continually remind me to be appreciative, kind, and thankful. I really do owe these people for allowing me into their lives and unknowingly teaching me the truth about life and what really matters. No teacher, professor, or tutor could teach me the things they’ve taught me. Because of them, I realized that test scores and letter grades don’t define who we are as people.

Travel often, break out of your comfort zone, continually do things that scare the hell out of you, understand new cultures, and break away from what you're used to. It’s been said that if you travel far enough, you'll meet yourself; I guarantee that it will be the best version of yourself, one that you didn’t know existed and can be proud to be. Travel often, embrace life experiences, and never limit your classroom to the walls of a building – there’s an entire world waiting to be explored, let it educate you.