I am very privileged to say that I have had so many amazing opportunities to travel around the world with my mom. Being to places like Rome, Paris, Washington DC, etc. has taught me so much about different cultures, history and things about myself, and it wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for her.

We started most of our travels in 2011 and 2012. We were sitting at a Colorado Rockies game in Denver when we decided that we wanted to make it our goal to go to all 30 Major League baseball parks in the country. That’s really where it all began. We then started traveling around the country trying to see all these different parks, plus in 2012 we went to Europe.

Traveling teaches you a lot. I like history -- so any place that has a lot of history, I love. For example, I got to go to Anne Frank’s hideout in Amsterdam and just standing in that small bedroom in the attic, I could almost feel Anne Frank standing there with me. It also is a teaching experience too. Now that I have been to so many museums and national monuments and historical places, when I’m sitting in history class and my teacher is talking about the Boston Massacre, I can picture myself standing in the exact place that it happened it and it becomes very surreal for me.

Traveling also exposes you to many different cultures, as well. When we landed in Rome, it was about 10:30 p.m. and we were starving, but we didn’t know if anything was going to be open, but in Rome, people don’t start eating dinner till about 9:30 p.m. so every place was open and it was packed. Or in Paris, they are very big on bicycle riding everywhere, and if you are walking in the bike lane (even not knowingly, like myself), they will run you over with their bike without hesitation.

You are also exposed to so many amazing foods around the world. Like the chocolate in Belgium, the crepes in Paris, the gelato in Italy, the Philly Cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, the hot dogs in New York City, the poutine in Canada -- oh, the list could go on.

I just wanted to say thank you to my amazing mom who has opened so many open doors, and that I am so happy that we have been able to travel the world together and experience all these cool places together -- there’s nobody else I would rather do it with.