Summer is the best time of the year. Some might say winter is the best season because of the holidays; others might say autumn because of the changing of the colors of the leaves, and still others say spring because of the blooming of flowers, trees, and other greens that nature has to offer. Still, summer stands tall above all the rest, because it presents the most opportune time to do one thing that is paramount in our growth of knowledge of cultures and experiences of life—travel.

Summertime is usually the best time to rest, relax, and take a break from all the stresses of life. Because it falls in the middle of the year, it is a good time to reflect on the past experiences of the year and look forward to the next journeys that life has in store. With longer and more enjoyable days, bright and sunny weather, and an inherent joyous tone, summer simply compares to no other season. These reasons, among others, are why summertime is the ideal time to travel.

Traveling to various parts of the same country can be exciting and eventful, but traveling to entirely different countries across the globe offers the most fulfilling cultural experience. Each continent has its own unique story, the story that tells when continents were developed and divided into countries and cities, which peoples developed them, when they developed them, and how they developed them. Accordingly, each continent provides its people, natives and visitors alike, with a lifestyle that can be found nowhere else in the rest of the world.

The first and only time I crossed the sea and traveled in another continent was last summer when I visited Europe for two weeks. While I was there, I was observant of the tiniest of details and compared and contrasted them with my native culture. Things such as the way Europeans dressed, talked, walked, and acted towards other people were things my curious mind wanted to learn about.

My first time traveling abroad was probably my most enjoyable time traveling in all, because I was exposed not only to new places I had never been able to marvel at in person before, but to a culture to which I was a genuine neophyte. I observed a people I had never seen before, savored food that I had never tasted before, and listened to a variety of accents, dialects, and languages I had scarcely heard before. I learned more about my Spanish background and Catholic background in Spain and Italy, as well as my American heritage in England and France. My only disappointment, however, was that the similarities between American and European cultures were many.

Upon returning home, I vowed to go out and explore as much of the world as I possibly can, from North America to Asia, and from South America to Africa. I promised myself that if I have any regrets at all before my soul leaves this earth, a lack of traveling is not one of them. This magnificent world that we live in is destined to be explored. Your life is not meant to be spent entirely in one place; use it to travel to as many places as you can and find the one that was made for you.