The summer before my senior year of high school, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Europe with a group from my school. We spent about a month before the trip in class, learning about the history and eras of everything we were about to see, and then spent two weeks traveling throughout Italy, France, and England.
Truthfully, I didn't really want to go at first. I only originally signed up for the trip because a lot of my friends were going and I didn't want to feel left out. But as classes started and we began talking more and more about what to expect once we touched down in our first city, Rome, my desire to go to Europe continued to fade.
I had never flown across the ocean before. Because of my anxiety disorder, long haul flights were always a huge fear of mine. What if we crashed in the middle of the ocean? What if something happens mid flight and I can't leave? What if the airplane food makes me sick on the plane? What if I'm bored for the whole nine-hour flight? These and other completely trivial fears rushed through my head as I thought more and more about the long haul flight. I had also never traveled without my parents before. Sure I had gone to the like for a weekend with one of my middle school friends, but being on a completely different continent for two whole weeks without my parents terrified me. Although I would be with around forty other girls and six teachers plus a tour guide, I still didn't really feel safe, and was worried that I would feel alone.
The morning I was scheduled to leave for Rome, I cried all morning. I was terrified and completely rethinking my whole decision to do this in the first place. I mean who really needs to see Europe, anyways? What's so great about it?
Well let me tell you: everything is great about Europe. I spent the entire two weeks with my mouth agape, completely amazed by everything around me. The Roman Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, Vatican, gelato, Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, Buckingham Palace, Big Bend, St. Mark's Cathedral, gondolas in Venice, and so so much more. Even writing about all of the amazing things I was able to see brings a smile to my face.
Even though I was only gone for two weeks, my desire to return to the cities I have been and to visit cities I have not been to has increased dramatically. I already know that I want to honeymoon in Santorini, Greece. I want to visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. I want to visit concentration camps, and Germany, and Spain, and do whatever my tour group skipped in Italy, Paris, and London. I even have more of a desire to travel around America and see places I've never been. I want to visit everything historical in Washington D.C., see a Broadway show and walk around Times Square at night in New York, go to Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and so much more.
Going to Europe ignited the desire in me to travel everywhere. Before, I was incredibly happy to take turns every other year going to Rhode Island and Disney World like I had every year since I was born. But now, that's not enough for me. I want to go everywhere. And I urge anyone who has the chance to go everywhere to go. Because it was honestly the best experience of my life.
