Growing up, my parents have always been big advocates for travel. When I was little, I was lucky enough to go on big trips out of the country and explore places I never knew existed. Little did I know this would open my eyes to change my perspective on life for the better. Some people think of traveling as of tropical places, somewhere to relax and get away from the "real world." When others think of traveling, they think of history and all of the countries in Europe that hold centuries worth of stories.

When I think of traveling, I think of culture. Whether it is somewhere tropical, or anywhere in Europe, or South America, etc. I think of the people that I meet when I've been there. It is so interesting to see the different cultures and how different the environment is in each of them. Traveling opens up your eyes to places you've never dreamed of, and you try things that you never knew existed. Traveling is one of those things that makes you take a step back and think about how caught up you are in your small little world. Here are three countries that have truly left a mark on me.

Being able to travel to places like Croatia on a backroads tour, I was able to take a look at how beautiful the small towns were, and how slow the lives of the people were that I met. But I also got to see how happy they were in their little world in their hidden city. It was such a cool experience to be able to recognize first hand how much beauty I discovered in one place and through the Croatian culture. After I had biked through seven different parts of Croatia, I began to realize how much different it is than anything I've seen. The towns were slanted, rivers were running through them, and one of the towns we biked through looked like something you'd find out of a fairytale. I got to dine in a Croatian's backyard with real Croatian food and met a family that holds bed and breakfast hotels as their primary income. It was a pure culture shock because most of the people there don't live the way Americans do, always being on their phones and so caught up with media.

Another place I've been lucky enough to experience first hand is Costa Rica. This was a completely different cultural experience. Take into consideration that it is the third country, Costa Rica is something like I've never seen before. The people are so thankful for what they have, and they just enjoy each other's company. Something special that I found in this foreign country was the way the people had such little things, but so much love. Everyone was so accepting of one another, and when we went on a tour through the town, it was so naturally beautiful. All the roads were made out of dirt; only the main highways were made out of the gravel. The whole country looked like a rainforest; it was so cool. The actual rainforest was something else, like real Tarzan material. We climbed across a bridge that was a mile long and hundreds of feet in the air. Looking back on it, it's crazy how long that bridge had probably been there and to think who made it.

The last place I want to talk about is the people that I met on my most recent trip to the French Polynesian islands. I traveled to Bora Bora and Moo'rea, and in addition to the beautiful scenery, the people were more than outright outstanding people. Not only were they the happiest people I think I've ever met while on vacation, but they loved their home so much, they could talk about it for days on end. One of the coolest people I met when I was on my trip was our hiking tour guide. I will never forget her because she made the hike so much more enjoyable with her love of her island. She loved everything about it and told us absolutely everything she knew about her home.

The next time you go on a vacation, I suggest that you take your time to meet the people that surround you. I guarantee it will be worth your time.