Ever since I was a young child I’ve been inquisitive about various cultures, writing, music, and different viewpoints on life. I started traveling abroad in college during my Senior year at Fort Valley State University, where I graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications. I remember during my Junior year of college walking across campus one day and seeing flyers for an all expense paid Study Abroad program to China. So, I got a passport and applied for the program. The semester was coming to an end, but I didn’t hear anything about the study abroad program for a while. I mean for weeks I wondered in anticipation and thought that God had forgotten about me. I questioned my worth and if I was good enough to be selected. I figured the study abroad program already picked who they wanted for the program. In addition to wondering when and if I would be selected I was still trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life after college. I had applied for an internship in another state and was excited about it only to find out that out of all the applicants I was not selected. Even with my 3.5 GPA, prior internship experience, and extracurricular activities I still wasn’t considered “good enough”. I felt so hurt and let down. Rejection sucks, but it’s sometimes a part of life or if you believe in God his plan for your life. So here I am a rising Senior in college with no plans after school was over and going through other life challenges and growing pains. I remember crying and just feeling really down and that’s when I got a phone call from my Spanish professor, Mrs. Dubriel.
I wondered why out of all people she was calling me, especially since I was not the best Spanish student and got a C in her class. Well, little did I know that Mrs. Dubriel was now over the study abroad program. She called to tell me that the Study Abroad program was not going to China anymore. I felt devastated and thought well there goes another rejection for the week, but then her next sentence literally brightened my day. Mrs. Dubriel said, “Instead of going to China, we have selected the country of Italy and are you interested in going because the person we originally selected can’t go anymore?” I said, YES MAM and we talked about all the travel details. As soon as I got off the phone I literally cried and ran around the room like I was at a church revival meeting. LOL! Here I was thinking that I would get my hopes up and I was selected by my alma mater’s Stanley E. Rutland Globetrotters Study Abroad program to travel for free to various Italian cities during the month of September 2012.
Going to Italy changed my life for the better and I am forever grateful. It gave me the travel bug and inspired me to travel more. So, after I graduated and started working in “the real world” I researched various” affordable” travel groups for young people and heard about the travel group for young adults called, EF Ultimate Break while listening to Spotify. Check them out on www.efultimatebreak.com During September of 2015 I went with EF Ultimate Break to London and Paris, and in July of 2016 I went to Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini, Greece. I think that EF Ultimate Break is the best way to travel for young adults ages 18-29 because everything is taken care of from your flights, food, and transportation and you don’t have to pay all at once. They can break the cost down into monthly payment plans. Also, Go Ahead Tours for adults 29 and above is similar to EF Ultimate Break. All you have to have is a passport and an open mind. There is nothing like traveling. It’s like once you start you cannot stop. I don’t know where I want to go next, but I am happy that I’ve had the privilege to travel and meet various people in my life’s journey.
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