Once I started applying to colleges my senior year of high school, I realized I didn't know where I wanted to go or what I wanted to major in. So I decided to take a gap year to travel and explore more colleges.
That gap year turned into two. Since I didn't have the means to travel, I ended up doing a lot of jobs that allowed me to travel. The summer after I graduated high school, I worked on a river cruise ship along the Snake River in the Pacific Northwest and the Mississippi River. Afterwards, I went to Costa Rica and backpacked for two months. The next summer I worked inside Yellowstone National Park and got to explore our first national park. I went back again for a second summer. After two summers in Yellowstone, I went to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. To date, Grand Teton is my favorite place in the world. I spent spring break last year in the Dominican Republic and worked in Denali National Park in Alaska this past summer. All of those road trips and those summers spent hiking and mountaineering made me realize I want a life filled with travel and living in different places. I guess I was always a nomad and never stayed somewhere my entire life, so this discovery about myself is really just me recognizing my true nature.
As you know, I am studying abroad in Nepal this semester. From the past four years of travels, I've realized that you enjoy a destination better when you live there for a long period of time. Nepal has always been on my travel list because of its majestic Himalayan mountains. But there is so much more about the country to experience, and by studying here I will learn about the culture, economy, geography and history of this wonderful country.
Back home, I attend Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
