Hey everyone! My name is Ledian Gonzalez. I was born in Cardenas, Cuba, a vibrant beach town. As a child, my family made the difficult decision to move to the United States because they wanted to give my siblings and me a better life. At the age of 6, I moved to Miami, Florida. This city is special due to its strong Latin American culture, which permeates the area. Moving to a new country meant that our lives had to restart, and in the US, I did not grow up having a glamorous life. Most of the time, my parents were working labor-intensive jobs. We didn’t have much money, so traveling was something we rarely got to do. I would listen to other kids talking about their summer vacation in absolute awe. This lit a fire in me, even at that young age. I wanted so badly to see the world. By the time I turned 18 and was able to travel freely as an adult, I took that opportunity. My friends and I visited New York City, the sprawling hub of life in the United States. I fell in love with discovering new places and knew I wanted to do something more grandiose at some point. My first time traveling abroad was to Mexico. It was awesome to see how different countries could be, even while they're located on the same continent.
