Lauren is a third-year student at the University of Pittsburgh working toward a BS in chemical engineering with a minor in chemistry. She works for the Office of General Council at the university, as well as for J.Crew in Shadyside. In her (limited) time not spent working or studying, Lauren loves to hike, travel, and wish that she had more time and money to do such hiking and traveling.
Lauren’s Travel Story
I have been fortunate enough to travel fairly frequently all throughout my life. Starting from when I was a young child, my family has taken my sister and I on vacations every year, ranging from beaches like Hilton Head Island, to big cities, like New York and Chicago. At every destination, specifically the major cities, they emphasized appreciation of different cultures, art, history, and architecture. When I was younger, I never fully grasped how privileged I was to go on these nice, relatively expensive trips each year. When my sister and I were nearing our college years, along came the end of family vacations, since our vacation money became tuition money. A once staple in every summer became a memory, and serves as a reminder to cease taking any, now rare, family moments for granted. When I travel now, it is with friends, but I have the knowledge, common sense, and appreciation that is necessary when visiting a foreign place.
Family vacations may not exist anymore, but my lust for travel has not. When I was a junior in high school, my parents sent my sister and I to Europe on a school trip to London, Paris, Venice, and Rome. This was the first trip I took without them, as well as my first trip to Europe. I was nervous at the time, but it was also exhilarating. Although there were teachers and about twenty other students there, we had enough free time to ourselves that it felt like it was just my sister and I traveling together. We had to figure out where we wanted to go, and how we were going to get there and back by the time we had to meet with the group again. This experience taught me a lot about how to plan excursions wisely, as well as get by in foreign countries, most of which not having English as its native language.
I remember some students on this trip not fully appreciating the places we were at, as in talking obnoxiously during museum tours, or complaining about being tired. I felt grateful that I had all the experience that I had traveling as a kid so I could hold my own, and absorb the culture and knowledge to be gained during long days of touring around a country. When I returned from this trip, I truly felt matured and changed. I had a greater appreciation for the world around me, and was determined not to be swept into the repetitiveness and normality of life. I find it so easy to be trapped in a bubble of routine, so much so that the only time that I feel like I am actually living my life is when I am traveling. Exploring a new place, seeing the world, and breaking out of my comfort zone are three things that I want to define my life.
I strongly believe that traveling, specifically internationally, to new places are defining moments in a person’s life. I want to persuade readers of this blog to take a risk, to fight the pull of normality, to be nervous, for these feelings often mark the greatest conquests in life. I feel that I am in a unique position to discuss this topic because I understand what it feels like to have little money, but high lust for travel. The stacks are up against being a young college student and traveling, but there is a way to still do it. Every trip does not need to be extravagant or luxurious, there are plenty of places you can go for very cheap. The best experience I have ever had in my life was traveling to Iceland for a week, and I only spent around $600. This was the first trip I’ve ever paid for completely on my own, and that made it even more personal and special. Instead of hotels, I camped in a tent, and instead of eating out, and packed plenty of granola and peanut butter in my backpack. If I ever went back when I was more financially stable, I wouldn’t even want to do it any differently. I’ve never felt happier or more alive in my entire life, and I want other people to have the opportunity to have similar, life-affirming experiences.
The Road Most (Knowledgeably) Traveled 