When I truly think about what is most valuable to me in life, several physical possessions immediately come to mind. I realize, though, that the most memorable and special items to me cannot be seen, nor physically touched. Instead, they are strictly memories of all of the travels I have been fortunate enough to partake in. When I look at all my travel experience, it makes me think about how much more I value my favorite memories with some of my favorite people over any physical possession that I currently, or have ever owned.

When we’re young, we tend to think that happiness and enjoyment come from owning tangible things, like the newest toy or game. This is typically caused by media influences that depict how much fun physical items can be. As I have grown, however, my possessions have come and gone as the things I want have changed a lot. The things that have consistently stayed with me throughout my life are the memories I’ve acquired from traveling around the world.

One of the most memorable travel experiences I have is when my family and I traveled to Europe in 2011. We traveled to five different countries and I can still recall every little detail about my time there. I was provided with an amazing opportunity for my lifelong addiction for travel to begin at only 11 years old. Since that trip, I have jumped at every opportunity to travel, especially overseas. That trip provided me not only with an addiction for travel as whole, but also with learning about different cultures and places around the world.

I’ve since continued learning about the world by taking all of the opportunities I’ve been offered. One of these opportunities was the school trip with our Spanish and French classes to Paris and Barcelona. This trip was slightly different because it was with my friends instead of my family. Because of that, the trip was that much more memorable due to bonding with my classmates over good food and great times. After that trip, I was able to look back and laugh at all the ridiculous things we did. Those memories will be ones that will last in my mind for a very long time and I’ll treasure these memories more than anything I will ever own.