World Traveler

Starting in high school, I read voraciously about other places-- other cities and states in the U.S., other cities and countries around the world-- and I was determined that I would see as many of them as I could. For high school graduation I let my parents know hat the only present I was intereststed in Would be for them to send me on a trip. They finally agreed to send me on one, if it would be a chaperoned group trip and it was not too expensive. I did the research and we agreed on a trip which would fly a group of about thirty high school students to California and then drive by motorcoach down the coast, then to Nevada, Arizona and then fly back to NY. Knowing I was not going to leave my home for the four academic years that I was going to go to college, I thought this would be a great opportunity. It was a great trip and it definitely whet my appetite to get away from my house and do more traveling. When I got back to Ny and started college (still unfortunately with poor self-esteem and always seeking approval) I realized that the limitations of a "commuter college" were considerable, and if I was going to have ro stick t out for 4 years I would make t bearable by doing as much traveling in between semesters as I could. I got a job as a waitress in a diner near my home and saved every penny I could to go into my travel fund. I decided that I would at least try to have a "college experience" the summer after my Freahman year. I moved to Boston for two months and lived in the dorm at Boston College, taking some core curriculum courses. I loved it and wished I could go there all year, but my parents would not pay for it although my grades were great ( all A's). So I went back home to my commuter college
and my waitress job after the summer,and began planning my next trip.